Discussion Thread

  • 1.  Relocating as a water resource engineer

    Posted 01-22-2019 02:26 PM

    I have recently joined this forum and it has been very interesting for me to read your discussions. 

    I am currently doing my masters in urban rain water management. I live in Montreal, Canada and have dual citizenship. I am considering moving to California in a year to find work.

    Does anyone working in the same field have advice to share about relocating?


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    Julia Bond S.M.ASCE
    Montréal QC
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  • 2.  RE: Relocating as a water resource engineer

    Posted 01-23-2019 09:52 PM
    Hi Julia,

    Although I am not practicing civil engineering now and when I was, my field of work was not related to yours. I can give you a general piece of advice on how to raise your chance of finding a good job. During the last 5 years I was actively involved with our ASCE city branch and made lots of connections through this involvement. Just being part of the board and doing some volunteer activities, I made friends with engineers and managers from more than 30 different civil engineering companies. Each of those people can refer me to a position at their firm or even other firms where they have colleagues. These kind of references, as you know, are the best ways to land jobs. 

    My advice to you is to try connecting to ASCE branches around the cities you would like to find a job. Send them email, tell them you're going to move there and you would like to get involved in their activities, if possible. Not only you'll find good connections, but also you'll learn about the climate of civil engineering profession in your future hometown. 

    I hope this helps. Let me know if you needed more info.

    Best
    Reza Sheykhi, PhD, A.M.ASCE
    Strategy Manager, FIU

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    Reza Sheykhi A.M.ASCE
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Relocating as a water resource engineer

    Posted 01-26-2019 09:43 AM
    If you are sure of better potential then I think you can relocate.



    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Relocating as a water resource engineer

    Posted 01-27-2019 08:38 PM
    Hello,
    Thank you very much for this advice. I am definitely hoping to get more involved with ASCE!


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    Julia Bond S.M.ASCE
    Montréal QC
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Relocating as a water resource engineer

    Posted 01-27-2019 10:19 PM
    Hi Julia,

    I'm in my last year of my environmental engineering undergrad at Portland State University and have been involved with ASCE for just over a year now. I would agree that it is a great way to get to know other professionals, especially if you get involved in student chapters and some of the subgroups like YMF and EWRI. 

    I was on PSU's Steel Bridge Team last year and connected with some of the professionals from around the region that volunteer to curate the annual competitions and student conference. Plus, it was great to hang out with some of the Canadian bridge team members from l'ETS and UBC when we went to nationals in Illinois! This is a bit of a tangent, but it's really a pity AISC has insisted the competition now consist of only US teams. I really liked that it was international, we'll miss all the Canadian Teams!

    This year, I'm our student chaper's Environmental Competition team captain, and we've been trying to get more involved in subgroups like Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI). The Portland EWRI chapter plans biannual Stormwater Symposiums that bring professionals from all over the country, so great networking opportunities. They are also looking for research to present in their poster session, which they especially recommend to students trying to get their name out. If you have anything you might be interested in submitting, I can get you in touch.

    PSU's environmental engineering program is pretty focused on water, which is fitting here in the Pacific Northwest since it rains so much. I expect though, that in most of California (the southern half at least) it would be much more difficult to find work involving rain or stormwater management. I'm sure that if you are also interested in working with water/wastewater treatment, water delivery, river or groundwater modeling, environmental compliance, etc. you'll find a lot more options. 

    So my thought would be that if you want to be sure you find employment that really puts your masters work to use, assuming it's very focused on rain, follow the rain. 


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    Kevin McElroy S.M.ASCE
    Portland OR
    (970)406-1553
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Relocating as a water resource engineer

    Posted 01-27-2019 08:44 PM
    Hey Julia!

    I'll share a little bit of my background. I am currently a Civil Engineer with the Bureau of Reclamation in Denver, CO. I attended Colorado School of Mines and graduated in 2017. For my first year out of college, I got a job with a very large civil consulting firm (in land development) with locations in pretty much every major US city. They hired me in their Minneapolis office, but I spend ~3 1/2 months down in Orange, CA at their office there because that location needed more support. Now, I am back home in Denver.

    Some things I learned during my times in CA/MN;
    1. Civil Engineering is HUGE in California. There is a lot of building going on (at least in SoCal) and their water laws are very strict down there so since you have dual citizenship I don't think it would take you very long to find a job. However, it is VERY expensive to live in CA so if you don't have anything lined up moving there I would be sure to have plenty saved up. One cool thing about California too is that you can get your PE after 2 years instead of 4, so you would pretty much be eligible right away when you move there.
    2. Relocating without knowing anyone as a young professional can be hard! SoCal has an AMAZING ASCE presence, both YMG and branch-wise so that may be a good place to start :) I've also found that joining workout groups, connecting through friends of friends, and even Bumble BFF can be a great way to meet people. One thing to be cognizant of when moving to CA is that traffic can be awful and what seems like a short drive can be up to 2 hours in traffic. So choose a community you want to live in and be a part of carefully and thoughtfully.

    Let me know if you have any questions!

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    Peyton Gibson EIT, A.M.ASCE
    Engineer in Training
    Littleton CO
    (910)551-7054
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Relocating as a water resource engineer

    Posted 01-27-2019 08:54 PM
    Hey Julia.

    If you are passionate to pursue a career in Water Resource, then California is an excellent place to relocate to. California is facing one of the biggest challenges with their water assets and heavily investing in ways to address drought and other extreme conditions. I do believe you would be able to find an abundance of opportunity.

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    Zaid Admani P.E., Aff.M.ASCE
    Sugar Land TX
    (832)818-6213
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Relocating as a water resource engineer

    Posted 01-28-2019 08:27 AM
    Hi Julia,

    Do you have a list of companies you want to work for? I'd go to LinkedIn and contact your school's alumni who are working for those companies to learn more about them and to see if you are a good fit. They will give you very good information on what types of employees they are looking for as well as some required skills/expertise. That would help a lot if you decide to apply later on down the road

    Good luck!


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    Tung Nguyen S.M.ASCE
    Pullman WA
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    Original Message


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