I think the broad term "Water Resources Engineer" sufficiently covers the broad range of career opportunities in civil engineering for water-related projects. A WRE can be involved in projects involving very basic hydraulics and hydrology (site planning); watershed and stream restoration; reservoir management/water supply planning; flood control; groundwater transport and remediation; water quality modeling; sanitary, separate, and combined sewer modeling and analysis; drinking water network design and analysis, and even water and wastewater plant design.
As a young engineer, unless you are very sure about what you want, try to get experience in as many of these areas as you can. Find out what's most interesting to you, and after you get your PE, you can perhaps narrow your focus some. You also need to learn what type of working environment that you enjoy. Do you like working for a small, local employer? If so, then you better keep your experiences broad, as you'll need to be a Jill-of-all-trades. Do you like working for larger regional, national, or international employer? If so, having a specialty probably is more desirable.
As a WRE, I've always used the analogy of a canoeing/kayaking on river to describe how your career will go. The direction of your career, in many ways, is out of your control. Our work is subject to changes in legislation, the economy, technology, politics etc, and these have little to do with the working engineer. But as long as you keep an oar in the water, you can navigate where you want to go on the river. There's not one line you can follow, there are many. In 20 years you'll probably look back on things you've done and think "I'd never thought I'd be doing that" So pick the path that's exciting and has some whitewater. Don't get stuck in eddies doing the same thing over and over.
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Timothy Murphy P.E., M.ASCE
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-22-2017 18:27
From: Alexa Green
Subject: Unsure of how to classify what I want out of a water related job
I am currently seeking my first EIT job in Minnesota, but am unsure of how to classify the job that I want when talking to employers. Should I say that I am looking for a place in water resources, municipal engineering, hydraulics, or something else entirely? I have enjoyed working with water supply in my time working with Engineers Without Borders. During our involvement with the project we placed valves in a piping system after analysis of the high pressures that were causing pipes to break. That being said, I also like projects that I have looked into such as minimizing phosphorus in lakes with the use of limestone walls or iron shavings. Even still, I found culvert design and bridge modeling to be interesting in my time working at MnDOT. What should I say is my preference? I know that I want something in water, but am unsure of specifics. Do the titles I listed ( water resources, municipal engineering, hydraulics) mean the same thing at every consulting firm or are the titles fluid?
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Alexa Green EIT, S.M.ASCE
Rochester MN
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