Professional and Career Topics

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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------Original Message------

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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I agree with Paul.  The most important thing for you now, is to be employed even if it's not directly linked to water.  When I was interviewing just prior to my graduation over (40 years ago), people would ask me what my desired area of practice was.  In the first several interviews I said what I thought I liked, hydrology and hydraulics.  No offers came.  Then Fluor was in town looking for structural engineers.  I expressed an interest in structures and was hired.  Now I'm a licensed Structural Engineer.  Had I held out for a "water" related job, I can't imagine how different my life would be today.  While I hadn't really thought of structures before, it became my passion.  Anyway, look for a job and go with your gut...but get a job in what ever area you can and see if that doesn't pique your interest regardless of where it takes you.  You can always look for another job while you're employed.

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Thomas Rich SE PE MASCE
President
trich@...
OCI ENG
Kaysville, UT

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Original Message:
Sent: 02-23-2017 08:09
From: Paul Currier
Subject: Unsure of how to classify what I want out of a water related job

Alexa,

After 35 years experience in water resources engineering - I'd suggest you look for a broad range of possible experiences.  You've only sampled a small range of experiences and technical issues.  Don't limit yourself, especially in the first 5-15 years of your professional experience.

Paul Currier, P.E.

Principal

Water Resource Consultants, LLC

Rifle, Colorado

Maybe someone has the "magic bullet" for you, but I believe your confusion is part of the nature of having knowledge of such a wide field of possible career paths and very little experience in any of them.  An example - I went into Civil as I loved structures...after there for a couple of years the opportunity (better to say "need" as no one else at the firm wanted to do it) to perform open channel flow (hydrology and hydraulic) analysis came up and I agreed to do it.  Turned out I loved it!  I started with TS&L (bridge/Culvert Type, Size and Location) work and got into stream restoration and later into NPDES issues.  Along the way, I purposely changed jobs a couple of times to do different things and learn - so my 30+ years of experience includes transportation, water resources, structures and every aspect of numerous public works projects, from design through construction...and unlike many of my peers, I still do not know what I want to be when I grow up...I actually enjoy being a generalist!

My guess is that you do need to try and narrow your search if you really want a specific career path.  Every area you reference will have challenges to it...aging water distribution infrastructure and nutrients in lakes/HABS come to mind.  Pick the one area that interests you the most and give it some time.  Try to find a firm that appreciates the seriousness of your dilemma and is willing to move you around a bit, or resign yourself to changing jobs if you need to in order to achieve what you are after.

Best wishes and the best of luck!

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Reed Schwartzkopf P.E., M.ASCE
Project Manager
Bolton and Menk, Inc.
Ames IA
(515)233-6100 EXT 3293
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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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Hi Alexa, As the others have suggested the areas you listed are broad categories and at an entry level you could be asked to do a number of things.  I would suggest focusing your search on firms that have water-related expertise but in general I would say that smaller firms may offer you the ability to a wider variety of tasks and bigger firms may be looking to fill highly specific roles within their organizations.  For example we hire entry level engineers and one day they could be designing a pipeline and the next day working on a tank or pump station project, and the next day a grading plan, it just depends on the work flow and what needs to be done.  In a larger organization, you might be assigned to a group that provides highly specialized services such as wastewater treatment, etc across the entire company. 

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Robert Weber P.E., M.ASCE
President
Infrastructure Engineering Corporation
Poway CA
(858) 413-2400 EXT 140
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Alexa,
If you read your message, you might discover something else entirely.  What you state is that you find aspects of civil engineering interesting.  Please don't limit your learning process to just one aspect of water.  Get a job, hopefully in consulting because of your diverse interests, and learn everything you can.  Once you have done that, you can specialize in one area of particular interest.

That career model served me well, 33 years and I am still learning, and not specialized in any one area. Although I have done a lot more water, waste water and recycled water than I have anything else, but I have done other things, like highways, landfills, and land development.  Keep learning, stay excited!

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Daniel Chase M.ASCE
SENIOR ENGINEER
Camarillo CA
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------Original Message------

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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