Posted: 1/3/2013 6:16:41 PM EDT
I graduated with my MS in Civil Engineering, Structures emphasis last May. Had the intention of travelling until this December, but a family emergency dried up my funds way faster than expected. I've been applying for jobs since September but no luck. Three phone interviews and one fly-out second-phase interview in 4+ months and 60+ applications. I've even pulled connections at Black & Veatch, HDR, and Jacobs.... nothing! It seems like everyone wants candidates with 2+ years of experience and mastery of multiple software packages. Or they want project engineers with an MS 
So I ask: "What's the market like? Is it really this bad? Or is it me?" |
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The strength department at Boeing St. Louis still has openings. Submit your resume' on line, and here's a hint; your answer to all the questions about the job must be "yes" to get past the computer. I have shied away from Boeing thus far, simply because I worked with S&IS for the past year 
Is it steady work? I understand that aerospace is pretty cyclical, and the Boeing jobs I've seen were Phantom Works/Mil Aviation. |
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It's a tough job market for anything non-CS. I graduated 2 years ago in aerospace engineering and my first job was out of my major. Have you considered applying to positions outside of your specific major? Actually, my first job was government, non-engineering. I went back to grad school for that reason. Hoping to stay inside Structures at this point. ETA: I am about to apply for a MechE position where one of my friends works. But to answer your question, I have thus far stayed inside Civil/Structures. |
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Don't forget the big contractors. I work for one doing structural engineering on the erection/temporary works side. Graduated in 2008 in the midst of the crash with my MS in Civil/structures. I had an interview with HDR two weeks ago, turned out to be for a project engineer-type position. Interviewers didn't like that I had taken mainly theoretical courses in grad school (elasticity, adv. mechanics, structural dynamics). I am worried that I look too academic on paper for construction engineering positions. |
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I don't know on the structures side. DFW area is doing okay right now and we're hiring a decent amount in land development, traffic, roadway design (we had to start hiring since we laid off young folks and then very few new grads hired 08-11 so the staff mix is all lopsided with few non-PEs left, luckily the market caught up and we're busy). People are also job hopping around which they weren't doing a few years ago. But it is spotty, I know other parts of the country aren't flush at all, and even things like roadway design have winners and losers here depending on what big TxDOT contracts they win.
If you can do bridges then look up which companies are on the Zachary team to build the Grand Parkway in Houston (e.g. PTG, Dannenbaum, Brown & Gay). Same for the Horseshoe and IH 35E projects in Dallas. All these were awarded in the last 4 months, they are just tooling up. Look for big jobs like these elsewhere and find who's working them. Some transit stuff around too. |
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The strength department at Boeing St. Louis still has openings. Submit your resume' on line, and here's a hint; your answer to all the questions about the job must be "yes" to get past the computer. I have shied away from Boeing thus far, simply because I worked with S&IS for the past year
Is it steady work? I understand that aerospace is pretty cyclical, and the Boeing jobs I've seen were Phantom Works/Mil Aviation. Boeing St. Louis structural engineering is not cyclical. We have new business and a group that supports Seattle to level the demand. We are understaffed right now. There is a nationwide shortage of strength analysts in the aerospace industry. Always has been, always will be. |
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I had an interview with HDR two weeks ago, turned out to be for a project engineer-type position. Interviewers didn't like that I had taken mainly theoretical courses in grad school (elasticity, adv. mechanics, structural dynamics). I am worried that I look too academic on paper for construction engineering positions. Hmm... Keep your chin up, just need to get the first job then no one cares about what you did in school. It's a bit of a niche you may not want to get stuck in, but have you tried at software companies that build the structural programs? Theoretical would be a bonus there. |
| If you don't have it already, sit for your EIT. The sooner you do, the sooner you can start accumulating experience for your PE. if you're going to work in any kind of consulting firm you need it. The EIT may help you get in the door too. Many people value that over an MS. |
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The Construction Industry is bad now. Unemployment in the industry is far higher than the national average and in some states it's a full on depression. Locally there are some markets doing well but those markets, like Dallas, Houston, etc. are being flooded with people from all over that are out of work.
Unfortunately it's a tough time to be going into any aspect of the industry and as long as the economy stays slow it will continue. I don't see it getting better for at least another 5 plus years. Depending on what happens in 2016. |
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I had an interview with HDR two weeks ago, turned out to be for a project engineer-type position. Interviewers didn't like that I had taken mainly theoretical courses in grad school (elasticity, adv. mechanics, structural dynamics). I am worried that I look too academic on paper for construction engineering positions. Hmm... Keep your chin up, just need to get the first job then no one cares about what you did in school. It's a bit of a niche you may not want to get stuck in, but have you tried at software companies that build the structural programs? Theoretical would be a bonus there. I haven't tried any of the software companies yet. I was pretty solid in C++ during undergrad... hmmm. |
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If you don't have it already, sit for your EIT. The sooner you do, the sooner you can start accumulating experience for your PE. if you're going to work in any kind of consulting firm you need it. The EIT may help you get in the door too. Many people value that over an MS. I sat for my EIT before grad school, so in many states I can count the MS as one year toward the PE. Getting a PE and SE are two things I value highly. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Don't forget the big contractors. I work for one doing structural engineering on the erection/temporary works side. Graduated in 2008 in the midst of the crash with my MS in Civil/structures. I had an interview with HDR two weeks ago, turned out to be for a project engineer-type position. Interviewers didn't like that I had taken mainly theoretical courses in grad school (elasticity, adv. mechanics, structural dynamics). I am worried that I look too academic on paper for construction engineering positions. That's where most of the jobs are. Project engineer-type positions. Some engineer designs a beam that's 30ft long. It's delivered and it's only 29ft and 11in long. Someone has to figure out what to do next. Apply for everything. You should be prepared to take a job you don't like for a year or so - then you'll have experience to find something else. Before your apply for a specific job, spend 15 minutes customizing your resume for that employer/company. For example, if you are applying for Boeing, put a few words about aircraft structure design in your resume. - When you find a job for a "Project Engineer", put a title on your resume that says: John Doe, Project Engineer. - When you find a job for a "Structural Engineer", put a title on your resume that says: John Doe, Structural Engineer. Another suggestion: join Linkedin. Set your profile up as a "Civil Engineer" or whatever. Search and find 100+ people near you in Linkedin, and send them a connection invitation. Keep it brief: "Hi. I'm a new Civil Engineering graduate, looking for a job." Don't say anything specific about what you are looking for (like structural engineering). Let them contact you if they have something. If they contact you and tell you that they have a job building a sewage treatment plant, tell them that you've always wanted to help build on one of those plants! Work there for a year or so and move on to something else. Good luck. |