Civil/Construction Management Major...

buildinglover_33
Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:28:18 +0000

Hey guys, I am new to this forum and had a couple of questions. Hopefully Ken285 and Aibarr will be of assistance!

1) I am not taking Calc-based physics until next year. However, I have never taken a Physics class (not even high school) and am worried about my ability to survive. Will it be beneficial to me to take Algebra-based Physics first to get my feet wet and become a little more prepared? Or is that a complete waste of my time and money?

2) I’m attending Oregon State and they have both a Civil and Construction Engineering Management program. The CEM program is very unique and I feel it would prepare me for many different areas. However, it is mainly a “construction” degree and I feel my mobility my be limited if I follow that route. Truthfully, I am only leaning towards the Civil route because of the options available to me once I graduate. If I do eventually move into construction, what other career options are available after Project Manager? I can’t seem to find any information on advancement beyond that posisiton if someone were to desire a less hectic lifestyle later in their career.

I am also very interested in Structural. I find it fascinating, but understand my strengths, and although I am decent at mathematics, I don’t know if my aptitude in that area is high enough in order to become as good as I would need to be in that area in order to get a good job. Transportation is also an area of interest, but not as much as Structural. I literally gaze in amazement when I see a beautiful structure or bridge. I look at the connections and try to understand why they are shaped a certain way, or the reason for the choice of materials. It’s all pretty amazing to me! Well, I’ve obviously gotten off topic! Any advice or information on your experiences would be great.

One last thing: I am currently doing an internship for the city. I am currently assisting the Senior Engineering Tech with her upcoming road slurry project. Will this experience make any difference when applying to an actual engineering job?

Thanks!