<p>^ roflmfao.</p>
<p>Even in this tough economy, there are several infrastructure bonds on the Maine ballot this week (wastewater treatment plants and roads, I believe). The bonds almost always pass. People know they can’t let that stuff go for too long.</p>
<p>@MaineLonghorn:</p>
<p>I think you are the most qualified person to answer this question. Weren’t most of the jobs in the civil engineering field kept alive by the real estate bubble? Houses built based on the assumption that cheap credit would last and more people would be buying houses?</p>
<p>And isn’t much of the infrastructure in the US in need of replacement anyways? I know here in NYC some of the bridges and subway systems we use are over 100 years old.</p>
<p>
Like everything else in this (rotten) economy, the issue is that there’s too much supply and not enough demand.</p>
<p>Of course we’ll need to build, maintain, and replace things. But that can easily be done with the existing number of engineers, and in the short term, there’s little need for new engineers to enter the workforce.</p>
<p>
Just to clarify, the too much supply vs. not enough demand can be applied to almost all professions, even though civil engineers are hit the hardest. The media may say that things are getting better, but the only thing that counts for current students is that we’re in the mother of all jobless recoveries. Don’t believe me? Then take a look at the second and third graphs below:</p>
<p>[dshort.com:</a> Unemployment and the S&P Composite Since 1948](<a href=“http://dshort.com/articles/unemployment.html]dshort.com:”>http://dshort.com/articles/unemployment.html)</p>
<p>Getting a job is about as hard as getting into Harvard:</p>
<p>[Landing</a> a job like getting into Harvard - CNN.com](<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/11/06/stimulus.jobs/index.html]Landing”>Landing a job like getting into Harvard - CNN.com)</p>
<p>As I’ve said before, if experienced older people are having a tough time finding jobs, how are recent college grads going to stand a chance?</p>
<p>
What is short term to you? 3, 5, 7, 10 years?</p>
<p>
I’ll be graduating in 2 years, and I’ll have to find a job within a year after graduation (my dad will be retiring then), and my mom’s income won’t be enough to keep us out of the poorhouse.</p>
<p>So I’ll say 3 years is short term.</p>
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</p>
<p>No. Most civil engineers don’t do single-family residential houses; you don’t need a license to design them.</p>
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</p>
<p>We’re already starting to hire people again. I would remain cautious but optimistic at this point. It’ll be tough, but if you work hard at your classes and building your network within the field, you’ll be okay. If you’re in civil engineering just to get a quick job with little effort, then you’re in the wrong field right now. If you enjoy civil engineering and it’s what you want to do with your life, then it’s silly to abandon it because the economy’s in the tank right now.</p>
<p>
No, I’m not in civil engineering just to get a quick job with little effort. But if I were, what field would you suggest? Is there any field that exists where you can get a quick job with little effort?</p>
<p>And don’t say burger flipper, day laborer, or slaughterhouse worker; there are a lot of high school grads, dropouts, and illegal immigrants competing for those jobs.</p>
<p>
LOL at switching from civil to GIS. GIS is just a watered down/less technical version of civil. If you get a civil degree with an infrastructure concentration, you can do any job a GIS major can.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t switch majors at this point, the time and possibly the debt will just pile up. But you can find ways of leveraging your analytical skills, as evidenced by an engineering degree, into some related field. Lots of graduates face this very problem, and many succeed. If you have some aptitude for computer science or accounting, load up on electives the last year, and maybe get enough for a minor. Some things to consider:</p>
<p>1 - engineering analysis software companies
2 - technical writing
3 - teaching (may need a certificate)
4 - law school, to move into a technically related field like patents
5 - technical sales, any field not just civil or construction</p>
<p>Some of those won’t make sense, they will depend on your specific interests and abilities. Good luck.</p>
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</p>
<p>You can always try to enter the software industry doing things like being an systems analyst (non-programming) or do some “systems administration” type of work (Unix/Linix, Virtual Servers, etc) while you are not doing C.E. work. You will need more expertise in order to do more software development work like knowing Java, C++ and O.O. methods.</p>
<p>Enginox, aibarr is right. My husband and I do design single-family residences, but not that frequently. They tend to be huge mansions located right on the Maine coast. There are a good number of wealthy people who can still afford to build big houses.</p>
<p>We have always tried to diversify. We can design structures that are used for commercial, industrial, and residential purposes. When one area slows down, another one tends to get busier. We have found a good niche to be helping out larger firms that get overwhelmed when they are awarded a big project and don’t have the manpower to complete it. An engineer at a large firm just last week told me they expect to get a couple of big projects shortly, but management doesn’t want to start hiring permanent employees yet, so there’s a good chance they’ll call us to help. Firms up here know that we’re willing to work weekends, pull all-nighters - whatever it takes to get the job done. I also do AutoCAD drafting for other companies and I do a damn good job. It doesn’t pay as well as enginering, but it helps pay the bills when things are slow. </p>
<p>We have to educate some of our clients that a two-person firm can put out a lot of work. After all, a team of only 12 structural engineers was responsible for the design of the new Burj Dubai Tower and the surrounding complex of buildings. Only 6 engineers worked on the tower itself, which is over half a mile tall.</p>
<p>NegativeSlope, as I mentioned before, the economy sucked when we got out of grad school, also. If you work hard, you’ll get hired. If you keep a pessimistic attitude, you’re going to have a hard time succeeding. If you’re really so miserable about your prospects, switch to another field (and no, I’m not knowledgeable enough to make recommendations about which field to choose).</p>
<p>I really think this thread has run its course, so can we talk about ice cream? It’s my favorite time of year in Maine - all the ice cream stands are open for the summer. Gifford’s and Beal’s are my favorites. I miss Blue Bell badly, though. I’ll be in Austin in 9 days, though, so I will have some then.</p>
<p>I will agree that land development is dead. That eliminated a large number of civil engineering jobs. However, stating that civil engineering is dead is silly. Take a look at water or the environmental side. Don’t dig the dirty side of engineering? Consider graduate school to change up your direction. At most schools, a civil degree prepares you for entrance into almost any field with the addition of only a few more classes. I myself am thinking law school after I have a few years on my PE. I know very few civils versed in water resources/hydraulics that can not find work…</p>
<p>CS? Electrical? Mechanical? Those fields are more likely to be crippled. English is not required and they can be out sourced like crazy. Only engineering field I would rather be in is chemical.</p>
<p>(Mwa ha ha, I’ve created a monster…)</p>
<p>I’ve recently discovered the Ben & Jerry’s personal cups of ice cream, with the little spoons in the lid. They’re adorable.</p>
<p>Oh, my, aibarr, those sound dangerous! Does that mean the pint size is “dead”? Will there be a much lower demand for it in the future??</p>
<p>No, as long as there are bad days in this world, there will be a demand for pints of ice cream. :)</p>
<p>
2 days would probably be fine to learn PHP and actually start w/e project was in mind…
(obviously assuming you are a programmer , and maybe have experience with scripting languages?)</p>
<p>I just tried some Black Tea Vanilla frozen yogurt the other day. Yes, it is frozen yogurt and not ice cream, but I think it can be safely lumped into the same conversation. It was veeeeeery good.</p>
<p>Black tea vanilla?? Ooh… Is it mass-produced? That sounds fantastic.</p>