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<p>Not very. If you’re good at what you do, you’re probably going to end up gradually taking on management tasks as you get older and more experienced-- whether you’re a manager of projects or a manager of other engineers (usually you’re a combination of both, but it’s skewed to one side or the other) depends upon your strengths, weaknesses, and career objectives.</p>
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<p>I don’t think it’s very vulnerable to outsourcing, because you really work within a particular region as a civil engineer. Your experience shmoozing local officials and working within regional building requirements is invaluable. An engineer in India can’t go down to the Building Department in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and encourage the permitting process to hurry up a little more in order to make the client happy. What the job <em>is</em> vulnerable to is the whims of the economy-- in bad times, people build a lot less, so there’s not nearly as much work to be found.</p>
<p>We outsource some of our drafting work, primarily because our drafters are so overloaded with work that the engineers generate, but that’s the only outsourcing I’ve seen in this industry.</p>
<p>In fact, with the current push towards lean design in the architecture/engineering firm, I’d venture a guess that we’re going to see LESS outsourcing. The idea is that you get all the architects, engineers, and contractors working in the same place at the same time, and there’s a lot more direct communication and a lot less miscommunication. Ideas and information flow more quickly when everyone’s located near the jobsite, so bring everyone to the jobsite and have them work on a single project at a time… It’s an interesting idea, and the industry is currently trying to see how they can make it work for them.</p>
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<p>No, this is a field that values experience. </p>
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<p>You can do what MaineLonghorn does. You can also go into business as a quality control consultant for other companies, I’d guess, checking their work. Experience and a valid PE license are absolute musts, though, and while MaineLonghorn’s experience in starting her own firm was a good one, I’ve heard about lots of people who have dived into the shallow end headfirst… if you’re going to start a firm, start slowly and do your homework!</p>