# Engineers (Civil) Looking for some insight **URL:** \ **Category:** NYSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [March 26, 2009, 10:59am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146 "2009-03-26T10:59:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![frost12850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/2acd7d/32.png) [@frost12850](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/frost12850)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 10:59am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/1 "2009-03-26T10:59:56Z")
I have my four year in finance… been weighing my options alot lately on what I want to do for the rest of my life. I thought about engineering before I went into finance and sometimes wonder if I shoulda took the other route. I work my banking job, it isnt terrible but it isnt awesome either. Ive had thoughts of going back to school for civil engineering. It seems like something interesting because I like the creativeness and designing aspect of this field. What are some thoughts/ experiences from those of you in this field? Im not looking for someone to tell me to do it or not, just trying to get some feedback. I dont hate the financial industry, I just feel that I would enjoy doing something involving engineering a little more. All input is appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![walter](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/walter/32/7202_2.png) [@walter](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/walter)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:05am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/2 "2009-03-26T11:05:24Z")
Depending on who you ask, Civil involves very little engineering. If you do decide to go that route, you’ll def. want to get your PE, as it is one of the few disciplines where you really need it. Lots of people looking at continuing schooling right now instead of trying to enter this craptastic workforce. ---
**Author:** ![Paulo](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/paulo/32/7328_2.png) [@Paulo](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Paulo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:08am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/3 "2009-03-26T11:08:00Z")
Yeah, if you’re looking to be more creative in your field, maybe civil engineering isn’t the way to go. You would really need to excel in order to start getting into creative tasks. Maybe architecture is something you would be interested in. What makes you look at civil engineering? ---
**Author:** ![RedDawg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dfb087/32.png) [@RedDawg](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/RedDawg)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:11am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/4 "2009-03-26T11:11:36Z")
i’m civil 80% of what i do is design/creative thinking work plan to move away from buffalo for a job though ---
**Author:** ![ubengineering](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/ubengineering/32/5171_2.png) [@ubengineering](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ubengineering)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:12am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/5 "2009-03-26T11:12:19Z")
you got some spare change and time? going to school for atleast 4 more years assuming you’re going to do 18 credits a semester and go to work, and assuming you pass all your classes, it can be a bitch at times, im mech. tho maybe civils easier i have no idea, i do know electrical is a bitch EE202 FTL =p ---
**Author:** ![frost12850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/2acd7d/32.png) [@frost12850](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/frost12850)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:15am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/6 "2009-03-26T11:15:40Z")
> [@Paulo](#): > > Yeah, if you’re looking to be more creative in your field, maybe civil engineering isn’t the way to go. You would really need to excel in order to start getting into creative tasks. Maybe architecture is something you would be interested in. > > What makes you look at civil engineering? Excuse my ignorance in this matter but I thought civil engineering would involve bridges, roads, stuff of that matter. Its funny you mention architecture though paulo, I was gun- ho on going for architecture as I was leaving high school… went on a job shadow with a local firm, and saw what was involved. Keep in mind these were first year guys outta college most likely and they were telling me the horror stories of being up till all hours of the morning working on projects/ work and then making squat for pay when they get out into the workforce :roflpicard: uhhhhhhh… once again I had not yet experienced college and didnt realize that what they stated pretty much applies to any major you get into in college and just about any job right outta college. I wrote it off and had the business aspect on my mind (finance) because I was young and dumb and thought I could get outta school and become a broker and make sick money, drive a ferrari, have a huge house, and a yacht in the mediterranean… yea, Im always first to admit that you become smarter as you get older. Big dreaming as a 18 yr old getting into college. So yea, I always think Id love to get into architecture, but, I fear the likelihood of success when I get outta school… its not the best job market by any means ---
**Author:** ![walter](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/walter/32/7202_2.png) [@walter](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/walter)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:15am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/7 "2009-03-26T11:15:41Z")
civil is quite a bit ‘easier’ from a technical standpoint than mechanical, but it is somewhat like apples and oranges. at RIT, the civil program isn’t even in the college of engineering. not that there is anything wrong with it… ---
**Author:** ![frost12850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/2acd7d/32.png) [@frost12850](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/frost12850)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:17am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/8 "2009-03-26T11:17:59Z")
> [@ubengineering](#): > > you got some spare change and time? going to school for atleast 4 more years assuming you’re going to do 18 credits a semester and go to work, and assuming you pass all your classes, it can be a bitch at times, im mech. tho maybe civils easier i have no idea, i do know electrical is a bitch EE202 FTL =p Well most likely Id go to UB… which is nothing compared to the tuition at Canisius. Im not worried too much about the money, its an investment in my future. Id prob consider dubbing down my career to something like a teller position that has easier/ more flexible hours, or Id stop working all together and just get it done. ---
**Author:** ![ubengineering](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/ubengineering/32/5171_2.png) [@ubengineering](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ubengineering)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:18am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/9 "2009-03-26T11:18:35Z")
> [@walter](#): > > at RIT, the civil program isn’t even in the college of engineering. > > … i cant believe how insulting that is ---
**Author:** ![ubengineering](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/ubengineering/32/5171_2.png) [@ubengineering](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ubengineering)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:19am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/10 "2009-03-26T11:19:17Z")
> [@frost12850](#): > > Well most likely Id go to UB… which is nothing compared to the tuition at Canisius. Im not worried too much about the money, its an investment in my future. Id prob consider dubbing down my career to something like a teller position that has easier/ more flexible hours, or Id stop working all together and just get it done. idk how old you are so either you have enough money saved to not work at all or you can live at home ---
**Author:** ![walter](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/walter/32/7202_2.png) [@walter](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/walter)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:19am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/11 "2009-03-26T11:19:49Z")
> [@frost12850](#): > > Excuse my ignorance in this matter but I thought civil engineering would involve bridges, roads, stuff of that matter. Its funny you mention architecture though paulo, I was gun- ho on going for architecture as I was leaving high school… went on a job shadow with a local firm, and saw what was involved. Keep in mind these were first year guys outta college most likely and they were telling me the horror stories of being up till all hours of the morning working on projects/ work and then making squat for pay when they get out into the workforce :roflpicard: uhhhhhhh… once again I had not yet experienced college and didnt realize that what they stated pretty much applies to any major you get into in college and just about any job right outta college. I wrote it off and had the business aspect on my mind (finance) because I was young and dumb and thought I could get outta school and become a broker and make sick money, drive a ferrari, have a huge house, and a yacht in the mediterranean… yea, Im always first to admit that you become smarter as you get older. Big dreaming as a 18 yr old getting into college. So yea, I always think Id love to get into architecture, but, I fear the likelihood of success when I get outta school… its not the best job market by any means paragraphs weren’t a part of your education? 😛 civil (like most things) can’t really be summarized in such simple terms. What you end up doing will depend on what type of specialty you look in to and your work experience and path. it can be everything from doing residential land plots to working on large buildings to bridges and everything in between. i have a few friends in the field who like it, they enjoy going to job sites as part of the job but do a lot of mundane things. the design portion is not really about being creative like architecture so much as the functional application of whatever you are working on. once you get your PE and start signing off on plans is when you’ll make money. being a grunt you won’t… ---
**Author:** ![walter](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/walter/32/7202_2.png) [@walter](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/walter)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:20am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/12 "2009-03-26T11:20:09Z")
> [@ubengineering](#): > > i cant believe how insulting that is huh? ---
**Author:** ![ubengineering](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/ubengineering/32/5171_2.png) [@ubengineering](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ubengineering)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:20am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/13 "2009-03-26T11:20:58Z")
if ya wanna be creative make a 9 chick dildo and engrave frost engineering on the side of it that would be fucking sweet ---
**Author:** ![ubengineering](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/ubengineering/32/5171_2.png) [@ubengineering](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ubengineering)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:21am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/14 "2009-03-26T11:21:18Z")
> [@walter](#): > > huh? lol that they would do that ---
**Author:** ![walter](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/walter/32/7202_2.png) [@walter](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/walter)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:24am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/15 "2009-03-26T11:24:05Z")
> [@ubengineering](#): > > lol that they would do that oh, well… all of the ‘technology’ programs MET, CET, etc are College of Science degrees. They are not as technically challenging (less calculus based, etc. they are sold as ‘more hands on’), and are on a different “level” than the COE degrees (at RIT). ---
**Author:** ![frost12850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/2acd7d/32.png) [@frost12850](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/frost12850)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:27am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/16 "2009-03-26T11:27:10Z")
> [@ubengineering](#): > > idk how old you are so either you have enough money saved to not work at all or you can live at home Im 23, whats the tuition of UB?? Last I checked it isnt much at all that someone with a part time job could pay… even if I cant handle it theres always student loans. Once again its an investment in my future, the longer you wait, the harder I think it would become ---
**Author:** ![ubengineering](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/ubengineering/32/5171_2.png) [@ubengineering](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ubengineering)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:28am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/17 "2009-03-26T11:28:21Z")
i think i pay 6 a year, idk my rents pick up half and i pay random bills here and there for them ---
**Author:** ![RedDawg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dfb087/32.png) [@RedDawg](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/RedDawg)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:29am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/18 "2009-03-26T11:29:00Z")
> [@walter](#): > > civil (like most things) can’t really be summarized in such simple terms. What you end up doing will depend on what type of specialty you look in to and your work experience and path. it can be everything from doing residential land plots to working on large buildings to bridges and everything in between. . civil is probably the broadest engineering when it comes down to what you could be doing as a career. ---
**Author:** ![walter](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/walter/32/7202_2.png) [@walter](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/walter)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:33am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/19 "2009-03-26T11:33:56Z")
> [@RedDawg](#): > > . > > civil is probably the broadest engineering when it comes down to what you could be doing as a career. mechanical is similar… example: I work on vaginas. :mamoru: ---
**Author:** ![boardjnky4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@boardjnky4](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/boardjnky4)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 11:34am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146/20 "2009-03-26T11:34:01Z")
Grass is always greener on the otherside. If you really think that you will be happier, than you should go for it. However, you should reach out further than nyspeed to find out if Civil Engineering is really the career path you want to be on. I wanted to be Mechanical Engineer when I first entered school. It seemed sweet, I could design engines, car suspensions, all sorts of cool shit. In the end though, the work involved was not what I could foresee myself doing. I dropped Engineering after 2 years and went for Comp Sci. You really should probably spend a lot of time seeing what type of work they do in real life. If 90% of civil engineers are doing land surveys/analysis, and only 10% are doing creative design work, you are going to want to take that into consideration. Be realistic and realize what your chances are for getting the creative position vs. the land survey/other boring shit position. [Next page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/engineers-civil-looking-for-some-insight/65146.md?page=2)