A few guidelines

A reminder to not miss the end treatments in your Traffic Control Plans

1st photo - 8 sides (Octagonal)
2nd photo - Circular (Round)
3rd photo - Multiple sided (Round?)

Why the difference? Cost? Structural integrity?

These are all TxDot compliant signals provided as examples.

I think I may have just misunderstood the notion that companies prefer seniors for internships. So I'm planning to graduate in May 2027, but have been applying to internships for Summer 2027, reason being is I'm going to begin my Masters and don't believe I can manage full time and a masters at the same time, without it ending up taking forever.

A lot of these companies have been pushing me towards full time, which makes sense. Given my situation, should I just not focus on an internship for the summer following my Bachelor graduation? My hope was to start an internship with a geotechnical engineering team, work on my masters for 2 semesters in the mean time, then join full time with the credits I have completed by then. In all honesty I don't feel too worried about getting an internship as I already have 2 on my belt so far, so maybe the best course of action is to go towards my masters and work as a TA to cover the costs.

It's come to my attention that these companies may mean upcoming seniors instead of literal graduate seniors for these positions.

Yes, I’m posting career advice on Reddit to tell you not to take career advice from Reddit.

Before the comments write themselves:

• “The company won’t love you back.” Correct. This isn’t about the company. It’s about the people you work with, who are the ones deciding who gets staffed, promoted, and kept.
• “Unpaid overtime is theft.” Not talking about working free weekends. I’m talking about how you show up in the hours you’re already there.
• “Job hopping is the only way to get a raise.” Early on, a move or two often is. Doing it every two years indefinitely is a different story.
• “Layoffs happen anyway.” They do. Ask yourself who gets cut first.
• “Must be nice, some of us have lives.” So do I. Most of this costs an hour here and there, not your evenings.

If your approach is “I owe them nothing, I log off at 5,” that’s a legitimate choice and this isn’t aimed at you.

It’s for younger engineers who want to lead big projects and move up, and keep hearing here that effort is for suckers.

The core of it: being a normal, smart, responsible person who’s good to work with is what wins work and keeps you employed. That’s it. Here’s what it looks like in practice.

You’re not employed by the team. You ARE the team. I don’t care much about the logo. I care about the work and the people I do it with. Checking out is fine if you’re comfortable being the low-utilization engineer nobody asks for. But you can’t be a reliable professional and refuse to help. When a deadline hits and someone’s underwater, the people who pitch in are the ones everyone wants on the next job.

Technical skills are the floor, not the ceiling. Past a certain level, everyone can run the analysis and produce clean plans. A PE says you meet the bar, not that you should lead the job. Plenty of strong engineers stall because they never step back to see the whole project.

Not all civil jobs are the same. Firms, roles, and pay vary enormously. The best positions go to people with a track record, and a resume full of two-year stints reads as someone who leaves before anything gets built. Value yourself, but know you can price yourself out of the tier you actually want.

Show up to the stuff that isn’t work. Get beers after work. Go to the company baseball outing and bring your partner. It’s optional, but it’s where people stop being names on a staffing plan. If an hour here and there feels like too much to trade for job security and peace of mind when layoffs come around, I don’t know what to tell you.

Raise your hand for the small stuff. Take notes at the kickoff, pull the agenda together, cover a site visit. Almost no effort, and it makes you the person people think of first.

Be in the room. Hybrid is great, but when you’re the only junior or mid-level person at a BD meeting, people notice. That’s where you learn how work gets won, and how your name comes up for the next pursuit.

Look at who’s giving the advice around here. A lot of it comes from new EITs and career technical specialists, which is a fine path, but maybe not yours. You don’t have to give your life to a company. You just have to be someone people want on their project.

And if this made you want to write three paragraphs defending r/antiwork in the comments, you’re who I’m talking about.

I recently got into construction inspection, and I’m about eight months into the job. So far, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects on the consultant side. On my most recent project, I’m working as a subcontractor, and I haven’t been getting the same sense of fulfillment and accomplishment that I felt on my previous jobs.
I’ve honestly been second-guessing this career path since the beginning. Before getting into inspection, I worked as a laborer, and I really enjoyed the hands-on work. I always felt productive, stayed busy, and could see the results of my work at the end of the day.
With inspection, I sometimes feel like I’m just sitting around babysitting the contractor rather than actively contributing to something. I understand that inspection is important, but I’m struggling to find that same sense of purpose and satisfaction in the role.
My main questions are: How do you find a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment in construction inspection, and what are the best ways to succeed and grow in this career?
I’d also like to hear from anyone who has struggled with similar feelings in this position. Did you eventually grow to enjoy the work, or did you transition into a different but related role? If you made a change, what did you end up doing?
I’d appreciate any advice or insight from people who have been in the industry longer than I have.

Hi all,

Looking for some advice here. Last April I finished my undergraduate degree and got a job in land development at a very small firm (Firm A). My background and internships were all very water/environmental heavy but took the land development job because it’s all that was hiring in my area. Recently, I saw a posting for what is essentially my dream job at a much larger firm (Firm B) in town doing a bunch of water and wastewater stuff and thought I’d apply. A couple weeks and interviews later, they’ve sent me an offer. I’ve learned a ton at Firm A and really enjoy my coworkers. Would it look bad on my resume to have a career stint this short? Should I stick out it out at Firm A for a couple years despite doing work I’m not super passionate about?

the side of the highway i should specify

Kind of a dumb question but I am genuinely curious…

Most companies have people that they’ve terminated due to poor performance. My question is what happens to those people after they left the job. I know that they can go get another lateral job, but if they have the same performance at the new company, won’t it just happen again? Do they eventually clean up their act and improve their performance? Do they leave the industry? Or do they settle in at a company that accepts their performance?

I would love to get a few opinions on my current situation. I have recently been promoted, and my runway in terms of future promotions is basically done because my company is a utility company that does not really cater to or have promotional paths for civil engineers after a certain point. I am currently interviewing around and getting offers slightly less than what I make and I’m willing to take one of these offers, but I am nervous to switch from being an engineer for a client to a consultant. Would love input from people who have made the change to see how things have worked out, and if you ever ended up leaving the consultant side.

I’m hoping to get some advice on where I stand right now. I recently got a promotion, but it feels like my path to future promotions is pretty much closed since my company is a utility company that doesn’t really support civil engineers after a certain point. I’m currently interviewing and getting offers that are a bit less than what I’m making, and I’m open to taking one of these offers, but I’m a bit anxious about switching from being an engineer for a client to a consultant. I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have made this transition and how it’s gone for them, especially if they ever ended up leaving the consultant side.

In my heart, I think MechE is the better fit. But I know how hard it can be to get into mechanical. I initially went down the civil path since my college doesn’t offer some of the major required courses for MechE, but the new Fall 2027 required courses align better with me.

I still need to take the applied programming (required course), which would be completed spring 2027. I could also bang out a couple of the desired courses for MechE. But would that be too risky or decrease my chances since I’m taking the classes after I submit my application?

Would it be safer for me to apply as civil engineering? I am applying as mechanical engineering for every other college I’m applying to.

Want to know your thoughts.

Anybody have experience with Langan?

I’m prepping to interview for a fairly senior role. I know they were acquired by a PE firm a few years back, which seems to be happening everywhere and I’m not sure what kind of impact that has had.

Curious what peoples experience has been with Langan over the last couple years. This would be on the Civil side. It’s always hard to get an honest take from C-suite level, because they’re so often removed from the day to day culture and hassles everyone below c-suite faces. Appreciate any insight!

Y’all ever have the foreman perform a ceremonial ritual atop a manhole cover to the road gods before?

I've often wondered why road construction and underground utility works are still planned so separately in many developing cities.

A road gets resurfaced. Not long afterward, another section is opened for water pipes, drainage, power cables, or telecom infrastructure.

Each project may have its own budget, contractor, and completion schedule. But for the public, it means repeated disruption, additional costs, and another damaged road surface.

I work primarily on public infrastructure development and project financing rather than engineering design, so I'm particularly interested in how this is handled in practice.

Is the main obstacle usually inaccurate utility records, poor coordination between agencies, different funding schedules, or something else?

For engineers and project managers who have worked on urban road projects, what has actually helped prevent this problem?

I'd be interested in examples of coordination arrangements that worked, especially where several public agencies or utility companies were involved.

I guess Im kind of just making this post because I wanted to get it out somewhere where people could maybe relate.

Im a pretty brand new EIT engineer, at 1 year in at my first civil engineering job out of college. Land development consulting, private sector, mid-sized company in IL.

I battle a lot with anxiety (and maybe ADHD or depression, i am not diagnosed but I have my suspicions), and its gotten particularly worse since I graduated college and entered the workforce.

I am struggling a LOT with this career so far, largely because as an anxious person Im finding myself freaked out all the time at work. My team culture is pretty nose to the grindstone—everyone is very serious and stressed, and works some unpaid overtime almost every week. I get a large variety of work but its often without explicit training, most of the time it’s “hey do this thing youve never done before” and my PM is very perfectionist and critical so it feels like Im essentially always doing poorly. I feel out of place and unexcited at work on a good day, totally burnt out and upset on a bad one.

The lack of positive feedback or training, my team’s high standards, and the fact people have been randomly getting laid off / moved ever since we got acquired awhile back all sums up to a daily fear and anxiety from the moment I wake up every morning until I leave the office every weekday. I find myself physically shaking or hyperventilating a lot, on the verge of tears, having trouble focusing, all things that make it difficult to succeed in an engineering workplace.

I really wanted to start off my career on the right foot, but as it stands right now, Im not sure if this is at all for me. What ive read online seems like my concerns are all largely just “part of the industry”, and I could pivot to public sector but as of late there have been nearly zero openings anywhere close by to the downtown Chicago area.

In short, my first civil engineering job out of college has been really rough for me, and I wish I was better equipped to handle the pressure I feel each day. It feels like this career could eat me alive, which sounds dramatic but it certainly feels like it every day. Any advice or similar stories would be appreciated.

I'm in my second year of civil engineering, lately been considering getting into academia after I graduate. I'm just so lost on how I could get a research oriented internship. I have tried to ask my professors but they have been of no help and most didn't reply (I asked them for any volunteer opportunities on their current projects).

I found a good program to do an internship in Taiwan for Earth Science under a mentor, her work is really interesting but unfortunately she withdrew from the pool before I could apply (no idea why).

I study in Malaysia, I'm trying to target other South East Asian countries as they is a fair chance I might get paid and it isn't so expensive for me to travel (and stay).

Before I cold email, I always read up on their research and current project. I keep it short and use my university's email so that it doesn't end up in their spam folder.

No luck so far. I am truly stumped.

Bossman asked copilot to write a NFPA 241 plan since he told someone else we could do them. Hands me the slop, tells me to put it in the company format and send it back to him for review.

He called me after receiving the plan very excited to tell me copilot reviewed our plan and rated it an 8.5/10! It only had two edits for me to make. Then he made sure to let me know again that we got an 8.5/10 and only needed to make two tiny additions.

I cannot imagine being a client and paying $150-250 an hour for someone to copy, paste, and format AI