Help!! What skills to gain to become employable??

[u/Ok_Strawberry_869]

Hello all,

I graduated last year with a bachelor's in environmental engineering from a top 10 engineering school in the US with no engineering-related job experience and I am looking for advice for what I can work on that I can (maybe put on my resume or linkedin or in my certifications) prove to employers I am a good candidate. Ideally, I'd like to go into stormwater management engineering as that's the group I was in for my capstone project and I enjoyed it (side note: is this even a career that I can pursue or do employers prefer civil engineers?).

So basically, I'm wondering which type of CAD I should learn/take a course on/hopefully get a certificate in proving I'm slightly knowledgeable in it. Along with this, does anyone have suggestions for online courses I can take for whatever version of CAD I need? Are there other things similar to CAD I can prove myself in that employers wanting environmental engineers are interested in?

Other advice in regard to getting a job is welcome, I'm kinda desperate since I didn't get an engineering-related internship during college to get experience, so anything helps.

Btw, I already passed the FE exam.

Also, sorry if this is difficult to read, writing is obviously not my fav subject.

Thank you!!

[u/Corpulos]

Forget courses. Have you applied for work at your local government?

[u/f-r-0-m]

The AutoCAD suite is the industry standard, but it's not worth learning on your own if you need to pay for a software license or training.

You could look into HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS, and SWMM. They are free software maintained by the US government that see some use in the industry. I'm not aware of any certificates for them, but there's free training videos and guides you can access from the Army Corps for the HECs and EPA for SWMM, as well as random channels on YouTube of varying quality.

That said, I agree with the other poster who emphasized networking. Getting an entry level job is more about being able to throw out applications until one sticks rather than being sought after for your technical skills. You would do best by putting a good chunk of your time and energy towards finding job opportunities.

[u/Big-Astronaut4252]

Apply to every entry level position you can find that is remotely related to what you want to do. There are more types of jobs than there are types of engineering majors. Industry is not as fixated on only specific majors being appropriate for specific positions.

Most certifications require some work experience, so if you already have your EIT, then don't focus on this.

Don't focus exclusively on "engineering" firms. The companies that lead these projects need materials, they need insurance, they need software, and the firms that sell to the engineering companies want their own engineers to help sell to them.

Find local career fairs. Go to them, and find out who is hiring in your area. Reach out to your entire network and let people know you are looking for a job. Connect with you fellow graduates and former professors on LinkedIn to grow your network and see what people post. Join the local chapter of a professional organization, attend meetings.

You are a little behind, but this is nothing that isn't resolvable with some diligence.

Looking for your next job is vastly lower pressure compared to what you are doing right now, so you don't need perfection, just something good enough. Good luck!

[u/trueblue_ecru]

I would hold off on learning CAD for free, you'll likely learn on the job wherever you go, if it is a big part of wherever you end up. my recommendations would be: *setup a plan to sit for the PE (note - you can take the PE exam early in some states, and then get the licensure after 5 years. studying just gets harder and harder as your schedule fills up * look into opportunities for operator licenses - the average age of operators is quite high, so there are lots of concerns in the industry about the silver tsunami (e.g. all the operators who run our waterworks retiring at once without younger staff to fill the vacancy) * network, network, network and network 🙃this is v important but can feel annoying. I would take time to learn about cool projects in areas you are interested in working and what inspire you, see what type of design firms work on the delivery, and add their staff on LinkedIn. when reaching out or "cold-messaging" I would emphasize to approach the convo from a place of curiosity and wanting to learn about someone's career path. this helps have a more organic foundation based on mutual interests instead of looking desperate "plz give me a job" vibe. if the convo goes well, they may even be able to refer you to a vacancy (make sure they send you a referral link!!) to streamline your application getting in front of the right people.

[u/No_flockin]

Civil 3D if your school or edu email gives you student version. Could replace drawings or details from a SWPPPs or a plan set for install of new stormwater management system etc.

[u/Eternal_sadness473]

I'm in a very similar situation. I had taken classes previous summers as well as part time jobs and a lab internship (was promised a grad school position as well that was canceled last minute). Have been unemployed for a year and have been having really horrible luck... but since I'm pretty qualified I'm just focusing on applying. It's horrible tho.

[u/Thatgizmojosie]

Honestly I’d start working for collection systems for like a year or so then start building up a resume for stormwater engineering. It’s very hard to get a job right now from what I understand, and having some on the boots experience might help you stand out more. Anything wastewater related is in need of workers so you might have luck jumping there to build up experience to get luckier with other positions

[u/ska_dude_serious]

I work for a major electrical company in their permitting department, and I have an EE degree with experience in remediation and municipal. We had trouble finding people for some of the contract positions we had open recently. When they brought me on, even though I had absolutely zero electrical experience, I showed that I had a brain and could adapt to new situations and learn on the job. Sometimes that's all you need, just get your foot in the door somewhere and wow them in the interview - bone up on the company, get an idea of what you're in for and impress the hell out of them.

[u/mindquery]

Didn’t you do any Summer internships over your 4 years there?

[u/Ok_Strawberry_869 → u/mindquery]

I spent them 1. Taking summer classes, 2. Taking summer classes abroad, and 3. In a non-engineering related internship. I thought I was gonna do a fifth year and would have a fourth summer for an engineering related one but that didn’t end up happening

[u/LyudmilaPavlichenko_ → u/Ok_Strawberry_869]

What was your non-engineering internship? A lot of what engineering interns learn is soft skills, communication, professional expectations, etc. I would find some way to get across how your work experience, although not directly in an engineering role, helped you shore up those skills.