So you are new to the rewarding field of civil engineering? Congratulations! Hopefully a long career full of meaningful accomplishments awaits you. This is an engineering discipline that benefits society as a whole.

Even when first embarking on your vocation, it is never too soon to plan for the future. With that in mind, here are a few tips to help ensure you enjoy a successful career until your retirement day – whenever that comes.

Know the Business As Well As Engineering

It is important that you understand the underlying business principles of your employer – even if you work for a government agency. Learn the budgetary concepts of profit and loss, which become more important in a government position considering taxpayer liability. A well-honed comprehension of business and engineering concepts puts you on the fast track to a management or executive level position.

Thrive When Working on a Team

Teamwork is extremely vital in civil engineering. In many cases, your team includes your clients or customers, which can be the public at large. Learn to keep your ego in check, develop strong listening skills, and leverage empathy to truly relate to your co-workers.

The Agile and DevOps movements within the information technology world illustrate how focusing on teamwork and collaboration allows more to be accomplished with fewer resources. These methodologies also apply to civil engineering.

Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Honest self-analysis is a necessary part of any career and definitely applies to engineering. It is important to fully develop your professional strengths, while making the effort to improve any weaknesses in your work life. Continual self improvement is something any civil engineering professional should strive to achieve.

Always Strive to Learn New Ideas and Concepts

The engineering world is full of innovations and new ideas. Being set in your ways – especially when first starting out – leads to stagnation and a dead-end career. You need to always strive to learn new ideas and concepts. Remember that becoming licensed as a professional engineer also requires some form of continuing education.

If your company offers tuition reimbursement, take advantage of that benefit to earn an advanced degree. A master’s degree in engineering or even a MBA will definitely super charge your career prospects.

Make Integrity a Vital Part of Your Career

Integrity remains an important aspect of any civil engineer. When dealing with your clients, co-workers, or even the general public, honesty always needs to be on the forefront of your mind. Never become careless in your work.

If you need any additional insight on developing a fulfilling career as a civil engineer, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. As one of Washington State’s top engineering staffing agencies, we can help both you with a robust supply of Seattle engineering jobs. Schedule some time with us at your earliest convenience.

When searching for a civil engineer to add to your team, his full range of technical abilities can’t begin to describe how they’ll perform when on the job. Of course, engineering skills remain vital for any candidate, but work ethic and communication abilities also play an important role in the success of any engineer. Hiring managers need to determine and analyze a candidate’s soft skills – weighing those nearly equally with their technical acumen.

So what soft skills are important for a civil engineer? Let’s take a closer look.

Excellent Communication Ability is a must for Civil Engineers

One aspect of civil engineering that is highly important, compared to other engineering disciplines, involves public interaction. The practice is called civil engineering, after all. As such, excellent communication skills — both verbal and written — are a must for top-notch civil engineers.

Pay close attention to a candidate’s verbal communication skills during an interview. Try to picture them meeting with local government personnel during an important project. Additionally, note the writing quality in their cover letter and any thank you notes you receive during the hiring process.

Look for Clues about their Work Ethic

A robust work ethic is another soft skill that separates the top civil engineers from the pack. Notice the tangible work achievements detailed on their résumé, and ask them to further explain their efforts on these projects during the interview. The ability to do whatever it takes for the completion of a successful project denotes a special candidate.

Leadership and Teamwork are Vital

Even if you aren’t hiring for an engineering manager role, make it a point to explore a candidate’s potential leadership capabilities as well as their comfort level with collaborative project work. Grooming a top-notch civil engineer hire as a future manager remains a great opportunity for your organization.

If your company needs any additional advice on hiring and developing top notch civil engineers, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. As a leading Seattle engineering staffing agency, we can help your company to grow and achieve success. Schedule a meeting with us today!

With the beginning of 2015 only a few weeks away, it is time to take stock of the world of civil engineering. This important scientific and technical discipline touches nearly all aspects of the human experience, from how we get the water needed for life to the roads where we commute to work everyday.

2015 is poised to be a big year for civil engineers. Let’s take a closer look at some expected trends for the practice over the next year.

Sustainable Development a Big Civil Engineering Trend

One of most promising civil engineering trends involves the increased emphasis on sustainable development practices. Considering the growing infrastructure problems in the United States and all over the world, engineers need to leverage sustainable techniques to improve the subsequent construction quality in building, road, and bridge design. It is also vital to improve energy efficiency when constructing buildings, considering the challenges of environmentally safe energy production in the 21st Century.

Nanotechnology and Smart Construction Materials gain Acceptance

Part of the move towards sustainable development in civil engineering involves the use of state of the art nanotechnology and smart construction materials to improve construction techniques. If you are currently working as a civil engineer with minimal exposure to these innovations, make the effort to research these new concepts as these skills are vital for your career development.

The Hot Civil Engineering Skills for the New Year

If you hope to become a civil engineer, or even look to improve your career prospects in the field, understanding nanotechnology and new construction techniques is paramount. Additionally, make sure you familiarize yourself with the latest versions of the engineering and design software and mobile apps used by engineers in their day-to-day work. No matter your engineering discipline, keeping abreast of new technologies and tools is an important part of your lifelong career.

If you need any additional advice on engineering career development, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. As one of the top engineering staffing agencies in Washington State, they are also a great source of Seattle engineering jobs. Schedule some time with The Talley Group today!

The broad world of engineering contains many different disciplines, including civil engineering. Even within the practice of civil engineering, there are a host of specializations that might be worth focusing on in your career. They run the gamut from roadway design to water supply management to construction engineering.

The one thing that ties these subcategories together is “civil” — the products of this engineering work are usually for the common good of all. Having said that, which of these civil engineering subsets is right for your career? Let’s take a look at a few to see if any provide inspiration.

Highway Engineering puts you On the Road Again

If you love the open road, consider specializing in road and highway engineering. Performing site surveys gives you a chance to get out of the office and travel to different locations. You would be able to leverage your knowledge in mathematics and physics to ensure a superior road design especially in geographically challenging locales.

Overseeing road construction allows you to display management capabilities which remain relevant for any engineering discipline. There is also a lot of variety in road engineering, especially considering the bridges, road cuts, and other infrastructure improvements that are part of highway construction.

Supplying Water an Important Aspect of Civil Engineering

Getting water from its sources to where it is needed is another important subset of civil engineering. The design and building of dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, and more are the typical deliverables from these kinds of civil engineers.

Construction Engineering involves more than just Buildings

Considering the infrastructure crisis in this country, the need for construction engineers continues to grow. Everything from buildings to the bridges needed by highway engineers is on their docket. The maintenance of current structures is also a vital part of this engineering discipline.

Civil engineers are an important part of society with a wide range of disciplines under its banner. If you are interested in entering this needed profession, talk to The Talley Group. As one of the top engineering staffing companies in Washington State, they are also a great source of Seattle civil engineering jobs. Make it a point to talk with them today!

While engineering ability and technical acumen are still vital attributes for anyone working as an engineer, it is important not to forget “soft” skills like verbal and written communication. Technical writing is especially relevant for an engineer, given the need for quality documentation in most projects.

Also, authoring an industry article or two helps to position yourself as a thought leader in the engineering field. In short, quality writing skills are good for your career. Given that fact, let’s take a look at three tips to improve your technical writing.

Find the Simple in the Complex

Considering the complex nature of most engineering disciplines, it is important for engineers to express these ideas simply in writing, especially when the audience is the general public. Even when producing technical documentation to be used in a project, take the steps to simplify the material by leveraging graphics, bullet points, and formatting. This helps make any documentation an easier read no matter the ultimate audience.

Leverage Templates and Modular Writing

For documentation that follows a standard format, leverage word processing templates to make the overall writing process easier. Some engineering firms also use modular writing techniques that allow each team on a project to contribute their own content to a larger, system-wide document. These templates and modular style usage also give the reader a familiar format that helps with understanding the underlying material.

Consider taking Formalized Technical Writing Classes

Since written communication skills definitely help your career prospects, it makes sense to consider taking a formal technical writing course. In addition to improving your writing, the best courses also help focus your mind on clearly defining the modular aspects of any engineering project. This clearer thinking also can ultimately sharpen your engineering skills in addition to your writing capabilities, so the benefits to improving your communication skills are many!

If you need any additional advice on engineering career development, including improving your written communication abilities, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. As one of the top engineering staffing agencies in the Seattle area, they can help ensure your career stays on the right path. Schedule some time with them today to find out about the great civil engineering jobs in Seattle!

If you are already enjoying a successful career as a civil engineer, and are looking for a way to boost your standing or maybe transition into a leadership role, consider acquiring one of the certifications provided by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Becoming certified shows that you take your career seriously and have the right mix of skills and knowledge to be an asset to any civil engineering company in the business.

Let’s take a closer look at the types of available ASCE certifications and the process to acquire them.

The Available ASCE Certifications

The ASCE created an organization called Civil Engineering Certification, Inc. (CEC) to manage the process of certifying civil engineers in a variety of disciplines related to the field. Various academies within the CEC also offer these specialized certifications. These include water resource engineers, coastal ocean, port and navigation engineers, and geo-professionals.

Promoting the certification process through CEC achieves four main goals for the ASCE. They include: developing leadership, advancing technology, advocating lifelong learning, and promoting the civil engineering profession as a whole.

The advantages to you as a certified engineer are profound. Expect to be considered as a leader in your field; demonstrating a superior aptitude for the practice of civil engineering, along with a desire to stay on the leading edge of technology. Your clients are assured that you are highly qualified to work on their project needs.

The Certification Process

The specific certification process and requirements depend on the individual academy. You need to be actively employed in the specific civil engineering discipline, with over 10 years of experience and a PE license. An advanced degree or upwards of 30 hours of graduate level classes are another requirement.

A written application with all supporting documentation, three professional recommendations, and a series of oral examinations followed by an oral defense round out the application process. Becoming certified takes a lot of effort, but it is definitely worth it, considering the advantages for your career.

If you need any additional advice for career development in the engineering field, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. As one of the top engineering staffing companies in Washington state, they have knowledgeable recruiters on hand, providing a great source for civil engineering jobs in Seattle. Schedule some time with them today!

Civil Engineer Jobs in Seattle: Salary Breakdown

Like most other engineering disciplines, civil engineers enjoy robust career benefits, including the rewards that come from performing a job needed by the public as a whole. Of course, civil engineering is also a well-paying profession with many opportunities for career development. The Seattle, Washington area is a solid place for the engineering profession in general, and civil engineering is no exception.

Average Civil Engineer Salary in Seattle

Civil engineers in the Seattle metropolitan area can expect to earn an average salary of $81,000 per year according to data from March of this year. This salary is about four percent higher than the average civil engineering salary for the entire United States. Once again, the Seattle region of the Northwest U.S. is a great place to be for engineers!

The national salary trend for civil engineers has held steady over the past two years. There have been some hills and valleys, but the salary index has remained close to 1.0, according to Indeed.com. As the economy continues to recover from the Great Recession, expect civil engineering salaries to trend upwards.

It pays to be an Experienced Civil Engineer

Becoming a “lifer” as a civil engineer can pay off in the long run, like most technical professions. Seattle’s average salary for a senior-level civil engineer comes in close to six figures at $98,000, but you can expect to find many senior positions in Seattle above the $100,000 level. Senior civil engineers specializing in highways average a little less salary at $81,000.

Structural engineering is another offshoot of civil engineering that can be lucrative with an average salary of $93,000. Engineers that want to move into project management will find a slightly higher pay rate. The average salary for civil engineer project managers in Seattle is $83,000.

If you are interested in many of the lucrative civil engineering jobs in Seattle, talk to engineering staffing experts at The Talley Group. As one of the leading engineering recruiters in the Seattle area, they are poised to help you and your career. Be sure to schedule some time with them today with a quick phone call or email.

The United States needs to upgrade its infrastructure and fast. That’s the opinion of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The ASCE feels this country’s infrastructure is actually close to an overall failure.

This infrastructure, according to ASCE, includes roads, bridges, rail, drinking water, waste water, solid waste, and other facilities. Its importance to the quality of life in the United States cannot be overstated.

ASCE Provides an Infrastructure Grade every Four Years

ASCE releases its grades of U.S. infrastructure once every four years. While the 2013 grade of D+ is a slight improvement over the D received in 2009, this isn’t really a reason to celebrate or take an early summer vacation. The country’s infrastructure has averaged around a D grade since the mid 90s, primarily due to a lack of investment and delayed maintenance work.

Eight categories make up the ASCE infrastructure grade. These include capacity, condition, funding, future need, operation, maintenance, public safety, resilience and innovation. Solid waste earned the best grade in the current report card: a B-, while inland waterways and levees brought up the rear with a D-.

A Backlog of Maintenance Needs Funding

The ASCE study noted that new recurring methods of funding the nation’s infrastructure needs are vital for improving the grade. With proper funding, the pressing maintenance backlog can be lessened while also implementing long overdue modernization projects.

City and State level funding helped to improve the nation’s bridges grade, and private investment, enhancing overall efficiency and connectivity, improved the railway infrastructure across the nation.

The ASCE report concluded: “Infrastructure is also critical for long-term economic growth, increasing GDP, employment, household income, and exports. The reverse is also true – without prioritizing our nation’s infrastructure needs, deteriorating conditions can become a drag on the economy.

“For the U.S. economy to be the most competitive in the world, we need a first class infrastructure system.”

If working on the nation’s infrastructure needs inspired you to become a civil engineer, talk to engineering staffing experts at The Talley Group. As one of the leading leading recruiters for civil engineering jobs in Seattle, they can help you, your career, and possibly the country’s roads and bridges. Schedule some time with them today.