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Civil Engineer Career Interview
Sarah Ruthko works as the project engineer at the DuPage County Stormwater Management in Illinois. She has been a civil engineer for 8 years, and she is also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Civil Engineer Career Path
Sarah first found her passion for engineering at a young age.
“I was a small town girl with a curiosity for building and creating things,” she explains. “My father was a carpenter and took me to work with him as I was growing up.”
Civil Engineer Experiences
Sarah originally looked at becoming a mechanical engineer.
“I worked the summer before college and the first summer during college in road construction,” she says. “It didn’t take too long to figure out that civil engineering was what I really wanted to do.”
Sarah earned her Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Michigan Technological University.
“My school offered an ‘enterprise program’ where students got to operate like an engineering firm, from conceptual phase to design and construction suggestions,” she recalls.
After graduating, she worked in the hydraulic and hydrology section at the Illinois Department of Transportation. Sarah currently works at DuPage County Stormwater Management.
Civil Engineer Degree Programs
A typical civil engineer needs a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, but you can also pursue a civil engineering technician degree, which can range in education from computer-aided drafting and design to geology.
“A civil engineering technician degree, which can be either a 4- or 2-year degree, is trained in application over theory, and the person often has similar duties and responsibilities as an entry-level civil engineer,” Sarah explains.
“However, since this tends to be a more ‘hands-on’ degree, it generally prevents the individual from becoming a licensed professional engineer.”
Civil Engineer Job Description
Sarah is a project engineer at the DuPage County Stormwater Management department in Illinois, where she oversees stormwater management, habitat enhancement, and water quality projects.
“I manage a project from its beginning at the conceptual phase, through design and permitting of the project, and eventually through construction as the project is built,” she explains.
Civil Engineer Daily Routine
“It is tough to say what a normal day is for a civil engineer,” Sarah says. “There are so many different fields of civil engineering.”
“My days,” she continues, “are spent managing projects where the design engineer works through all of the details of designing a project.”
Civil Engineer: Steps to Success
“A successful civil engineer needs a willingness to work with others and a want to make a difference,” says Sarah.
Civil Engineer Job Opportunities
If an aspiring civil engineer is willing to put the work in, he or she shouldn’t have difficulty procuring a job.
“This is a field that will always have a demand, and it takes all different types of people and personalities,” says Sarah
Civil Engineer Favorite Aspect
“It is a very diverse career where the outcome is something physical that helps society,” Sarah explains.
Civil Engineer’s Future Ambitions
Sarah plans on continuing her work doing the same job that she’s doing now.
“My job allows me the flexibility to help others outside and inside of the office,” she says. “I get to do something real to make this world a better place.”
Advice for Prospective Civil Engineers
Sarah advises that if this is the career that you wish to pursue, you should go at it running on all cylinders.
“Make sure that you enroll in a high-quality school that is ABET (the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accredited,” she recommends. “Take classes in a wide range of fields and get as much work experience as you can in the summers. Even though you are interested in one field while you are in college, you can’t be sure what avenues your career path will take you down.”
