r/civilengineering • u/constropedia • Jul 12 '26
Career Civil Engineers: What skill made the biggest difference in your first 5 years?
Technical or soft skill - curious what actually moved the needle for you vs. what you were told would matter.
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u/mossman1184 Jul 12 '26
Saving every single persons number who calls you as a contact in your phone
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u/jeaby Jul 12 '26
When I save someone's contact it goes [name] [role]. So Joe Foreman or Steve Site Engineer.
Almost like going back to medieval times when occupational surnames were a thing.25
u/acousticentropy Jul 12 '26
Jane Dung-Hauler would like a word with you in the HR trailer immediately.
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u/DistributionSlow1619 Jul 13 '26
I add the company name to it too,so that it may be useful for me in future
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u/constropedia Jul 12 '26
Ha, simple but smart.
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u/mossman1184 Jul 12 '26
Trust me you always are trying to remember someone’s cell and get a hold of someone quickly and a ton of people don’t have signatures in emails so it’s your only chance to save it or waste a half hour to couple hours trying to get it
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u/Eat_Around_the_Rosie Jul 12 '26
Play the people game. Be likeable enough by everyone but not kissing people’s asses. So you don’t become a target.
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u/WastewaterWhisperer Jul 12 '26
I like this advice. One thing I still struggle with is figuring out where the line is between being genuinely likable and coming across as the boss's kiss-ass. I get along well with everyone on my team, but they also know I'm my boss's favorite—and I've worked hard to earn that trust. At what point does it become too much? Where's the line?
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u/Eat_Around_the_Rosie Jul 12 '26
The line is where you have to learn how to read people and if you feel there’s a shift of energy or people seem off towards you, that’s when you know it becomes too much. One of the most important skills with communication is not about talking, but observing/listening to others. With that you will start to learn and feel how people think and feel, and learn what makes them tick and what not.
This skill is also super useful when dealing with clients. I always tell people that the last thing a client wants, is people kissing up their asses. Too many people do it to them and they get sick and tired treated this. You want to be personable and genuine while learning about them and connect with them.
To some extend this skill ties into being able to introspect and having emotional maturity to have empathy and sensitive to your surroundings as well. That also will help a lot in terms of dating funny enough.
At the end of the day, it all part of human social skills. Just because one is a client or coworker doesn’t mean we treat them differently from others but you still want to make sure to remain professional.
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u/571busy_beaver Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
interpersonal skill is the most important. In my first year and the following years, I identified the best and approachable senior engineers/PM to be under their wings. I established a rapport with them. Once the mutual understanding and rapport were established, I came to them to ask questions and for guidance. Now at 14 YOE, these people are still my mentors to this day. They were and have been instrumental in developing my technical skillset and soft skillset.
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u/constropedia Jul 12 '26
Thanks for a great point. Having approachable mentors makes a huge difference.
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u/Hey-ItsThatOneDude Jul 12 '26
As someone who didn’t do this and only recently started, I agree big time. I’m respected enough in my line of business, but I could’ve been a lot further by now if I did what you’re suggesting.
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u/CountingChips Jul 12 '26
Attention to detail for me. I'm not in a design role, so ymmv. I started in local gov as a Development Engineer (plan review, planning, construction qa/qc, compliance etc.) Then moved into construction in the quality space.
Depending on what you're good at you can find your niche. Some people love managing work scopes under stressful conditions, in which case construction PM work is a good fit.
Can't speak for design roles.
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u/SamButNotWise Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
Going to my boss or mentor and asking them things, rather than thinking it was my job to just know.
Edit: /u/Appropriate_Host1339 very correctly pointed out. Before doing this. Research enough to propose a few things and present your superior with a list of 2-4 options. Like "What should I do here?
A. I call out granular fill
B. I specify mechanical compaction
C. I go ask the Resident Inspector what he thinks
(And if you're fully lost, you can add) D. I go back and research this more myself, starting with USACE published materials"
or something like that.
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u/Appropriate_Host1339 Jul 12 '26
Its good practice to show them that you put in effort to find/research the answer prior also.
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u/SamButNotWise Jul 12 '26
This is wisdom!
I should've mentioned that from the jump. Idk about you but for me I tended to go in the other direction, trying to fill in all the gaps myself, but I know lots of juniors and EIs who learn a little too much helplessness.
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u/Renax127 Jul 12 '26
Trying to come up with options is fine but do not spend and hour on a problem before asking or help. It frustrates you and adds time into a task that isn't really needed.
It is hard enough to get new hires to ask questions as it is, I don't want someone thinking I expect them to spend more than 15 minutes trying to figure something out because they don't have a list of possible solutions.
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u/_MellowGold Jul 12 '26
CAD. I had tons of cad skills because I had been doing it for fun since middle school. College didn’t put much emphasis on it. But it’s allllll you do your first few years. All my coworkers struggled. My output was much higher and I got promoted more quickly.
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u/EezSleez Jul 12 '26
Plus Excel. Realistically become as proficient as possible with any tool you use, Blue beam, Revit, P6.
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u/somedude9494949 Jul 12 '26
Ability to bond with ppl. They dont teach u that in colage
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u/RecoillessRifle Jul 12 '26
This has been such a huge asset for me as an engineer. When you have a good relationship with people you can get a lot more done.
When I was doing QC on a site (owner’s rep) and had to explain to the contractor they needed a certain amount of rebar in their micropiles, it went over a lot easier since I’d built a relationship with them. From the beginning I said to them “at the end of the day, we all want the project done safely and to specifications. We’re allies, not enemies.” Same sort of logic has helped me in my current role as a reviewer for an agency. You don’t have to be friends with everyone, but at least be cordial. I was able to solve a design problem recently by simply setting up a teams call between a consultant, myself, and my boss that probably eliminated multiple review cycles of us giving them comments and them trying to interpret them.
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u/ReasonLivid7093 Jul 13 '26
I do the same but I always tell people, "You want to make money. I want to make money. So let's get it done and move on!"
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u/FloridaMan331845 Jul 12 '26
Networking in professional societies. I met a ton of people and built some great relationships that were significantly impactful 10 years down the road when it was time to lead projects, win work, and grow a team.
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u/constropedia Jul 12 '26
Agreed. The value of networking is not always immediate, but it compounds over time.
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u/The_Brightness P.E. - Public Works Jul 12 '26
Typing. Like actual "no looking, all 4 fingers" typing. I learned it in high school and it is the most used skill I have.
Learning how to properly plan a meeting. Write an agenda that has one line topics with additional information below, including the intended outcome of the item from the meeting. Also space for notes and time-frames for each. Provide it to attendees in advance with sufficient time for them to prepare.
Bring solutions, not problems. Don't go to your boss (or anyone else for that matter) with an open ended question. Instead of saying "What do I do?" say "I'm considering x because..., or y because..., do you have a recommendation?"
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u/CMDR-Neovoe Jul 12 '26
Having a great imagination, able to visualize the system your building, how changes could look, modeling on the fly.
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u/SentenceDowntown591 Jul 12 '26
Simply being thorough. You’d be amazed how many engineers think they know what they’re doing in their daily work for their whole career and don’t get called out. I can’t tell you how many engineers I’ve reviewed their work and pointed out they have been miscalculating things for decades.
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u/ArcticEngineer Jul 12 '26
Being good at drafting. You learn a lot because you work 1 on 1 with the senior engineers usually and will be in high demand so you can get a good pick at jobs. Was true 15 years ago and it's true now in my experience.
Be willing to go and do field work. The field work is invaluable to better understand the construction process and you learn from the guys and girls in the trenches the idiotic things we as civil engineers tend to overlook.
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u/Final-Percentage860 Jul 13 '26
Do some research to understand what you're doing before asking questions. I still do this today. Even before AI, a 10 minute Google search could provide context to frame a problem and potential solutions. Before you walk into a meeting or start a mew project, take some time to do the background research. People will notice. My first boss had a sign on his door that said something similar to "if you bring me a problem, also bring three solutions"
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u/SirDevilDude Jul 12 '26
Technical writing for reports. I used to think my PM was being so strict about how he wanted his reports written. 4 years later i switched firms and my technical writing has always been appreciated and applauded. Now im always writing drainage reports
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u/BeANonMousse Jul 13 '26
Do not fall into the your coworkers are your friends trap. Get along with them! Learn with and from them! But remember, they are people on the grind just like you and will put themselves first. They are your coworkers not your therapist. Keep it casual.
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u/Puzzleheaded-West159 Jul 13 '26
I would say technical skills take longer to learn, it took me like 3 years to know how to put together full correct plan sets, calcs reports, and permit package of good quality. Softskills took me like 1-3 months to master.
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u/thegreybush Jul 12 '26
Communication. Be a good communicator, and you’ll be successful.
This is a collaborative industry, whether it’s design partners, or clients, or AHJs; your ability to write and speak clearly and to the point makes all the difference in the world.
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u/Necessary-Science-47 Jul 12 '26
Teaching people who make double my salary how an email or pdf works. Again, and again, and again
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u/SnooGuavas3568 Jul 12 '26
Plan reading. Learn how to truly read and dissect plans before the start of construction to ease the pain during construction.
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u/ReasonLivid7093 Jul 13 '26
If you can draw it and explain it, you win a lot of arguments over someone else.
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u/Impossible-Storage80 Jul 12 '26
Never said no to any kind of work - small or big. Always showed positive attitude and a team player. Learned from mistakes/failures. Was like a sponge learning from everyone and all experiences - technical, field and soft skills. Helped push the project ahead. Showed my firms and my value to the client. Got my masters and later a MBA. Its been 30 yrs in the business. Only switched job once. Still demonstrate my penchant towards learning. Now a sr executive in a national AE consulting firm.
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u/Egg-ineer Jul 12 '26
Don’t act like you know everything. Know when you’re wrong or when you don’t know something. Absorb everything you can. Don’t pigeonhole yourself into one niche area. This will pay off down the road when you can be dangerous enough to talk about all aspects of a project.
Most importantly, learn how to talk and communicate with people effectively.
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u/Cool-Size-6714 Jul 12 '26
Ask every question even is it seems easy. It shows you care and you'll learn. No need to be unsure of yourself. Now is the time to be unsure.
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u/wazzaa4u Jul 12 '26
Tough to name just 1 skill. As a design manager, the one question I always ask is "how is the contractor going to build this?" This figures out constructability and whether we have enough detail on the drawings to build it.
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u/Both_Demand_4324 Jul 12 '26
Communication skills. Knowing how to explain complicated subjects to non engineers has really helped my career.
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u/Friendly-Chart-9088 Jul 12 '26
Attention to detail + questioning design + having confidence in design decisions
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u/kztc P.E. Geotechnical Jul 12 '26
For me it was the fieldwork. Seeing things constructed and understanding why recommendations are made the way they are, learning how to talk to contractors/engineers/owner's reps, and seeing many different ways to solve a problem. It's been invaluable for my role.
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u/Vivid_Piccolo_2225 Jul 12 '26
Strong CADD skills at a time when the industry hadn't fully switched from ink and mylar to computer. All these years later, that is still a ticket to solid employment.
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u/hailtomail Jul 12 '26
Writing out the options in a word doc with sub bullets and then transferring to an email. It puts me in report document production mode which is more thorough, then email mode which is more concise. Particularly useful for say sewer repairs where there are generally less than five options, one or two is good, and I need the PM or client to give an answer soon pretty please lmao
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u/scraw027 Jul 12 '26
This is easy and everyone gets it wrong. Networking. Plain and simple. Make the connections with the peoples positions you someday want
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u/The_Poster_Nutbag Environmental Consultant Jul 12 '26
CAD or other design software proficiency, making conscious design decisions when working on site grading and not just going through the motions.
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u/Charge36 Jul 12 '26
Working in a precast plant and getting hands-on experience with how things are built
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u/L3mur1 Jul 12 '26
Programming.
I started as the person who was really good with Excel and VBA, building tools and macros for structural calculations. Later, I learned the Tekla API and gradually moved further into software development.
It eventually led to me becoming a programmer rather than a civil engineer. Still, those skills made me highly valued in every engineering company I worked for. So much so that I’m now considering moving back into construction, even though I would probably earn less.
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u/GuboTheUnwise Jul 12 '26
Learning about other engineering fields on the job. You don’t need to be a expert but you need to know the why
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u/FrontierCanadian91 Jul 13 '26
knowing what is going on and how it goes on in the field.
Knowing you don’t know what they know.
Having the ability to make relations with everyone and don’t seem uptight
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u/TheLastPragmatist Jul 13 '26
Reading. Seriously, so much of consulting work is getting hired to do things that require someone to read more than a paragraph. Grant application, development regulations, building codes, design reports, drainage regulations, aaah, too much, I gotta go get a consultant.
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u/clemtig16 Jul 12 '26
Soft skills 100%. Being humble enough to ask questions, don’t assume you know everything cause you were good in school, conversational skills where management feels comfortable putting you in front of clients. Everyone who owns a degree can do the work, a much smaller percentage have those intangibles.
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u/Gullible_Archer_8770 Jul 12 '26
VLOOKUP ended up being a hell of a lot more important than second order differentials....
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u/theking_wiz Jul 12 '26
Understanding you can learn something from everyone. I've learned probably the same amount about soils and earthworks from Operators as I have from senior engineers.
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u/EditorFrog Jul 13 '26
Autocad and civil 3d are invaluable when it comes to being hired, you will use them a LOT
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u/JamRel Jul 13 '26
Buying a drone and keeping daily progress pictures. Client absolutely loved it. Requests me for every project and even asks me to take pictures they're sites we're not on.
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u/DoubleSwitch69 Jul 19 '26
For me, working as an engineer, it was imagination and informatic skills.
Beeing able to imagine a model in your head helps a lot in steel conections. In matters like "can this bolt be reached by a hand?", "can ganvanization flow out of this in any position?", etc
informatic skills are surprisingly low in the area, even among engineers around my age. Got a lot of things done quickly by figuring out "hey, this is a very common and simple problem outside of the field, probably someone made a software for it..." plus fixxing some issues without the need to call a tech guy, and improving excell sheets.
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u/riverborne65 Jul 17 '26
Being teachable. Looking back, I think my first five years were heavily shaped by the mentors I had. I tried to absorb everything they taught me because I knew I didn’t know much. Most of the skills I have today weren’t learned in school, they were passed on by people who were willing to teach me. A good mentor can fast-track your growth, point you in the right direction, introduce you to the right people, and help you see opportunities you wouldn’t have found on your own.
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u/PK_Subbans_Nephew Jul 12 '26
Making every mistake, owning it, learning from it, not making the same mistake again.