Civil engineering, although technical, is a creative career in many ways.
The construction of staple infrastructure like bridges and buildings includes heavy design elements that make these structures not only secure, but also appealing to the eyes of those who use them.
In a recent discussion on ASCE Collaborate, Haydn Chambers, S.M.ASCE, highlighted several similarities between the work of civil engineers and architects and asked community members about their experience with civil engineering portfolios, which are not yet an industry standard.
ASCE members weighed in on the future of portfolios in civil engineering and shared their tips for those thinking about making their own. Find out below what they had to say.
Greg Kelly, P.E., Aff.M.ASCE
Gulf Breeze, Florida
“I think that portfolios are absolutely the way to go, and that CVs for those roles should be more focused on project efforts rather than job title (in part because titles are far from standardized).
“Some good examples I have seen (and used myself) focused on special features or specific tasks that the engineer performed on mega-projects for which they had a small part. What was your part? Why was it important, critical, or even unique?
“You might have ‘just’ been a staff engineer, but maybe you were the staff engineer who did the seismic drift checks for the skybridge, or the one who designed the stadium stairwell that will carry 10,000 people to safety during an evacuation. Tell me about your role, about what you learned, show me some model graphics or gnarly weld details.”
Nanci Buscemi, P.E., M.ASCE
Maplewood, New Jersey
“I have a binder that includes graphics of key projects that I’ve worked on as a structural engineer. It includes samples of drawings, renderings and calculations in an 8x10 format, folded to highlight aspects of the projects that I contributed to. I collected marketing graphics for projects I worked on … I brought it to interviews and found an opening to ask if I might show it.
“I used the graphics as touchpoints to discuss technical aspects of the projects, challenges, my role, and qualifications. I tailored my presentations to the company and position that I was pursuing. Consider the audience and what would garner attention. I believe this is not standard in the industry, which made my presentation and preparedness stand out.”
Nathaniel Martin, P.E., M.ASCE
Tampa, Florida
“What projects to include are really job-specific. Once you have enough projects to include, you should carefully consider each position you apply for and what they’re looking for. I usually let the employer ask to see something before including it, and it gets sent directly to the hiring manager after the first round of interviews.
“One thing to consider is building your portfolio for each project as you complete it. You will have the best access to documents and the experiences you had during the project at that time.”
Join the conversation on ASCE Collaborate.
Explore similar topics during next month’s Thursdays@3 discussion.
Find out more about building your resume during next week’s Resume Workshop.
