Eager to Move up the Civil Engineering Career Ladder

 

    Just a little about me. I have been working in the Civil Engineering industry in roadway design since 2006. Out of high school, I got a small scholarship to play football at a community college in Mesa, Arizona, where I got injured in my very first start, tearing all the ligaments in my right ankle. I was never the same and dropped out of school after losing the scholarship when I got hurt. I got invited to interview for an entry-level CAD tech position in Las Vegas, as my great aunt was working for a firm there that needed new people, and she knew I had taken two semesters in CAD design in high school. After acing the interview, I moved to Vegas a week later and have been moving up the ladder ever since. I currently find myself at a crossroads, though. To be able to move out of the design section and more toward project management, I would need my degree to make it easier to move up. The first step will be getting my AS in engineering from Northwest Vista College in the Fall of 2025, then transferring to UTSA in the Fall of 2026. Even though I have 19 years of experience, I am barely above the new graduate engineers fresh out of school with their degrees. This has pushed me late in my career to finally finish school and get the coveted Bachelor's in Civil Engineering. One benefit of my having the experience I have is that when I do finally graduate, I will be able to have the FE exam waived, so I can become an EIT fresh out of school instead of having to wait to pass that exam. This will automatically bump me up the career ladder right away and open a lot of opportunities for me, whether it be with my current company or a new one. The only step after that would be to pass the PE exam to become a fully licensed Civil Engineer and reach the peak of my goal. This will be a goal of mine to achieve before I reach the age of 45, which will be a challenge for me as I turn 40 at the beginning of this coming Fall semester. I know my current supervisors support my journey, which makes it a bit easier, especially when I get to UTSA and have to alter my work schedule to fit in all my in-person classes, to still be able to work a 40-hour work week while being a full-time student. This will be a major challenge for me that I will have to face head-on in the Fall of 2026, and I am fully prepared for it and can't wait.