Construction Engineering Technician/Civil Engineering Technology experiences ?

[Mr.Flintstone]

Hey guys

Figure this forum would be a good place to ask. Currently looking to go back to school. Looking at couple programs and Construction Engineering Technician / Civil Engineering Technology is one of them.

http://www.algonquincollege.com/acce...ology/#courses

Wondering if anybody has any experience with the program, be it as student, teacher, employer etc. What are your thought Good or bad? Would you recommend the program? Trying to get a better idea and what to expect from the program.

Any help is appreciated thanks in advance

[Catenary]

Originally Posted by Mr.Flintstone

Hey guys

Figure this forum would be a good place to ask. Currently looking to go back to school. Looking at couple programs and Construction Engineering Technician / Civil Engineering Technology is one of them.

http://www.algonquincollege.com/acce...ology/#courses

Wondering if anybody has any experience with the program, be it as student, teacher, employer etc. What are your thought Good or bad? Would you recommend the program? Trying to get a better idea and what to expect from the program.

Any help is appreciated thanks in advance

I'm an engineering student, but for two summers in a row I've had a job that involved working alongside Civil Engineering Technicians and Technologists.

We were doing Engineering, Mapping and Drafting for a municipality. The newest guy basically drew stuff all day, from new roads, to fixing up plans, to creating drawings for a culvert, you name it. The next guy up (technologist I think) did some more interesting stuff, but mostly CAD drawing. He sometimes got to leave and do a site visit when the boss wasn't available, but this was rare.

My boss was a technologist, who reported to a PEng. He didn't draft much, but checked work, fielded calls, did site visits and did some tender evaluations. As a smaller municipality, there was more overlap then you might find it Ottawa. For instance, out department also made the Transit maps, and stuff for parks etc.

If you have any questions, I don't know how much I could answer, but I have 8 months experience working alongside some of them so I can try.

[MaxHeadroom]

I graduated from an Engineering Technology Program back in 1997: http://www.tru.ca/science/programs/aret.html It has gone through several changes over the years to accomodate industry, but the concept is the same.

Basically the program will prepare a student, providing fundamental skills, to enter work in any engineering or architectural firm.

Ask the director of the program how many students find employment after graduation. If the answer isn't 100%, then find another program.

If you graduate from one of these programs, expect to be stuck as a CADD operator for a number of years until you gather enough experience to advance your career. I had to quit my first job of 10 years to escape the CADD trap, now I do Energy Management based on all my years of experience designing big buildings. I occasionally do some CADD work but nothing like slaving away at a PC for six hours a day or pulling crazy overtime and all-nighters like I used to.

One thing that helped my employment prospect was the fact I could do IT work and maintain the office PCs/network/phones. Most small offices don't have anyone on staff who can do this effectively, so if you can, make sure you exploit it during your job search.

[hwy418]

I agree with MaxHeadroom above; expect to be pigeon-holed for the first 3 to 5 years doing drafting if you are working for an engineering firm. If you don't mind that, there are lots of jobs available (we are always looking for drafting help).

You won't likely find anything in the federal or provincial government with a technician or technologist diploma. You may find something more interesting at the City.

I graduated in the late 90's with a diploma in Computer Engineering Technology and worked in high-tech and government for a while. It was okay, except that I found out that a diploma in the technology field has a very limited shelf life unless you are constantly training and upgrading your skills to match the industry.

I decided to return to school and get the engineering degree in civil engineering I always wanted and it was well worth it.

Not sure about what kind of career you are looking for, but I would say that a 3-year Civil Engineering Technology program is a good option since it has many transferable skills. Plus, the option is there at the end if you want to attend Lakehead for 1 year and get your B.Eng. degree. I know a few people that have done that and have been successful.

Hope this helps - good luck.

[Mulder]

I have taken pretty much the same career path as hwy418, with a little bit of MaxHeadroom's.

I went to school for Computer programming before dropping out, worked for IBM for 4 years before I could see my job being squeezed out and heading to India.

Had a plan to take Civil Engineering for 2 years and get a job designing roads.
The year I graduated I got a job at a small engineering firm because of my prior IT skills. I did drafting & IT work, during the summer my job was mostly consumed with IT because of the amount of field offices we had.

I knew there was really no future for quite a while as I would be suck moving and changing lines from the Engineer's markups. I got a job in Ottawa and moved here last summer. While still CAD heavy, I do alot of the design myself.

It's important to have an idea or know what you want to get into after school. Civil Engineering is so broad, you could be anything from an inspector, materials tester, CAD.
In any discipline from a single manufacture doing shop drawings, structures, road, water, environmental.

My supervisor actually teaches some of the weekend courses at Algonquin. If there is anything specific you want to know.

[Mr.Flintstone]

Thanks for the replies. I'm currently have a background in manufacturing. Took Mechanical technician a few years back at Algonquin. Leaving that career behind cause I never felt 100% percent about it, didn't see much advancement and getting tired of the lay offs.

I understand I will have to work my way up. Also don't mind the CAD work enjoyed it when I was in school. Although I have more of a 3d modeling/CAM knowledge. Interesting a few of you mentioned IT. It's the other program I'm looking into. This one to be specific
http://www.algonquincollege.com/sat/...logy-security/

Most of you have already answer most of my questions. Here a few more.

What would be expect of me once I finish college.

What does the CAD work consist of? Trying to compared with my manufacturing back ground.

One of my goal would be to work on projects like Chaudiere Island, Confederation line, Lansdowne, 417 widening and various condos . Would it be realistic with this diploma to work on similar projects?

What can I do now that would benefit me during my studies.

What are the job opportunities like? What salary should I expect right after school?

Thanks again for the replies. Much appreciated.

[Mulder]

Originally Posted by Mr.Flintstone

What does the CAD work consist of? Trying to compared with my manufacturing back ground.

One of my goal would be to work on projects like Chaudiere Island, Confederation line, Lansdowne, 417 widening and various condos . Would it be realistic with this diploma to work on similar projects?

What can I do now that would benefit me during my studies.

What are the job opportunities like? What salary should I expect right after school?

Thanks again for the replies. Much appreciated.

Your CAD work depends on your level of experience & will to learn.
You may start with little jobs such as moving text & lines. But if you are already beyond that you could do 3d modeling, you just have to display to your employer what you can do.
I learned alot of CAD stuff in my spare time, so not even 1 year from school I was doing full Civil 3d pipe networks, road corridor design.

It also depends on what company you get in with. Some old school companies will ask you to draft for them. Basically an engineer tells you what he wants to see and you do it. Other's want more of a design/drafter. Where you are in control of the design, and the engineer will review it after.

Your goals are absolutely realistic. When I went to school 4 years ago I wanted to work on the 407E. I had thought, and been told that the design was already done.

I started with my current employer last summer and this spring was asked to do some work a project, went for the meeting, and found out it was 407E.
I still work on the project from time to time as some of the design/reports are still on-going. It's funny how things do come full circle.

[Mr.Flintstone]

Originally Posted by Mulder

Your CAD work depends on your level of experience & will to learn.
You may start with little jobs such as moving text & lines. But if you are already beyond that you could do 3d modeling, you just have to display to your employer what you can do.
I learned alot of CAD stuff in my spare time, so not even 1 year from school I was doing full Civil 3d pipe networks, road corridor design.

It also depends on what company you get in with. Some old school companies will ask you to draft for them. Basically an engineer tells you what he wants to see and you do it. Other's want more of a design/drafter. Where you are in control of the design, and the engineer will review it after.

Your goals are absolutely realistic. When I went to school 4 years ago I wanted to work on the 407E. I had thought, and been told that the design was already done.

I started with my current employer last summer and this spring was asked to do some work a project, went for the meeting, and found out it was 407E.
I still work on the project from time to time as some of the design/reports are still on-going. It's funny how things do come full circle.

Thanks for all the info

[Ashok]

Am also a student, in Engineering. I went to a conference recently and they had seen some projects demostrated by Algonquin College. I was a little suprised to see the kind of work they had going there, and it was really impressive.

There seems to be a lot of focus on Green Architecture and net-zero energy building. The also seem to have a team for the solar decathalon.

[Ashok]

Regarding CAD - I think the entire industry is going to get restructured really quickly in the next decade. That being said, the future would be BIM - building information models, and techniciens (drafters) need to become adapted to the changes and much more integrated into projects, meaning they should start understanding more about the buildings, and its components and how they come together. So I do not think we will have drafters in the way we have now, they would have to be 'technologist.'

So, if you can get some experience on BIM, that will probably be very cool. Ps: BIM is not 3Dmodelling.

Also, I would say without any experienced, you would probably start at 18-20$/hour.

[Mr.Flintstone]

Originally Posted by Ashok

Regarding CAD - I think the entire industry is going to get restructured really quickly in the next decade. That being said, the future would be BIM - building information models, and techniciens (drafters) need to become adapted to the changes and much more integrated into projects, meaning they should start understanding more about the buildings, and its components and how they come together. So I do not think we will have drafters in the way we have now, they would have to be 'technologist.'

So, if you can get some experience on BIM, that will probably be very cool. Ps: BIM is not 3Dmodelling.

Also, I would say without any experienced, you would probably start at 18-20$/hour.

Thanks for the info, again much appreciated. I was actually looking at the bachelor in building sciences at Algonquin and they have a BIM course.

[Mr.Flintstone]

Hi Guys, I'm reaching out again for some guidance. Little update first trying to set up meeting with the coordinators of the programs. Also looking into learning a little BIM before starting the program. I've leaned in the past having a head start doesn't hurt.

So my question to you guys, I'm currently looking for a new job and would like to find something related to the civil engineering course. Something that would give me experience. I just don't know where to start. Should I begin at construction companies like Laurin, Tomlinson or PCL start at the bottom and work my way up? Or is there other ways to go about this. I don't know what are the entry level position that would help me gain experience.

[alinade]

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[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by alinade

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[alinade]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

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Thanks!

[StevensXEH]

I agree with MaxHeadroom! You should definitely choose a program that will guarantee a good employment rate after graduation. I graduated college and did my master's a long time ago, and now I specialize in manufacturing engineering, which I love. I did a lot of boring work for some time, but good things take a lot of skill and practice. Believe me, practice is key. The company I work for know required years of experience in order to produce high quality and economically competitive products, which I get to design now. My company's clients are happy and I'm happy as well.