Question For People Who Works for a DOT.

[MarcusDoT]

What college you went to? (If you went to one)

What major did you have to take?

I'm hoping to work for a future Department of Transportation, but I have no idea where to start at.

Someone mind helping me? 

[vdeane]

I went a very non-traditional path, so my path probably isn't very helpful.  I got a BS in Computer Science from Clarkson University, took the entry level Professional Careers Test, and my computer courses somehow qualified me to apply for a planning job at NYSDOT Region 1 (quirk of how HR worded the requirements).  My boss wanted my computer background and valued my intelligence, so he pushed to get me hired despite being very non-traditional.  On top of all that, I was actually a provisional appointment instead of permanent for a few months due to when I was hired relative to when the test results came out (I actually interviewed before taking the test).

My recently hired co-worker's path is probably more useful.  She has a bachelors in Geography from SUNY Geneseo and an masters* in Urban Planning with a focus on Transportation Planning and a GIS Certificate from SUNY Albany.

*She doesn't actually have the degree yet; she has two papers left to finish.  Her expected graduation date is in a couple months.

[jeffandnicole]

What college you went to? (If you went to one)

What major did you have to take?

I'm hoping to work for a future Department of Transportation, but I have no idea where to start at.

Someone mind helping me? 

It really depends on what you want to do.  In many DOTs, there are positions all across the board.  Engineering positions of course directly relate to road designs.  Maybe you want to work in an environmental field, and have a say as to the design when you enter wetlands, water ways, etc.  I'm an accountant with the State of New Jersey, yet I drove plow trucks in the winter. 

A great way to gain some ideas is to look at some various DOT website at their job openings.  Within the job openings are the requirements of the job, including the college degrees or experience they are looking for.  That will give you some ideas to guide you towards what you can consider taking in college.

[DaBigE]

Expanding a bit on what jeffandnicole said, also see if your DOT of choice offers any summer internships. That's a great way to get your foot in the door, not just for your own experience, but also potentially setting yourself up for a future job.

[hbelkins]

I'm a communications person, so my degree is in journalism, and my relevant past work experience is all in either journalism or public relations.

As others have said, it all depends on what you want to do. Many of the different jobs have different career paths you can follow. You can be an equipment operator, which doesn't require college. Many of our construction tech jobs don't require degrees either. We have some career paths that require two-year degrees; others require four-year degrees and PE certification. Or you can go into IT or human resources or any of a number of other support fields.

[Scott5114]

What degree is the best for a job doing sign design?

[MarcusDoT]

Okay.

Thanks guys! I'm choosing what DOT I want to work for, but I may end up staying in Georgia and working for theirs hopefully.

[jeffandnicole]

If you're only 15, you got *plenty* of time.  Once you start getting some ideas about the fields you want to be in, talk to your guidance counselors about various schools that meet your needs.  Georgia certainly has many interesting projects, especially in the Atlanta area, but you'll find almost any state has quite a number of projects.  No matter where you wind up, there will be opportunities awaiting you.

Also, to add to my original post, while some designs are worked on in-house, DOTs often contract with private engineering and consulting firms for the big projects.  On a project up my way, I went to many meetings where the main persons with the overall knowledge wasn't from the state, but a private firm working with the state.  So it's possible to have a hand in a highway project and never actually work with a government agency!

[MarcusDoT]

If you're only 15, you got *plenty* of time.  Once you start getting some ideas about the fields you want to be in, talk to your guidance counselors about various schools that meet your needs.  Georgia certainly has many interesting projects, especially in the Atlanta area, but you'll find almost any state has quite a number of projects.  No matter where you wind up, there will be opportunities awaiting you./quote]

Yeah, I may end up staying in Georgia, I was thinking about going to California or Washington, maybe even Virgina, but then that would require a fee to move to another state for college, so I'm just probably going to go the a college up in Atlanta. 

[The Nature Boy]

The DoT is like any other government agency, there is no right "degree" to get involved. Find what you're good at and figure out how you can make it work for a DoT job.

[MarcusDoT]

The DoT is like any other government agency, there is no right "degree" to get involved. Find what you're good at and figure out how you can make it work for a DoT job.

Oh okay. Thanks for the tip! 

[Buffaboy]

This is somewhat off topic but has been bothering me for a couple weeks. I am considering switching to Civil Engineering tech from Civil Engineering this upcoming semester, but I don't know if I should because of pay and educational attainment/experience. Having said that, I found this article implying technicians would fit in a better role for the 21st century: http://cenews.com/article/9959/right-roles. Any advice?

[DaBigE]

This is somewhat off topic but has been bothering me for a couple weeks. I am considering switching to Civil Engineering tech from Civil Engineering this upcoming semester, but I don't know if I should because of pay and educational attainment/experience. Having said that, I found this article implying technicians would fit in a better role for the 21st century: http://cenews.com/article/9959/right-roles. Any advice?

Depends on what you see yourself doing. Going the CE Tech route may make it more difficult/impossible to get licensed if you ever want to stamp plans. If you want to do a lot of drafting work, the tech route may be your best choice.

[DaBigE]

WisDOT also has this rough listing to help guide what kind of work you could expect to do depending on your educational level: http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/about/hr/educate.htm

[hbelkins]

You might also check out the political history of the state where you're interested in working, and be sure to register in the party that has controlled the state's government over the years. It's supposed to be illegal to make hiring decisions for civil service jobs based on politics, but wink wink nudge nudge. One now-retired hiring manager I know of used to say you had to be "the right religion" for him to consider hiring you. "The right religion" was being registered as a Democrat. Another person who had aspirations of being a hiring manager used to actually tell Republicans they would have to change their registration to be considered for a job.

[MarcusDoT]

You might also check out the political history of the state where you're interested in working, and be sure to register in the party that has controlled the state's government over the years. It's supposed to be illegal to make hiring decisions for civil service jobs based on politics, but wink wink nudge nudge. One now-retired hiring manager I know of used to say you had to be "the right religion" for him to consider hiring you. "The right religion" was being registered as a Democrat. Another person who had aspirations of being a hiring manager used to actually tell Republicans they would have to change their registration to be considered for a job.

Oh okay, Thanks for the heads up! Politics in Georgia is a huge issue so, I'm going to be EXTRA careful when it comes to that. 

[CANALLER]

Marcus D.O.T. (a namesake twin) & Buff Boy (living in my home turf), check back next week.  I'll give you some ideas after I read that article.  I'm not typing tonight because I need to come up with some helpfull thoughts, and then give an answer to that article's commentary too.

Here's one thing for you guys to consider before working at D.O.T.: 

Today, I had a sunrise shift.  Tomorrow will be about 12 hours graveyard.  Then a major closure from 6 P.M. Friday-to-12 N. Saturday, with some associated finish work on Sunday.   All of this is weather permitting, and subject to change and re-scheduling at the last minute.    So if you don't like the concept of having no set schedule and being on-all 24-365, and having a large territory to cover, then you may want to re-think working in construction.  Office titles are available, and they offer a relatively consistent work and life schedule, but they pay a lot less and most of the people working in them rarely leave their desk.

[MarcusDoT]

Marcus D.O.T. (a namesake twin) & Buff Boy (living in my home turf), check back next week.  I'll give you some ideas after I read that article.  I'm not typing tonight because I need to come up with some helpfull thoughts, and then give an answer to that article's commentary too.

Here's one thing for you guys to consider before working at D.O.T.: 

Today, I had a sunrise shift.  Tomorrow will be about 12 hours graveyard.  Then a major closure from 6 P.M. Friday-to-12 N. Saturday, with some associated finish work on Sunday.   All of this is weather permitting, and subject to change and re-scheduling at the last minute.    So if you don't like the concept of having no set schedule and being on-all 24-365, and having a large territory to cover, then you may want to re-think working in construction.  Office titles are available, and they offer a relatively consistent work and life schedule, but they pay a lot less and most of the people working in them rarely leave their desk.

Yeah, I read about the job and overtime that comes with it, but I'm perfectly fine with that. Hopefully by then I know how to control myself like I do right now. I can go to sleep at 2 and wake up at 6 and have energy for school. 

[DaBigE]

I can go to sleep at 2 and wake up at 6 and have energy for school. 

You may be able to do that now, but give it 10-15 years, your body may be telling you otherwise then.

[MarcusDoT]

I can go to sleep at 2 and wake up at 6 and have energy for school. 

You may be able to do that now, but give it 10-15 years, your body may be telling you otherwise then.

Hmph, Okay, I'll see all the jobs positions for the DOT.

I guess the Overtime goes for EVERY spot in a DOT.

[vdeane]

Incidentally, the reason why office titles pay much less than field titles at NYSDOT is because field titles come with a TON of overtime built in, whereas office titles come with no overtime built in (and managers can be stingy with authorizing it for budgetary reasons); the office titles actually have a higher base pay, but fewer hours.  In fact, someone in a field title can find themselves in the situation where they would actually LOSE money by being promote.

Big territory is certainly right.  When I actually go out in the field, I could find myself anywhere from Prattsville to Port Kent (a distance of 160 miles).  Someone I work with from Main Office has a range that extends across the state, from Ripley to somewhere on Long Island (let's use Riverhead for the example); a distance of 375 miles.

[roadman]

At MassDOT Highway Division, office positions are based on a 37.5 hour week, whereas field positions are based on a 40 hour week.  With the exception of special projects, like the I-93 Medford Fast 14 bridge replacements in 2011, the only consistent opportunities for overtime are during the winter months for those staff members who agree to also work on snow and ice duty, overseeing the private contractoirs who actually do the majority of the plowing.

Office staff involved with design and construction projects (mainly in Boston HQ, less likely at the District level) could conceivably be required to respond in the field almost anywhere within Massachusetts, depending upon the project and the nature of the issue that requires a site visit.

[cpzilliacus]

You might also check out the political history of the state where you're interested in working, and be sure to register in the party that has controlled the state's government over the years. It's supposed to be illegal to make hiring decisions for civil service jobs based on politics, but wink wink nudge nudge. One now-retired hiring manager I know of used to say you had to be "the right religion" for him to consider hiring you. "The right religion" was being registered as a Democrat. Another person who had aspirations of being a hiring manager used to actually tell Republicans they would have to change their registration to be considered for a job.

A colleague with impeccable advanced engineering credentials from a great university (including a P.E. license) could not get hired in her home state's DOT because she did not know the right people. 

Apparently not a partisan thing (and remember that some states, like Virginia, do not ask voters to declare party affiliation).

[cpzilliacus]

Big territory is certainly right.  When I actually go out in the field, I could find myself anywhere from Prattsville to Port Kent (a distance of 160 miles).  Someone I work with from Main Office has a range that extends across the state, from Ripley to somewhere on Long Island (let's use Riverhead for the example); a distance of 375 miles.

Some people I have known over the years at Virginia DOT's Central Office in Richmond have had to travel from as far east as the Town of Chincoteague in Accomack County (Atlantic Coast, on the Delmarva Peninsula) to as far west as the City of Bristol, Va., where I-81 crosses the Virginia/Tennessee border.

Distance between Richmond and Chincoteague is about 190 miles one way (made longer by the dogleg required to reach U.S. 13 and then cross the CBBT to get onto the Delmarva).

Distance between Richmond and VDOT's Bristol District Office is 320 (!) miles one way.  And keep in mind that there is plenty of Virginia west of Bristol.  It is 66 miles to Jonesville, the county seat of Lee County, and that's still not as far west as one can go and still be in the Commonwealth.

[Big John]

A colleague with impeccable advanced engineering credentials from a great university (including a P.E. license) could not get hired in her home state's DOT because she did not know the right people. 

Apparently not a partisan thing (and remember that some states, like Virginia, do not ask voters to declare party affiliation).

Tell me about it.  But that holds true for any employer, ot just DOTs.