Can Being A Road/Transportation Enthusiast Lead To Any Actual Good Careers?

[SEWIGuy]

I wanted to get into civil engineering, but our university here doesn't have an engineering program, so I had to get into broadcasting instead. And that was right at the time the broadcasting industry was essentially being killed off.

There are other universities you know.

[bandit957]

I wanted to get into civil engineering, but our university here doesn't have an engineering program, so I had to get into broadcasting instead. And that was right at the time the broadcasting industry was essentially being killed off.

There are other universities you know.

Around here there weren't.

[SEWIGuy]

I wanted to get into civil engineering, but our university here doesn't have an engineering program, so I had to get into broadcasting instead. And that was right at the time the broadcasting industry was essentially being killed off.

There are other universities you know.

Around here there weren't.

The University of Cincinnati has a full College of Engineering and offers in-state residents to students from northern Kentucky.

[ozarkman417]

Civil Engineering was one of the majors I considered out of high school. There are two reasons why I decided against it:

-I'm not the best at math

-I would have had to attend college at Missouri S&T, in the kinda small and boring town of Rolla. Meanwhile Missouri State is only a few minutes away from where I live, so I save lots of money on room and board.

[Molandfreak]

Something you may want to consider is reaching out to some of the universities offering online engineering degrees accredited by ABET to see how many deficiency courses you would need to take to begin an MSE. It shouldn't take more than two semesters with a full-time course load, then you would begin work on something that would at least feel like you are progressing since it isn't a second bachelor's degree you would be seeking. Even if the particular master's program you choose isn't ABET-accredited, that shouldn't be a problem to be eligible for PE designation in most states since you would still have relevant education and a degree from a school that has proven to be reputable.

[bluecountry]

Become a civil engineer and work for a consulting firm if you're after money.

If you're after work-life balance, go into government.

Have to snicker about becoming a planner and how you're just doing a politician's bidding.  That said, I've seen city planners wield great power over how towns/cities evolve in more than a couple of states.  I've also seen good studies done that lay out great bike/ped plans or emergency operations for communities by planners.

Just depends on what role you want to fill.

For the record, my roadgeekery took a couple of twists and turns over the decades, but I'm quite happy with where I am now.

Thanks, so engineering is not my thing, I am more into what happens if we go 2 to 3 lanes vs what geometry the road needs to curve.  I take it though you agree with me on how planners are just tools for pols?

That's still engineering.

No, like I said above, planners are not just tools for pols.  Still, by their very definition, planners propose solutions.  They don't decide on implementation.

My experience, planners do not propose solutions.  Planners rationalize what the board says they want, they do not take an open objective look at things.  They "propose" policy that the politician told the director to support, which are usually lousy, and then go around trying to convince the public that data centers are great and a left turn lane is all the Wizards-Caps Alexandria facility needs.

It is nothing like non profit government contracting.

[Rothman]

Become a civil engineer and work for a consulting firm if you're after money.

If you're after work-life balance, go into government.

Have to snicker about becoming a planner and how you're just doing a politician's bidding.  That said, I've seen city planners wield great power over how towns/cities evolve in more than a couple of states.  I've also seen good studies done that lay out great bike/ped plans or emergency operations for communities by planners.

Just depends on what role you want to fill.

For the record, my roadgeekery took a couple of twists and turns over the decades, but I'm quite happy with where I am now.

Thanks, so engineering is not my thing, I am more into what happens if we go 2 to 3 lanes vs what geometry the road needs to curve.  I take it though you agree with me on how planners are just tools for pols?

That's still engineering.

No, like I said above, planners are not just tools for pols.  Still, by their very definition, planners propose solutions.  They don't decide on implementation.

My experience, planners do not propose solutions.  Planners rationalize what the board says they want, they do not take an open objective look at things.  They "propose" policy that the politician told the director to support, which are usually lousy, and then go around trying to convince the public that data centers are great and a left turn lane is all the Wizards-Caps Alexandria facility needs.

It is nothing like non profit government contracting.

If there's one sector that'll make one jaded, it's the non-profit world.

At least I see fruits of my labor out there.  For a lot of non-profits, achievement is making sure the right donors sit next to each other at the fundraiser.

Or squandering government funding...

[GCrites]

^idea people instead of executors

[bandit957]

The University of Cincinnati has a full College of Engineering and offers in-state residents to students from northern Kentucky.

I was limited to NKU because of a bad school record.