<p>Hello everyone. I'm trying to decide if I should major in CE or ME. I been working for a small construction company for 3 years (2 years as an estimator and for the last year as a project manager) where we work with school districts and do other public works. Will this experience really help me to land my first job if I major in CE? Or should I do ME even though I don't currently have any experience? Maybe I can get the experience with an internship. I keep reading that ME is a better option, more versatile and more broad, but with CE I have the work experience card that may give me a better chance of landing a job. Is it very hard to find a job as a ME? How about CE with the experience I have? What I'd like to do when I graduate is get a decent paid job where I can save money and invest in real estate (rental and commercial proprieties) to build wealth while I'm working as either a ME or CE. Any thoughts?
Thank you.</p>
<p>If you decide to go to a larger construction firm after getting your degree, this experience will help you. If you decide to go into civil engineering with the CE degree, your experience may help you depending on what kind of work your current company does. Is it more interiors and renovations? Or more on the heavy construction side?</p>
<p>Of course, your choice should also factor in your interests in these fields.</p>
<p>I just graduated from with a BS in CE, and I’ve been looking for a job for the past month. From my experience, Civil Engineers definitely benefit from having experience AND a Bachelor’s. I’ve seen very good starting salaries for CE graduates with experience.</p>
<p>The nice thing about the position you’re in is that after graduating, you don’t have to limit yourself to Civil Engineering, you can move into Construction/Const. Management as well, which gives you twice as many job options. </p>
<p>ME’s do have great salaries, but there’s a big downside to consider. Since you’re working for a construction company, if you get your CE degree, you can get your license and become a Certified Professional Constructor (CPC) after (or soon after) you graduate. However, if you get your ME degree, you’ll have to work for a number of years under a licensed ME before you get can get your own ME license.</p>
<p>About 60-70% of our work is on the “finishes” side (painting, wall covering, tack boards, FRP etc.), and the rest is construction. However, for the latter one we usually contract other companies to perform that work for us. As a Project Manager I estimate, manage projects, paperwork, schedules, subcontractors etc.
Martin, what kind of experience these jobs are asking for? Do you have any experience on your resume?</p>
<p>Alot of the jobs I’ve been looking at are Civil that require a BS + Civil experience, but I’ve also been looking at a lot of construction postings for Project Managers/Project Engineers which ask for a Const. Management or CE Degree + project experience. But I guess this would also depend on where you live (I live in California).</p>
<p>No experience on my resume, other than a small architectural project I finished a couple months ago and my part-times job history.</p>