Finding Your Career

Overview

This section outlines basic considerations for evaluating employment opportunities. Not every company, position, career opportunity is for everyone. We encourage individuals to learn more about a variety of organizations by getting to know their people, clients, culture, and ways of doing business. Choosing a career path and an organization to work with is a significant decision and for many individuals it is the biggest decision they will face directly after completing college. It is important to take the time and effort necessary to make an informed and thoughtful decision, which will likely have lasting impacts.

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How Do I Start?

There are several common pitfalls that plague career-seekers. The basic one is confusing a "job" with a "career." Whether an individual is about to enter the professional world or is already part of it, they should takes strides to ensure the job they finally accept is one that can lead to a "career" that is rewarding and fulfilling.

Choosing a position requires research and careful decision making. Don't accept a position just because it was offered. Consider if the company you are aligning yourself with fits your needs, goals, values, work environment, and expectations. Beyond that, what benefits and value do you bring to the company? Do you have something to offer that will enable you to be a valued contributor? Will your position allow you to contribute to the profession? Will it allow you to grow and develop and pass your experiences on to the next generation? Try to know what you want. If you don't yet know or just aren't sure, spend some time exploring a broad range of career options as opposed to "job hunting."

Before beginning your career search, ask yourself a few basic questions that will help to guide your search. For example:

  1. What kind of "corporate culture" do you seek? (e.g., environment, philosophy, attitude, size, etc.)
  2. What are your location preferences/constraints, if any, and how important are they to you?
  3. What is your ideal office environment? (e.g., small office, large office, remote location, etc.)
  4. Do you like/want to travel?
  5. Is mentoring important to you?
  6. Do you want a position that is flexible, one that allows you to learn a broad range or skills, or do you prefer a more specialized position with a well-defined set of responsibilities?
  7. How important is community service to you? How important is it to you that the company you work for is committed to community service?
  8. Would you like to get to know your co-workers outside of the office, or would you rather keep your work life separate from your "real" life?
  9. What are your weekly time constraints? Are you willing to work more than forty hours, to stay late on occasion, or to participate in evening meetings?
  10. Are you looking for a well-defined career path or would you prefer one with flexibility (even if that means less clarity and more personal responsibility)?

Now that you've considered some potential factors that will differentiate employers, it is time to begin your search.

How do I find potential employers/opportunities?

One great way for students to find opportunities is to speak with college guidance counselors, professors, or other students who have returned to school after working for a few years.

Professionals seeking new opportunities can also find guidance in professional societies, through outside professional contacts, and by reading professional publications and newsletters.

Note: Beware of the human resources black hole. Don't just email, mail, or fax a resume and wait for a response. Be proactive! Call and make sure the resume was received and offer a verbal expression of your interest in the company and/or position. Also, beware of the "shot gun" resume. Don't just make one resume and submit it to all companies you contact. Write a cover letter explaining why you are interested and why they should be interested in you. Tailor the contents of the resume to highlight the skills, experiences, etc. you have that will be of most relevance to each future employer.

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What Different Aspects of Engineering Are Important to Consider?

Public v. Private

Private

  1. Transportation professionals in the private sector work across a wide range of geographic and jurisdictional boundaries. They might work in many different cities, counties, and states (even countries) and their clients can include private developers, neighborhood groups, institutions, and government officials at all levels.
  2. Some professionals who work in the private sector are involved in a full range of projects while others remain very specialized in their work. The same level of diversity can be seen in the private companies themselves: some stay focused on one geographic/specialty area, others offer a broad distribution of services.
  3. Professionals in the private sector provide advice, recommendations, and on-site assistance but they do not generally have final ownership, authority, or decision-making control over key investment or programmatic decisions related to the public transportation infrastructure.
  4. The people who most enjoy private practice are usually those who enjoy the fast pace of a service-oriented environment, revel in the geographic and technical diversity of experiences and opportunities, and are not put off by their lack of ownership and authority.

Public

  1. Transportation engineers/planners in the public sector serve in numerous municipal, regional, or federal government positions. Opportunities to work in the public arena can be found in every geographic area and the influence area of these opportunities is generally limited to the jurisdictional boundaries of the public agency.
  2. Like their private sector colleagues, public transportation professionals can focus on a very specialized topic or can maintain a very broad range of duties and responsibilities.
  3. Many public transportation professionals will need to interact frequently with the general public and so they also benefit from good written and oral communication skills. Because the public agencies for which they work have ownership over certain portions of the transportation infrastructure, publicly-employed professionals have the additional opportunity to exercise ownership authority and decision-making.
  4. The people who most enjoy public service are usually those who want to establish a long and sustained relationship with a specific geographic area and population, who revel in the prospect of being involved in the entire life cycle of individual projects and programs, who want an ownership level of involvement in the publicly-owned infrastructure, and who are not put off their inability to work across a wide range of geographic and institutional conditions.
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Policymaking, Planning, Designing/Constructing versus Operating/Maintaining

Planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance are all essential components to building and sustaining an effective transportation infrastructure that aims to enhance the quality of life in our communities. You might have a stronger affinity for one of these components than for the others, but you will need to be familiar and comfortable with them all if you want to maximize your impact on communities as well as your personal long-term success.

Do you like the creative side of problem solving? Do you enjoy considering a wide range of issues and a variety of possible solution scenarios? Do you enjoy balancing competing interests and objectives to identify solutions that best meet the widest range of user needs? Do you enjoy considering the long-term needs and establishing solutions that may have multi-faceted elements ranging from policy to implementation? "Policymaking, Planning, Designing/Constructing" are the areas where you can be actively engaged to consider a broad range of needs and possible solutions that lead to a specific plan.

Are you one who likes seeing a solution implemented? Do you prefer to have a plan defined and be the one who can make that plan a reality? Do you like the challenges of communicating the complex elements of a concept to those will be responsible for actually completing the solution? Do you prefer clear direction on your purpose versus the wide range variables that can arise? Are you detail oriented and enjoy working out scheduling needs and unique technical solutions? Some people who are especially capable of implementing solutions take pride in meeting the challenges of implementing a project and seeing the concept made a reality. If this sounds like you, you may be more interested in the "Operating/Maintaining" category.

There are some engineers who make very good planners, just like there are some planners who successfully apply the problem solving skills of engineers. This is one of the fun parts of our profession: the flexibility to match our interests and strengths with an employer's needs. If you are one who prefers implementing projects, you might consider firms or agencies that focus on these areas. If you are one who enjoys the broader planning perspective and appreciates challenges and considering a wide range of needs to develop a solution, you might wish to seek firms or agencies that are engaged in planning or pre-design activities. Whatever the case, knowing your personal strengths, personality, and aspirations is instrumental in finding the work sector, the company, and the job that gives you the best chance for success in a personally satisfying career.

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Multi-disciplinary vs. Specialty

Some agencies or firms are responsible for a variety of technical needs. A small public agency may have a smaller staff that addresses a diverse range of needs. On a given day, one might be responsible for solving problems from a larger pool of options. Some private firms offer a wide range of services. These firms pride themselves on being a "one stop shop" that can provide any service a client might need. Working for this type of firm or agency can provide a wide range of experiences and project types. However, because of the breadth in range of services and skills, it's possible a person may not necessarily attain a significant depth in one area. These individuals are especially valued for the wide range of skills and experiences they are able to bring to bare.

Larger agencies often divide their technical needs to departments or divisions. Someone in "design" may not participate in projects that are the responsibility of "planning." There are many private firms that focus on a specialty such as environmental planning or traffic engineering. Whether public or private, individuals in these specialty areas may attain skills and experiences in a relatively focused specialty area. These individuals learn beyond the fundamentals of that specialty area and may attain a depth of knowledge that allows these individuals to be especially qualified in this area.

You should consider your own interests of being a generalist or specialist and consider agencies or firms that will create the most appropriate environment. Considering these basic needs may help you focus on a specific agency or firm.

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Transportation Engineering, Transportation Planning, Transportation Research

Transportation Engineering

Transportation engineers aim to ensure the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. Transportation engineering is primarily concerned with motorized road transportation. This includes areas such as queueing theory, traffic flow planning, roadway geometric design, and driver behavior patterns. Simulation of traffic operation is performed through use of trip generation and traffic assignment algorithms. Transportation engineering also concerns other modes of transportation such as locating and designing airports, seaports, canals, shipping ways, as well as transit planning and design (bus, subway, and commuter rail).

The design aspects of transportation engineering include the sizing of transportation facilities (capacity), determining the materials and thickness used in pavement, and designing the geometry (vertical and horizontal alignment) of the roadway.

Operations and management ensure that vehicles move smoothly. Traditional elements include signing, signals, and markings. Newer technologies involve Intelligent Transportation Systems, Advanced Traveler Information Systems, variable message signs, and Advanced Traffic Control Systems (such as ramp meters).

Transportation Planning

Transportation planning takes a long-term look at transportation facilities (generally streets, highways, and transit lines) and how they will operate in the future. Transportation planning defines goals and objectives, identifies problems, generates and evaluates alternatives, and develops a plan for implementation.

Transportation Research

Research is needed in all areas of transportation. Research provides the sound technical backing for field work and represents a continued and deeper understanding of the tools and theories upon which the profession is built. Transportation solutions, goals, and methodologies must continue to be reviewed and monitored, while being adapted to our ever-changing world. The goals of efficient, economic, and safe transportation depend on more effectively managing, operating, and enhancing transportation facilities. The overriding purpose of each research project is to contribute to bettering transportation by systematically developing and applying methods for improving the performance of the existing multi-modal transportation system.

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How to Consider an Offer Letter

One of the toughest decisions a person makes is choosing which employer offers the most appropriate opportunity for starting their career. You are the ultimate judge of what constitutes the best balance for your particular situation.

The meaning and personal fulfillment that can come from work are factors that many find to be among the most important when considering an offer. It's impossible to translate these considerations into purely monetary terms; they are the intangible characteristics associated with working in a particular company or with a particular group of people. These factors will need to be evaluated above and beyond your evaluation of the compensation package. Setting yourself up for long-term professional success is likely to have long-term financial rewards, which should be taken into account.

A fair evaluation of multiple employment offers also involves examining the details of the compensation package. Not all of the employer contributions can be easily predicted or translated into monetary terms and there are the intangible factors like cultural fit and personal comfort that you will also need to take into account. Most professionals look for the compensation package to move them toward three basic objectives: financial success, professional success, and an improved standard of living.

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All Benefits are Not Created Equal

The compensation packages accompanying the employment offers you receive will probably come with a wide range of structures and options. The things that make up a compensation package are pretty much the same for most companies and the differences tend to be in the relative emphasis each company places on the various pieces. There are seven basic compensation categories:

  1. Base salary
  2. Retirement plan
  3. Insurance
  4. Time-based benefits
  5. Profit sharing
  6. Money-based benefits
  7. Professional support benefits

Base Salary

This is your take-home monetary compensation. While base salary plays a very important role in your standard of living, it is not the only factor to consider. If you receive offers from several different geographic areas of the country you will also need to adjust each base salary to reflect its real purchasing power equivalence.

Retirement Plan

A chart comparing how much money your retirement account ends up earning, as a function of time of initial investment. An investment of $500,000 40 years into one's career nets the employee $550,000, while 40 years later, the employee ends up with $4.5 million

Young people who are just starting their careers often fail to realize the extraordinary importance and value of a strong retirement plan has in assuring financial success. The two things that affect a retirement program's success most are the amount of the monthly retirement contribution and the employee's years of participation.

Say you are a single person, age 25, earning $4,000 a month and receiving a 15 percent retirement contribution from your employer; that amounts to $600 of additional tax-free income from your employer ($108 more than you would have received if your employer included this in your base salary rather than providing a retirement contribution). Annually, this adds up to nearly $7,200 that, if not saved, could otherwise disappear pretty easily in small expenses here and there. You will have also deferred paying $1,296 in taxes per year.

Interest makes this situation even better! If you invest this money, and it earns 10 percent interest, that equates to $720 additional dollars accrued over the following year. Of that, $130 is interest on money that you otherwise would have paid in taxes. That's four sources of additional income for you: employer contribution, tax savings, interest on employer contribution, and interest on tax savings (and we didn't even talk about compound interest).

Insurance

Health insurance is essential to maintaining your physical health and well-being. As health insurance costs continue to soar, some employers are scaling back their coverage and/or are require some level of financial participation by the employee. Carefully review the details of any health care plan offered because the differences in cost, coverage, and accessibility can be dramatic.

Time-based Benefits

A illustration of the words 'Money-based Benefits', 'Time-Based Benefits', and 'Professional Support'

Another important consideration is time-based benefits. These include paid time off (PTO), vacation, sick days, holidays, hours worked daily and weekly, etc. Some employers offer PTO, which allows each employee to choose the days they want to take off each year; some offer a set number of days for vacation and sickness. Some employers observe holidays and others do not. Some employers have flexible in-office hours, while others require that employees are in the office during set hours. It is important to examine which time-based benefits are important to you.

Profit Sharing/Monetary Benefits

Profit sharing and other monetary benefits (for example, parking/transit subsidies, signing bonuses, and relocation expense reimbursements) can also have significant effects on your standard of living. Some of these, like profit sharing, are recurring benefits while others are one-time events, such as signing bonuses and relocation expense reimbursements. You should therefore judge the relative value of these different benefits proportionately.

Professional Support Benefits

Employers are essential to creating opportunities through their investments on your behalf in the learning environment and culture they maintain for their employees' benefit. Your employer has more control than anyone else over the range of project types and professionals you will have the opportunity to work with. These opportunities become the foundation that will frame your professional judgments and extend your network of professional colleagues and resources. Your employer can influence the number and quality of professional development opportunities that are afforded to you by investing in such things as internal and external training, post graduate educational opportunities, and even travel expenses necessary to get you connected to work opportunities and other professionals outside of your local geographic area.

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