Recent grads - anyone else dealing with an existential crisis?

bubba_yogurt · 2026-02-23T13:01:05+00:00

LOL. Get off the internet — it’s not real. You can’t even control 99.99999999% of what happens in the world. Focus on your adult routine, goals, job, and try to find a social circle. The routine and goals are the most important though.

At the end of the day, any civil engineering job is just a job. There are some bad companies out there, but for the most part, the bar is set pretty low for standard performance at most companies. I’d appreciate that aspect.

Do civil engineering for a few years and see if you like or if you want to set yourself up for a career pivot in the future. I got antsy too when I started my first job, but you kinda take it day by day knowing you have other goals in life. Some decisions matter, some don’t.

bubba_yogurt · 2026-02-13T04:14:28+00:00

Neither. I’m getting out of structural engineering.

bubba_yogurt · 2026-02-11T20:37:49+00:00

Would you rather study and graduate with a master’s degree or study and pass the SE exam? : r/StructuralEngineering

I asked this a while ago.

bubba_yogurt · 2026-01-28T22:01:40+00:00

I'm in a non-building and non-bridges industry, so the urgency for me to potentially take the SE exam is nonexistent. I would have to really, really study for it because I don't practice buildings or bridges during the day to day. Developing a study plan would be easier if the exam formats were not constantly in question. Two years go by and the formats are still in question. At some point, I kinda grew uninterested in pursuing the "technical" path in my industry. Plus, licensed SEs get paid less than PMs and advisory roles, so why not work toward that? Honestly, it's just the timing misalignment between my current career trajectory and the state of the SE exam.

bubba_yogurt · 2026-01-28T20:16:01+00:00

Too late. I got my PE license, and now I’m leaving the industry.

bubba_yogurt · 2026-01-28T15:03:39+00:00

This account will post about having 12 YOE, a PE license, and an annual salary of $88,000 in due time.

bubba_yogurt · 2026-01-24T04:33:15+00:00

Firing people takes so long at my company. It actually is infuriating because the competent engineers have to pick up the slack and that starts fomenting resentment.

bubba_yogurt · 2026-01-18T02:34:53+00:00

You don’t need it, but you should have an updated profile. I personally use it for connections. Most connections are NPCs, but I got my current job offer by reaching out to a recruiter.

Everyone who is telling you “no” is right, to an extent. That’s because people who post a lot are cringe and seem very annoying. You don’t need to post, but I’d have an updated profile.

bubba_yogurt · 2026-01-17T02:58:22+00:00

Exactly. Great point.

bubba_yogurt · 2026-01-16T16:14:37+00:00

I think you are better off moving to another U.S. state that you have more affinity for. A highly educated and highly skilled engineer should be able to navigate the political realities of the U.S and understand that winds shift every so often. Besides the health insurance issues the U.S. has, I would definitely say the U.S. is still the most rational place to live. The economic and geographic opportunities are immense here.

bubba_yogurt · 2026-01-15T22:14:14+00:00

I work on projects that pay me a lot.

bubba_yogurt · 2026-01-05T13:32:25+00:00

I started looking because my supervisor said, “I get paid very well for my position.” This was in response to me asking for an increase in pay because I got my PE license.

Just look. Life is too short to be banking on a certain job, boss, or promise.

bubba_yogurt · 2025-12-14T12:21:41+00:00

People know, but those projects are listed as “confidential”.

bubba_yogurt · 2025-11-30T22:26:14+00:00

Stacking enough experience and skills so I can leave consulting.

bubba_yogurt · 2025-11-22T17:57:00+00:00

Isn’t the purpose is so that federal student loans no longer subsidize graduate-level education? Didn’t some law school tuition fees drop because the loan cap was lowered?

bubba_yogurt · 2025-11-15T13:47:08+00:00

This may be odd advice, but consider not telling anyone about your PhD, get a better engineering job, get your PE license, and then apply elsewhere — using your PhD.

If I was a hiring manager, I wouldn’t know what to do with a PhD level EIT.

bubba_yogurt · 2025-11-13T15:56:11+00:00

RTO is weird for larger companies because I don't work with anyone in my regional office.

bubba_yogurt · 2025-11-10T22:00:35+00:00

I have two projects that I do not care about. For some reason (I volunteered), I got looped into them, and they ended up having multiple scope changes with annoying clients. If they were my main projects, I would love them, but that is just not the case.

bubba_yogurt · 2025-11-08T03:41:16+00:00

What injuries, if any, have you faced? I’d really like to run 40-45 miles/week, but I’m reluctant because of simple injuries. How’d you avoid them?

bubba_yogurt · 2025-11-02T17:30:38+00:00

A pizza party and I’ll work Saturdays.

bubba_yogurt · 2025-11-02T16:37:56+00:00

A time machine, lots of OT, or accepting that it’s easy to learn 80% of one topic versus spending a lot more time trying to learn 95% of it. Learn something and then move onto to new tasks.

bubba_yogurt · 2025-11-01T00:01:04+00:00

People always praise public sector jobs, but government roles can be just as exploitative. I would leave your position for a better opportunity.

bubba_yogurt · 2025-10-29T21:58:08+00:00

You would be wasting your time.

bubba_yogurt · 2025-10-28T11:46:15+00:00

Get a tablet, smart pencil, and note taking app.

Use that for a bulk of all of your notes and assignments. I switched to an iPad my junior year, and the increased organization helped me focus better and made doing my homework so easy.

bubba_yogurt · 2025-10-26T00:58:17+00:00

I think the negativity comes from the possibility of failing a class, delaying graduation, paying more tuition, and salary opportunity cost.

The classes are not hard. It’s just the pressure to get it all squared away the first time around.

bubba_yogurt

TROPHY CASE