PhD with not too much experience

[Sam77]

I have masters and PhD in civil engineering/water&eniv., I just passed the PE. I have enough experience for getting my PE (more than 2 years) but not enough for manager level. Right now I am a post-doc and applying for a faculty position all around the US (typical thing to do). However, like everywhere the academia sector got hit with the bad economy, so few of faculty position openings are available every year that makes it a tough competition. What are my other choices?

 

[willsee]

Entry level job?

I don't know much about civil

 

[Sam77]

Entry level job?I don't know much about civil

I think I would be considered overqualified, at least from my job search experience, I never found an Ad for an entry level asking for PhD.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Find a nest in the hills, chill like Flynt, buy an old drop top, and find a spot to pimp

 

[willsee]

Where did you work at to gain your experience for your PE? Academia?

I have a master degree and I was entry level in MEP Consulting (since...no one in this world cares)

That's also why I was saying I don't know much about civil (say what you would do with a PHd in civil)

 

[cableguy]

Find a nest in the hills, chill like Flynt, buy an old drop top, and find a spot to pimp

Drop tops are highly recommended. I bought one not long after graduating college. Still have it, 17 years later...

Pimpin' aint easy. But a droptop helps. No, I'm not a Cowboy, but at one time I did wear Ropers every day...

 

[solomonb]

Sam77-- Congrats on passing the PE examination! This will help you if/when you are able to find an academic or industry position. Tell me if I am wrong, however, I suspect that you continued through school without many breaks for experience getting your graduate training? If so, you are now about 32 years old, probably worked about 5 years total outside of some academic setting and now are trying to parlay that experience and skill set into a job that pays money, right?

As mentioned previously, you are seriously overqualified for an entry level position-- no reason to even look there. You will "spook the herd" even trying, then the hiring authority will worry if you fit in, are willing to do entry level tasks, etc. I know, I have been there.

Here is how you need to proceed, in my opinion. I don't know anything about civil engineering, however with your background, qualifications and skill set, either look at consulting or government work. Both are very honorable. Consulting is great work, the travel schedule can be brutel if you have a family and small children, hoewver, the money is good. Government work is equally challenging and very exciting. Government work is challenging, different and stimulating-- I spent 30 years of Air Force work and enjoyed almost every minute of it!

Teaching is good work, if you can get it. Keep trying--I have had mentees do well in academia-- however, there is some of "Who you Know" that counts as well.

What about your PhD advisor? What does he/she say? Who do they know that can help? What about career services at the college? I think that you really need to ascertain what you want to do at this point in your life. Hell, you might enjoy teaching 8 grade math and science-- nothing wrong with that--we need good STEM teachers as well. You need to ascertain, quite carefully what you wish to do, then build a gameplan to accomplish that.

If you need help, don't hesitate to contact me.

 

[Sam77]

Where did you work at to gain your experience for your PE? Academia?

Most of my experience is in research including my post-doc work.

 

[Sam77]

Sam77-- Congrats on passing the PE examination! This will help you if/when you are able to find an academic or industry position. Tell me if I am wrong, however, I suspect that you continued through school without many breaks for experience getting your graduate training? If so, you are now about 32 years old, probably worked about 5 years total outside of some academic setting and now are trying to parlay that experience and skill set into a job that pays money, right?As mentioned previously, you are seriously overqualified for an entry level position-- no reason to even look there. You will "spook the herd" even trying, then the hiring authority will worry if you fit in, are willing to do entry level tasks, etc. I know, I have been there.

Here is how you need to proceed, in my opinion. I don't know anything about civil engineering, however with your background, qualifications and skill set, either look at consulting or government work. Both are very honorable. Consulting is great work, the travel schedule can be brutel if you have a family and small children, hoewver, the money is good. Government work is equally challenging and very exciting. Government work is challenging, different and stimulating-- I spent 30 years of Air Force work and enjoyed almost every minute of it!

Teaching is good work, if you can get it. Keep trying--I have had mentees do well in academia-- however, there is some of "Who you Know" that counts as well.

What about your PhD advisor? What does he/she say? Who do they know that can help? What about career services at the college? I think that you really need to ascertain what you want to do at this point in your life. Hell, you might enjoy teaching 8 grade math and science-- nothing wrong with that--we need good STEM teachers as well. You need to ascertain, quite carefully what you wish to do, then build a gameplan to accomplish that.

If you need help, don't hesitate to contact me.

Thank you solomonb, I appreciate your advice.

You are right, I took only one year break before pursuing my masters and PhD.

Both my PhD advisor and Post-doc supervisor are helping me, and still the target is academia. You are right, now with the PE I have a better chance to get a faculty position; Most of the universities nowadays say in their ads that they prefer a PE for a faculty position in civil engineering departments, and even some of them consider it a requirement.

Thank you again for the support.

 

[solomonb]

Sam77-- OK, I read the posts correctly! I am a big fan of faculty being professionally registered-- in fact, I have just written an article for national publication on licensing/professional registration. The big bitch from faculty is that it does nothing for promotion and tenure-- not sure that I buy that completely, however, the university has some duty to insure that it counts for something. P & T is a good place to start--however, many colleges today are not going with tenure anymore. Tenure is designed to protect the incompetent-- honestly-- if you are good and competent, you don't need any such a thing.

What is your post doc work? Where are you, Idaho State, Boise State, Univ/Idaho? You mentioned that you successfully completed the PE in Idaho-- am I wrong to assume that you are not in Idaho? Where did you get your PhD from? In what area? What was your dissertation on?

 

[Sam77]

I received Ph.D. and master’s degrees in civil and environmental engineering from the U. of Alabama in Huntsville. In my Ph.D., I built a stochastic model to predict the soil moisture profile from remotely sensed surface soil moisture values and water balance constraints. In my masters’ research work, I analyzed the hydrologic impacts of land cover/land use change in northeastern Alabama and northwestern Georgia. I'm doing my post-doc at U. of Idaho, my research involves assisting in developing a Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model to provide quantitative, risk-based measures of water retention and erosion for disturbed rangeland sites.

 

[solomonb]

Sam77-- Why not look at the Army Corps of Engineers for possible employment? With all of the water and flooding issues here in the Upper Rocky Mountains, that might be a great fit for your background? Another idea is going with a fertilizer company and working in research there as well. As you know, Simplot is in Boise-- they grow Potatoes, what Idaho is famous for-- perhaps some opportunities there as well! I have a good friend that is a retired soil scientist-- took her PhD at Utah State, was at Nebraska when I met her. She is now in Bozeman, MT, retired due to an accident at Nebraska. I will have to ask her about the soil science world and what, if anything is currently viable there.

I have not researched academic faculty positions in engineering. I have seen a couple of Dean's jobs-- I have been a Dean a couple of times however, higher education administration today is real tough with no money and no money in the foreseeable future. I do miss the students-- it is fun to be in the classroom and in the laboratory.

 

[ironman]

I think tenure was originally designed so that someone is not having to "red line" themselves into an early grave just to say employed. We dont do it to our cars or planes but we expect perpetual red line out of employees in the US society. Tenure and unions are a way to protect against that so that you can relax back the rpm's without getting canned to someone who is in the red line phase of their career or who is willing to kill themselves (litterally) over their job.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

She is now in Bozeman, MT, retired due to an accident at Nebraska. I will have to ask her about the soil science world and what, if anything is currently viable there.

I hear Bozeman will be the place to be on April 4, 2063.

 

[Dleg]

I think tenure was originally designed so that someone is not having to "red line" themselves into an early grave just to say employed. We dont do it to our cars or planes but we expect perpetual red line out of employees in the US society. Tenure and unions are a way to protect against that so that you can relax back the rpm's without getting canned to someone who is in the red line phase of their career or who is willing to kill themselves (litterally) over their job.

Has he lost his mind?

Can he see or is he blind?

Can he walk at all,

Or if he moves will he fall?

Is he alive or dead?

Has he thoughts within his head?

We'll just pass him there

why should we even care?

He was turned to steel

in the great magnetic field

Where he travelled time

for the future of mankind

Nobody wants him

He just stares at the world

Planning his vengeance

that he will soon unfold

Now the time is here

for Iron Man to spread fear

Vengeance from the grave

Kills the people he once saved

Nobody wants him

They just turn their heads

Nobody helps him

Now he has his revenge

Heavy boots of lead

fills his victims full of dread

Running as fast as they can

Iron Man lives again!

 

[Guest]

I received Ph.D. and master’s degrees in civil and environmental engineering from the U. of Alabama in Huntsville. In my Ph.D., I built a stochastic model to predict the soil moisture profile from remotely sensed surface soil moisture values and water balance constraints. In my masters’ research work, I analyzed the hydrologic impacts of land cover/land use change in northeastern Alabama and northwestern Georgia. I'm doing my post-doc at U. of Idaho, my research involves assisting in developing a Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model to provide quantitative, risk-based measures of water retention and erosion for disturbed rangeland sites.

That's very fascinating work - the problem is finding a market where you will need to reproduce that type of work to that degree. That's always been the problem with developing PhD level knowledge - it doesn't translate well into a marketable tool since typically it is a specialty tool.

There are a number of federal governmental agencies that have research types of functions, though I can almost promise you more directed research opportunities exist in private sector.

Good luck!

JR

 

[depolarization]

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/earth/

NASA has a lot of work related to what you did as PHD in their earth-observation crew.

Too bad their latest satellite failed