What do you do if you're a civil engineer starting a new career without much experience?

It is true that I got my first job as civil engineer through my senior in the university. So I can assure that networking is important. Nowadays online conference or courses are available, but I prefer to do the offline one, because you can network with people directly.

Much of the time, your next project or job is usually guided by the Network you have. Collaborative relationships can lead to great opportunities and mentorship; making it easy for people to reference you to open positions known to them. This is how the great professionals in the industry move from job to job getting great promotions.

Generally your first proper job is found through people who know your capabilities. In my case I started out as a construction worker till the design engineer recognized my skills and he offered me an assistant engineer role.

Engineering as a career is a learning curve. You will always be learning from someone who has done it or something similar before. You don't have to always re-invent the wheel.

Having a mentor is like a pencil being guided by a ruler towards the right direction; I mean you can not compare it with a free hand! A good mentor will help you connect the knowledge and goals you have to the correct career path without wasting your potential years. A mentor will also act as your reference and guide in your professional journey.

As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher! This is particularly true when it comes to technical and practical courses like Engineering! It's like planning for a race with a driver who has been driving on the race track for 5 years while you have just landed at the race track! Even if you are driving a slightly more advanced car than the other (the car can symbolise IQ), The driver with experience who knows how the corners, hills and valleys are will most definitely beat you in the race....so that I why Experience is important!

Volunteer work, internships or part-time work can give me practical experiences, I did all of them. But what I also found capable to give experiences, to join competition, example construction design competition. Or do a research, it will increase your understanding and to some extend considered as experiences

As one that have less practical experiences, continuous learning is necessary. Not only to gain skills and new knowledge, but it also shows your interest to something new, that you are adaptive, and ready to be innovative in work.

Make sure to enrol on professional advancement websites like SourceCAD, LinkedIn learning, Alison, etc. to get sharpened in your line of trade.

Be open to learning as much as you can across the field. It's a wide discipline, and you may limit yourself if you're too picky. Absorb as much skill as you can in the first few years so you can find your way to your preferred sub-discipline later. The skills you learn on the way can never be a waste,

In relation to road infrastructure projects, in the early years of your career, it is important to be involved in the whole project life-cycle; from the pre-feasibility study to the handing over of the project, and what contributions different teams make towards the success of the project.

Si elegiste una carrera es porque antes pensaste que esta seria la que te daría éxito y realización personal, confía en ti mismo, en tus capacidades, en tu talento. Debes proponerte objetivos y levantarte cada día enfocado hacia alcanzarlos, Desarrolla ese talento para que se incremente y te vuelvas un experto. Si estas enfocado y trabajas duro cada día para alcanzar tu objetivos, no necesitas mas. No te apresures, no es una carrera contra el reloj, rodéate de personas que te aporten, realiza capacitaciones y autocapacitaciones para ir desarrollando habilidad en lo que estés trabajando.