How can you develop your civil engineering skills while working full-time?

1 Assess your skill gaps

The first step to developing your civil engineering skills is to identify your strengths and weaknesses, and determine which areas you need to improve or update. You can do this by reviewing your current projects, tasks, and responsibilities, and evaluating your performance and feedback. You can also compare your skills with the requirements and expectations of your role, your organization, and your industry. For example, if you work in transportation planning, you may need to assess your knowledge and skills in traffic analysis, transportation modeling, land use planning, environmental impact assessment, and public engagement.

2 Set realistic and specific goals

Once you have identified your skill gaps, you need to set realistic and specific goals for your professional development. You can use the SMART framework to define your goals, which means they should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, instead of saying "I want to learn more about transportation modeling", you can say "I want to complete an online course on transportation modeling using TransCAD by the end of this month". Setting SMART goals will help you focus your efforts, track your progress, and evaluate your outcomes.

3 Find suitable learning opportunities

The next step is to find suitable learning opportunities that match your goals, interests, and availability. There are many ways to learn new civil engineering skills, such as taking online courses, reading books and articles, watching webinars and videos, attending workshops and seminars, joining professional associations and networks, and seeking mentorship and coaching. You can also look for opportunities within your organization, such as participating in internal training programs, shadowing or collaborating with other engineers, or volunteering for new projects or tasks. The key is to find learning opportunities that are relevant, accessible, and affordable for you.

4 Manage your time and prioritize your tasks

One of the main challenges of developing your civil engineering skills while working full-time is managing your time and prioritizing your tasks. You need to balance your work commitments with your learning activities, and avoid compromising your quality and productivity. To do this, you need to plan your schedule carefully, allocate sufficient time for your learning goals, and set clear boundaries and expectations with your colleagues and managers. You also need to prioritize your tasks according to their urgency and importance, and delegate or eliminate any unnecessary or low-value work.

5 Apply and share your learning

The final step is to apply and share your learning with your work and peers. This will help you consolidate your new civil engineering skills, demonstrate your value and potential, and enhance your reputation and credibility. You can apply your learning by implementing new ideas, tools, or methods in your current or future projects, or by solving problems or improving processes in your work. You can share your learning by presenting your results, insights, or recommendations to your team, clients, or stakeholders, or by writing articles, blogs, or reports for your organization or industry.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?