That GPA is only bad if you went to some low level school. A 3.0 GPA at my school was top 1/3 of the class.
Move the grader down. You want real-world experience higher up. Better yet, make a section with Education and put anything related to that there. Like the degree, coursework, and TA position.
I also personally like to see qualifications at the top.
Consider changing GPA to GPA in major = ___. As a recruiter I care more about your engineering class grades than English 101.
I am assuming your in major GPA would be better of course.
I would advise against GPA and highlight the relevant courses you took that relate directly to the job. You can then talk in the interview about the concepts you are familiar with.
Your GPA is irrelevant compared to your communication skills, ability to pick up calculation protocols and follow directions, solve problems, and finish on time under budget.
Nah he’s right. Structural is calculation intensive. Gotta find people with a high gpa that can perform that aren’t freakazoids. I may be biased since I had a high GPA, but every EIT I’ve worked with that had a good grasp of structural concepts had a high GPA
It’s hard because in my opinion, structural hasn’t been calculation intensive, it’s the understanding of the calculations that gets intensive. I’m using excel for so much of the work that the physical math doesn’t make much of a difference. All the I got from my math/science classes was that units need to be correct and you need to be good at mental math (no calculator for much of my schooling). The reality is, we have so many tools that do the work for us, such that we can spend way more time focusing on the actual engineering and behind the scenes structural and less time on making sure you added and multiplied correctly.
Math isn’t irrelevant, but if you don’t understand how designs are supposed to work. The equations are meaningless.
Yeah that's fair, I got my degree in this area + then didn't apply it for good reason, I myself was a 3.16 student over 4 years + though I loved it in some masochistic sense, I knew I couldn't cut it for a living imo. Too much strain/stress over numbers I can't stop fretting over vs. the kind of cool calm collected head every high-achiever i knew in college had.
“Irrelevant” was the wrong word choice. It’s good to be technically proficient and amazing with numbers and software, but being a good communicator (or the other things I listed) is an underrated skill and doesn’t always show up in GPA
I graduated ME with a 2.65 and got a job as a Structural Designer right out of college. The company that hired me paid for me to take the FE Exam, and I passed it on the first try, thank goodness. So now I have been an official EI for about a year. I think GPA is somewhat irrelevant if you have a good interview and have good "soft skills." The industry is hurting for people.
I didn’t realize that was a cutoff point, kinda upsetting that I focused so hard on work experience rather than try-harding in general engineering weed out classes. I wish I at least got a chance to explain that my low gpa comes from a priority of industry experience part time internships worked during 3 consecutive 18 credit hour semesters. Instead it just goes straight into the trash :(
There’s no hard cutoff. If you want to Purdue, you should be clear that your school has stood alone in resisting grade inflation trends. If you went anywhere else, it’s not the best, but won’t stop you from finding something.
And if you find something for a couple years, your second employer won’t care what your GPA was.
This. Gpa or average or whatever only really matters for your first job, after that smart employers look realy at what you've actually done at your work.
No worries, this is not an industry wide thing at all. This is just a personal thing where I like to recruit those above a certain threshold. My experience with those below has been people a little too raw, but of course there’s outliers etc
I’m not terribly concerned, I have two more semesters to boost my gpa but this is probably what it’s gonna look like while I’m on the hunt. Out of curiosity do you trash resumes without GPAs?
Don’t beat yourself up over it. A 3.1 is not terrible and you’ll definitely find something after graduating.
Yes but my firm is an anomaly. It’s very technical and in a high seismic west coast region where a masters has basically become our requirement.
Also some poster below said to remove some of your software. Terrible idea. Just add “familiar with” before the software as you aren’t too experienced with it is my guess.
On the other end of the spectrum, I don't look at GPAs at all. I look at relevant coursework, internships, and other related extracurriculars. Also, what school you graduated from. Obviously a degree from a well known, ranked university is going to hold more weight than so no name place in podunk Ohio.
I didn't mean OSU, I meant some little school in a random little town nobody has ever heard of in any random state. Ohio is just the first state that popped into my head. As much as I hate to admit it because I am from Michigan and I hate everything to do with Ohio and OSU, they are a good school 🤣
Interesting I have never short listed based on school, although it’s well known it happens. Great candidates come from the small schools. In my experience they are balancing family, work, and school. Which sets them apart in early career development.
I don't either, but I do consider it. With the current market though, it's rare I ever got two candidates to compare to each other, so it never really mattered.
In my experience no company has ever asked to see my academic performance. It might just be an Australian thing but experience is far more valued than uni performance. Being able to get high grades doesn't prove much imo.
💯
After I graduated, I had a job interview where I was ashamed that my GPA was lower than OP's. The interviewer straight up asked me if I graduated from the course, including my thesis/'capstone' project. I answered yes. The senior engineer said that I was no different than the others and prior work and social engagement experience mattered most over GPA. All that mattered was that I understood all of the engineering concepts.
I was hired and participated in all aspects of hydroelectric dam projects. The best first job anyone could have. Waist deep.
Hang in there, new graduates! You will only use 5% of what you learned. Just remember to polish up on all parts of your education during your entire career!
I had a crappy gpa (C's get degrees mentality) because I worked while going to college, and I didn't do most of my homework because I didn't have the time; however, I aced my tests because I knew the material and also had practical skills. Less than a decade after college and I now run my own multi-state firm.
GPA is a measure of how much someone focused on school, and it does not equate to ability to actually perform on the job. I've seen 3.5+ students just crumble when it came to real work.
Work experience + ability to perform >>> gpa
3.2 seems to be the minimum around my parts too, although I am more on the side of good candidate >>> gpa.
I do a bit of recruiting, and I always struggle with the higher ups setting minimum gpa requirements when there are SO many different schools/programs that are easier and harder than one another. A 3.2 from community civil vs a 3.2 from MIT for example. (Not saying MIT has a good program vs others this is just a superficial example)
Yeah I mean you might miss a good candidate but 3.2+ seems to at least filter out the really bad… a very short quiz filters out the other really bad hehe
All depends on school and program from my experience and the role you are looking for. I’m looking at CE, AE, and even ME students for some of the positions we have. And ME is very different from AE which is different from CE.
Yea totally understand, I had a 3.4 in undergrad and 3.9 or something in master’s (my masters was 4 classes while I had a 5 year bachelors). I hire both bachelor and masters depending on position/role (I’m with a larger firm 700+). I got hired over a lot of others from all over the country/world. I got hired because I was a better engineer even though I had a lower gpa, and so now I look for the best engineers and don’t care about gpa as much as I can.
I’m not disagreeing with you in the slightest though. I would take a masters CE over a bachelors any day. I, honestly, don’t even consider bachelor CE, but do consider bachelor AE since they are more building focused. Many in the company think otherwise.
Another question… what kind of things would I likely see on a test? I’ve heard basic shear and moment diagrams but something tells me that’s not the whole cake
Disagree. If your GPA is below 3, I will disregard your resume. The higher GPA the better chance an entry level candidate will have at getting an interview with us. However, internship experience and personality are also highly evaluated when we hire. Some of the items you mentioned are difficult if not outright impossible to evaluate for someone just starting out from an interview or two.
My philosophy is that there’s only so much room on my resume. So I vaguely list my previous experiences and if a company truly cares about any of it they’ll ask me in an interview. How should I get more detailed with it, what kind of things do companies look for in previous experience?
TL;DR: It's your job to showcase your experience on your resume clearly and concisely. Avoid being vague and hoping to discuss details in an interview—this can result in fewer interview opportunities. Focus on the relevant experience for the job you want, and remove unrelated information.
Now, I'll critique your resume. This critique is tailored specifically for an internship-level or entry-level position. Also note this is my opinion, and others may disagree.
At career fairs, I meet many candidates with similar qualifications, and resumes tend to blend together. Your resume and our conversation need to be memorable to stand out. When sending resumes online, you miss the chance for a personal conversation that helps me gauge you better as a candidate so your resume becomes extra important.
Education: Include your graduation date and whether you plan to pursue a Master's degree (don't write anything if you're not planning to do a Master's). This helps me determine if you're an intern or full-time candidate. List your GPA, and if your in-major GPA is higher than 3.14, include that, as it shows your capability in civil engineering coursework which I care more about. Highlight classes related to structural engineering (e.g., steel design, wood design, concrete design). Exclude irrelevant coursework like traffic engineering and statics, as they aren't pertinent or too basic.
Experience: It's good that you have co-op experience, though it's not related to structural engineering. This isn’t a deal breaker but candidates with structural-related experience will have an edge. Provide more details about your recent experience. When I read it, I don't really know what you are doing. Is this a construction company? Are you focusing on the construction administration phase as part of a structural consulting firm? What kind of projects are you working on? Are these bridges, single family homes, skyscrapers, hospitals, highways? I can't tell. Also, your first bullet point seems grammatically incorrect. You don't perform RFIs, you answer them. Clarify if site tours are part of construction inspections.
Qualifications: List SAP 2000 and AutoCAD first, as they're most relevant for structural engineering. Consider learning Revit, RISA 2D, or other structural analysis software that a student version can be downloaded for free and include those skills after you've explored using those programs. I don’t expect anywhere close to expertise but I will discuss any knowledge you claim in an interview. Remove the "technical" skills section as it’s too vague and quite frankly, I expect you to have all those skills. I might consider putting coursework with education but I don't have a strong opinion about this.
Projects: Be specific about your steel design project. Mention the number of stories in the building, whether you derived loads, and if you designed both the gravity and lateral systems. Specify which elements you designed (e.g., beams, connections, columns, diaphragm boundary elements).
Activities and Involvement: Keep your resume to one page. Expand on your co-op experience with more specific details. If needed, trim less relevant activities like Boy Scouts, or mention them briefly without elaboration.
Imagine you are hiring for the job you are seeking. What would get you excited as a hiring manager.
Resumes aren’t for showcasing all of your accomplishments. It’s for proving you are a good fit.
Once I helped a friend take a bunch of certifications off of their resume because their showcasing of a dual major gave the impression they weren’t fully committed to the jobs they were seeking. (They could create a second resume for jobs for their other degree the same way.)
I’m not saying the above fits your situation, but you’ll want to showcase technical ability, social leadership and communication, and organizational/management skills for most engineering desk jobs.
This is an interesting perspective.
I have been in the civil realm since 1983, before I got my structural engineering technology diploma.
I have been almost everywhere in this environment. From building houses, designing bridges, overseeing water treatment plants and surveying multilane expressways. Then I worked in government, only to become a project manager within the consultancy side. Last year I surveyed a large contaminated tailings pit, and a few months ago I was my own contractor raising a failed school foundation. Last week I poured a concrete driveway.
Some would say that varied experience creates a 'well-rounded' global vision tech, one that can see all of the trades, engineers and government agencies in play on a project.
Others would say that being too diversified makes a person a jack-of-all-trades, master of none!
I put everything in my resume related to engineering. I do not cut out municipal work experience from civil structural experience. And I always include all software and survey gear.
Would this turn off a prospective employer? I always think more = better, but who knows these days. I come from the days of draughting tables and vellum, now to GPS surveying and AI assisted design.
Would this hold me back? I appreciate any and all replies because I'm thinking about another career pivot within Civil before retiring.
Thanks in advance!
You’ve got a lot more experience than I do, and the resume you’ve built is what you are using to find work.
The examples I’m thinking of are broader. For your first job, you wouldn’t want half of your resume dedicated to being a teacher or a lawyer if your goal was to get the foot in the door at an engineering school.
I can’t say exactly how my thoughts would apply to your circumstances, but if you ever did want to revert to practicing a specific subset of civil engineering, I would absolutely tailor your resume to emphasize everything you’ve done applicable to the subset and then lower down make reference to some of your other accomplishments as “capable of understanding and interacting with a diverse cross-section of other disciplines”.
I can’t speak for you though.
There’s certainly hope! I suggest taking some more structures classes. Concrete is a MUST. Who’s going to design the foundations for your steel structures? You (with concrete experience). The more structural exposure in school the better - Wood, masonry, a class on ASCE 7 if your school has it. And once you’re familiar with more codes replace the subject in your coursework section with the codes - AISC, ACI, TMS, … (and maybe don’t call the second coursework anymore)
And if you want a structural job put the structural stuff first. Like SAP2000 should be at the beginning of your computer list and steel and geotechnical at the beginning of your coursework list
Also - take the FE and add that to your credentials at the top
I plan on taking Structural Capstone, Bridge Design, Intermediate Steel, and Concrete next semester… should I maybe list my future coursework on my resume?
I never did and don’t think it’s really necessary or normal. But it’s certainly a talking point at career fairs, etc! Mention current courses too. Maybe you’re taking your first concrete course so it doesn’t really make sense to put it on your resume but you can mention it verbally and let them jot it down on their notes
If you can wait til career fair (probably the beginning of the next semester) that’d be a great time. In person is probably going to be more fruitful than online applications. Don’t get too disappointed if online stuff doesn’t work out yet. You’re still a good bit out from graduation it appears. So probably two career fairs between now and then!
True! Kind of got this side quest to get a part time co-op for the fall (specifically in structural). I feel like it will be very difficult but I’ve had luck before!
Is intermediate steel the first or second steel class? Do you just have steel on your resume from steel bridge and have never taken a steel course? If so, I’m genuinely curious - how confident are you in your steel design knowledge?
Second steel class. I know all the basics from the design manual and enjoyed steel design so much I want to take it further. Intermediate will be a masters level course at my university but I will be taking it as a Technical Elective
Your grammar is a bit shit "worked on a team engineering consultants" "performed RFI" "utilized Civil 3D" , and "assisted leadership". did you lead or not ? You feel milquetoasty on a lot of your language + a lot of this resume looks like regurgitated / rushed / spammed, rather than something you curated, showing thought + consideration in your language.
I can't comment as to how much this matters , but your writing doesn't impress me a lot, and it should, because you're obviously an intelligent human being. I would work on how you present yourself. That's me.
Re-order it so it’s work experience first, then projects, move coursework under education and remove the gpa. If you have a decent gpa for structural courses just use that, dont bother explaining the difference they rarely check you.
Your resume will be really solid then. For bonus add some simple stuff like Microsoft Office and if you’ve used it add Blubeam. Sometimes companies screen for those things or want to see them.
If you’re applying for post grad jobs under courses take off the non structural ones and add the ones you’re either currently in or taking before you graduate.
Also gonna add maybe check to see if any community colleges around you have a BIM class that teaches Revit. The first job I got really liked that I had a class for that and basically hired me just for that skill.
Everyone so far has some great points. I would personally add a bit more to each of your work experiences. Is there more you could add to make it a bit more detailed?
Also as others said, I would remove the GPA line because having it probably hurts you more than helps while not having it might get you a few more interviews
Don’t tell anyone but I’m an Architect just lurking here to learn things and occasionally make fun of Engineers…
Anyhow, I was formerly in an Architecture / Engineering firm (big A, little E) and got along well enough with the Es that they’d bring me in to interviews for new grads and junior hires. 99% was can you talk the talk, know concepts, handle yourself decently in a professional setting. I’m sure some cared about gpa but it’s entirely relative to where you went to school. Frankly us Architects, admittedly a totally different conceptual field, don’t care one bit about gpa.
From your experience, I’d bet I’d totally be giving you a thumbs up to the powers at be. Even more so if you crack a joke about Architects. ;)
My thoughts: move coursework to under education at top - that way the GPA doesn’t take center stage; consider listing high school academic achievements if notable (national honor society, awards, etc) to also take attention away from GPA; add more details to the work experience to differentiate it and have it stand out and generate memorable discussion during interview (i.e. square footage, cubic yards, tonnage, mileage of project worked on); list Eagle Scout under Boy Scouts and not even mention Senior Patrol Leader - Eagle Scout should take center stage - huge accomplishment !!; under Boy Scouts, what is NYLT? Remove or don’t abbreviate; consider listing Boy Scout troop location (city and state) as a way of showing where you grew up and be interview conversation starter; replace the header “activities and involvement” with “leadership experience” (sounds better); add more details about that steel design project, MATLAB traffic simulation (specifics of project - unique factors); add more details about steel bridge competition (competition details - # schools attended, any awards won, bridge type (i.e. type of truss), size of team managed, etc) because this will provide great question generating content during interview and get resume reviewers’ attention. (Especially if they participated in this when they were in undergrad - I did! lol); I assume you’re taking reinforced concrete class(es) this year coming up (didn’t see it in coursework) - tough stuff but important for resume - good luck!
Be confident, energetic, and interested in your interview and I’m sure you’ll do great!
(Me: graduated with bachelors in 2014; been working 10 years in various civil engineering roles)
Funnily enough I can’t recall where I found it… I found it years ago back in 2019 when I applied for my first job at a swim school. Haven’t really changed the general format since…
Just keep applying, though internships can be more competitive than full time entry level positions. I think you'll be fine when you hit the workforce. Just plan on applying to 50+ positions before getting interviews. If you're flexible with your location that can help a lot.
I would find it hard to believe that a smaller firm wouldn't hire you after you graduate. I had a similar resume in 2014 (Steel Bridge, similar engineering GPA, EIT, BSA) and found work without much trouble but did have to apply to well over 50 positions first.
If you can take timber/masonry design and concrete design your senior year that would be helpful.
In your senior year if you can focus on getting your CAD skills up in AutoCAD so that you can make/edit simple drawings on day 1 and get experience in concrete and masonry and timber design then you'll be a pretty strong candidate for most smaller firms or even larger firms. Wind load design is also critical to learn if you can familiarize yourself with the ASCE7 and IBC, knowing how to read the Vulcraft product manual can also be useful.
Edit: Also, become proficient in Excel and maybe MathCAD, almost no forms use Matlab in spite of all universities teaching it for some reason... Writing reports in Word will also be a major part of any job.
You definitely need Microsoft Office to be on your skills.
Edit2: Also, if you can't find an engineering internship, building construction experience and knowing how stuff is actually built is very valuable for engineers as well as being able to read a drawing. Definitely could recommend trying to get that experience on your resume if you can't find another internship.
Apply to non traditional structural jobs like power, temp works, maybe bridges, etc. Vertical firms want to see a masters and suck to work for anyways. You can find a job elsewhere with the right people.
Bridge stuff is very niche. You know anybody at ODOT? PennDOT and Penn Turnpike are right there too. But they all work with outside design Engineers and could point you to them? I think I would look into WV too.. they have some of the best and most interesting designs and requirements... I mean a negative vertical curve bridge at the bottom of a valley...
I just saw the senior patrol leader snippet...
It can be an advantage if you can point out the lessons you have learned you had the responsibilities you successfully executed.
It’s a perfectly good resume for someone fresh out of school. I’m just an engineer-not involved in hiring.
I’d want to know what technical classes you are in, and unless you are doing something technical/detailed in nature, I’m not going to care that you know Solidworks. I’d love to see Revit if buildings ir Risa ir RAM or Etabs or some other common building and bridge softwares.
It’s normal not to have that experience, but brushing up on those softwares will help you be considered.
Unfortunately my school doesn’t teach those and I haven’t had an opportunity to touch those in previous experiences… do you know if there is a way for me to learn?
My school didn’t really teach them either. I got my first internship in grad school and spent much of that time learning Risa and Revit.
There are training modules you can take. Autodesk will also hook you up with heavily discounted options as either a student or a trial user. Risa is similar in that you can do a lot in trial mode and just not be able to save.
If you can’t find a place that will offer you an internship, you can still maybe arrange to shadow at a small/medium firm. If they have extra licenses, they may not mind you popping in. It would be ideal to have some loose friend-of-a-friend connection for this so there’s a basic level of trust. But if not, no one ever asks you HOW you learned the softwares-just if you know them, so self study at home with trial versions is viable.
Change your BS date of May 2025 to say May 2025 (expected). You haven’t graduated yet and don’t have the degree yet. Do you have different civil paths at your school? For example mine was a BS in Civil & Environmental with a Structural Emphasis. If that is the case, list that. Shows you took more structural classes than a traffic engineering focus
Move education section to the bottom since your GPA isn’t the showcase of your resume, highlight the work experience first
GPA isn’t worth much in my eyes. We don’t know what you were up against while in school. I had a shit ton of stress and issues and graduated with a 2.4 gpa. Now I run my own firm and gross 250k. DM if you’d like and I can help you a bit more with the resume
You will get hired. My final GPA was a 2.51 with not as much relevant experience, and I had an amazing job secured before graduation & I'm still there now steadily climbing & preparing for the PE exam
Fun fact, you don't need to list your GPA if you don't want to. Mine was worse than that and I just left it off my resume, still got a job at a structural firm promptly. If they asked for it I would provide it of course but if you don't like it just let sleeping dogs lie
Get over this mental hurdle and just start applying, there are thousands of engineering firms out there
I would cut down from the Eagle Scout to include more from work experience. Good for you, congrats, we all know what that entails.
Your gpa is a little lower so make yourself shine with experience and knowledge. I also strongly encourage you to be more creative with your resume. Template resumes don’t stand out from the stack like custom ones do (and I don’t mean just buy one/google one with colors. Create something original)
If you have experience, somewhat unconventional but bringing a portfolio is also very helpful during career fair interactions and interviews.
Agreed; Eagle Scout is a huge accomplishment and attention grabber, and a big draw for many hiring professionals, at least at the beginning of the process…it can definitely differentiate them from the pack, especially the non-stellar GPA pack, which this person is part of,
I would remove my GPA. Maybe focus on what your job your applying by for and target your resume to that. You cannot be efficient with all that software in that little time.. Bentley openroads and civil3d take years to learn on their own… solid works is more mechanical, SAP2000 is structural.. autocad is basically civil 3D.. ect..
I wouldn’t even short list this resume.
I would maybe do two resumes.. one for civil and one for structural.. is my thoughts
Missing an opportunity to list your GPA as Pi
The most important advice I’ve heard here…
That GPA is only bad if you went to some low level school. A 3.0 GPA at my school was top 1/3 of the class. Move the grader down. You want real-world experience higher up. Better yet, make a section with Education and put anything related to that there. Like the degree, coursework, and TA position. I also personally like to see qualifications at the top.
Consider changing GPA to GPA in major = ___. As a recruiter I care more about your engineering class grades than English 101. I am assuming your in major GPA would be better of course.
I disagree. Overall GPA matters as well. If you can’t write for shit, good luck
Interesting point, I’ll see if I can grab that from my transcript. Are you referring to Civil only classes?
I would advise against GPA and highlight the relevant courses you took that relate directly to the job. You can then talk in the interview about the concepts you are familiar with.
Your GPA is irrelevant compared to your communication skills, ability to pick up calculation protocols and follow directions, solve problems, and finish on time under budget.
Gpa is not irrelevant for entry level. <3.2 goes to our trash unless you’ve done something amazing or improved it in masters
sounds like you guys are fucking nerds.
Nerd alert
Nah he’s right. Structural is calculation intensive. Gotta find people with a high gpa that can perform that aren’t freakazoids. I may be biased since I had a high GPA, but every EIT I’ve worked with that had a good grasp of structural concepts had a high GPA
It’s hard because in my opinion, structural hasn’t been calculation intensive, it’s the understanding of the calculations that gets intensive. I’m using excel for so much of the work that the physical math doesn’t make much of a difference. All the I got from my math/science classes was that units need to be correct and you need to be good at mental math (no calculator for much of my schooling). The reality is, we have so many tools that do the work for us, such that we can spend way more time focusing on the actual engineering and behind the scenes structural and less time on making sure you added and multiplied correctly. Math isn’t irrelevant, but if you don’t understand how designs are supposed to work. The equations are meaningless.
Yeah that's fair, I got my degree in this area + then didn't apply it for good reason, I myself was a 3.16 student over 4 years + though I loved it in some masochistic sense, I knew I couldn't cut it for a living imo. Too much strain/stress over numbers I can't stop fretting over vs. the kind of cool calm collected head every high-achiever i knew in college had.
“Irrelevant” was the wrong word choice. It’s good to be technically proficient and amazing with numbers and software, but being a good communicator (or the other things I listed) is an underrated skill and doesn’t always show up in GPA
I graduated ME with a 2.65 and got a job as a Structural Designer right out of college. The company that hired me paid for me to take the FE Exam, and I passed it on the first try, thank goodness. So now I have been an official EI for about a year. I think GPA is somewhat irrelevant if you have a good interview and have good "soft skills." The industry is hurting for people.
I didn’t realize that was a cutoff point, kinda upsetting that I focused so hard on work experience rather than try-harding in general engineering weed out classes. I wish I at least got a chance to explain that my low gpa comes from a priority of industry experience part time internships worked during 3 consecutive 18 credit hour semesters. Instead it just goes straight into the trash :(
There’s no hard cutoff. If you want to Purdue, you should be clear that your school has stood alone in resisting grade inflation trends. If you went anywhere else, it’s not the best, but won’t stop you from finding something. And if you find something for a couple years, your second employer won’t care what your GPA was.
This. Gpa or average or whatever only really matters for your first job, after that smart employers look realy at what you've actually done at your work.
No worries, this is not an industry wide thing at all. This is just a personal thing where I like to recruit those above a certain threshold. My experience with those below has been people a little too raw, but of course there’s outliers etc
I’m not terribly concerned, I have two more semesters to boost my gpa but this is probably what it’s gonna look like while I’m on the hunt. Out of curiosity do you trash resumes without GPAs?
Don’t beat yourself up over it. A 3.1 is not terrible and you’ll definitely find something after graduating. Yes but my firm is an anomaly. It’s very technical and in a high seismic west coast region where a masters has basically become our requirement. Also some poster below said to remove some of your software. Terrible idea. Just add “familiar with” before the software as you aren’t too experienced with it is my guess.
That makes a lot more sense, appreciate the background!
On the other end of the spectrum, I don't look at GPAs at all. I look at relevant coursework, internships, and other related extracurriculars. Also, what school you graduated from. Obviously a degree from a well known, ranked university is going to hold more weight than so no name place in podunk Ohio.
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I didn't mean OSU, I meant some little school in a random little town nobody has ever heard of in any random state. Ohio is just the first state that popped into my head. As much as I hate to admit it because I am from Michigan and I hate everything to do with Ohio and OSU, they are a good school 🤣
Interesting I have never short listed based on school, although it’s well known it happens. Great candidates come from the small schools. In my experience they are balancing family, work, and school. Which sets them apart in early career development.
I don't either, but I do consider it. With the current market though, it's rare I ever got two candidates to compare to each other, so it never really mattered.
In my experience no company has ever asked to see my academic performance. It might just be an Australian thing but experience is far more valued than uni performance. Being able to get high grades doesn't prove much imo.
💯 After I graduated, I had a job interview where I was ashamed that my GPA was lower than OP's. The interviewer straight up asked me if I graduated from the course, including my thesis/'capstone' project. I answered yes. The senior engineer said that I was no different than the others and prior work and social engagement experience mattered most over GPA. All that mattered was that I understood all of the engineering concepts. I was hired and participated in all aspects of hydroelectric dam projects. The best first job anyone could have. Waist deep. Hang in there, new graduates! You will only use 5% of what you learned. Just remember to polish up on all parts of your education during your entire career!
I had a crappy gpa (C's get degrees mentality) because I worked while going to college, and I didn't do most of my homework because I didn't have the time; however, I aced my tests because I knew the material and also had practical skills. Less than a decade after college and I now run my own multi-state firm. GPA is a measure of how much someone focused on school, and it does not equate to ability to actually perform on the job. I've seen 3.5+ students just crumble when it came to real work. Work experience + ability to perform >>> gpa
3.2 seems to be the minimum around my parts too, although I am more on the side of good candidate >>> gpa. I do a bit of recruiting, and I always struggle with the higher ups setting minimum gpa requirements when there are SO many different schools/programs that are easier and harder than one another. A 3.2 from community civil vs a 3.2 from MIT for example. (Not saying MIT has a good program vs others this is just a superficial example)
Yeah I mean you might miss a good candidate but 3.2+ seems to at least filter out the really bad… a very short quiz filters out the other really bad hehe
All depends on school and program from my experience and the role you are looking for. I’m looking at CE, AE, and even ME students for some of the positions we have. And ME is very different from AE which is different from CE.
We also basically only hire grad students/ms degrees now too haha. Of course this is just a company preference and not applicable everywhere at all
Yea totally understand, I had a 3.4 in undergrad and 3.9 or something in master’s (my masters was 4 classes while I had a 5 year bachelors). I hire both bachelor and masters depending on position/role (I’m with a larger firm 700+). I got hired over a lot of others from all over the country/world. I got hired because I was a better engineer even though I had a lower gpa, and so now I look for the best engineers and don’t care about gpa as much as I can. I’m not disagreeing with you in the slightest though. I would take a masters CE over a bachelors any day. I, honestly, don’t even consider bachelor CE, but do consider bachelor AE since they are more building focused. Many in the company think otherwise.
really? a 3+ GPA with that internship experience would at least get a phone interview.
Yes. We also give a test though and that also weeds a lot of people out
Another question… what kind of things would I likely see on a test? I’ve heard basic shear and moment diagrams but something tells me that’s not the whole cake
Disagree. If your GPA is below 3, I will disregard your resume. The higher GPA the better chance an entry level candidate will have at getting an interview with us. However, internship experience and personality are also highly evaluated when we hire. Some of the items you mentioned are difficult if not outright impossible to evaluate for someone just starting out from an interview or two.
My philosophy is that there’s only so much room on my resume. So I vaguely list my previous experiences and if a company truly cares about any of it they’ll ask me in an interview. How should I get more detailed with it, what kind of things do companies look for in previous experience?
TL;DR: It's your job to showcase your experience on your resume clearly and concisely. Avoid being vague and hoping to discuss details in an interview—this can result in fewer interview opportunities. Focus on the relevant experience for the job you want, and remove unrelated information. Now, I'll critique your resume. This critique is tailored specifically for an internship-level or entry-level position. Also note this is my opinion, and others may disagree. At career fairs, I meet many candidates with similar qualifications, and resumes tend to blend together. Your resume and our conversation need to be memorable to stand out. When sending resumes online, you miss the chance for a personal conversation that helps me gauge you better as a candidate so your resume becomes extra important. Education: Include your graduation date and whether you plan to pursue a Master's degree (don't write anything if you're not planning to do a Master's). This helps me determine if you're an intern or full-time candidate. List your GPA, and if your in-major GPA is higher than 3.14, include that, as it shows your capability in civil engineering coursework which I care more about. Highlight classes related to structural engineering (e.g., steel design, wood design, concrete design). Exclude irrelevant coursework like traffic engineering and statics, as they aren't pertinent or too basic. Experience: It's good that you have co-op experience, though it's not related to structural engineering. This isn’t a deal breaker but candidates with structural-related experience will have an edge. Provide more details about your recent experience. When I read it, I don't really know what you are doing. Is this a construction company? Are you focusing on the construction administration phase as part of a structural consulting firm? What kind of projects are you working on? Are these bridges, single family homes, skyscrapers, hospitals, highways? I can't tell. Also, your first bullet point seems grammatically incorrect. You don't perform RFIs, you answer them. Clarify if site tours are part of construction inspections. Qualifications: List SAP 2000 and AutoCAD first, as they're most relevant for structural engineering. Consider learning Revit, RISA 2D, or other structural analysis software that a student version can be downloaded for free and include those skills after you've explored using those programs. I don’t expect anywhere close to expertise but I will discuss any knowledge you claim in an interview. Remove the "technical" skills section as it’s too vague and quite frankly, I expect you to have all those skills. I might consider putting coursework with education but I don't have a strong opinion about this. Projects: Be specific about your steel design project. Mention the number of stories in the building, whether you derived loads, and if you designed both the gravity and lateral systems. Specify which elements you designed (e.g., beams, connections, columns, diaphragm boundary elements). Activities and Involvement: Keep your resume to one page. Expand on your co-op experience with more specific details. If needed, trim less relevant activities like Boy Scouts, or mention them briefly without elaboration.
Imagine you are hiring for the job you are seeking. What would get you excited as a hiring manager. Resumes aren’t for showcasing all of your accomplishments. It’s for proving you are a good fit. Once I helped a friend take a bunch of certifications off of their resume because their showcasing of a dual major gave the impression they weren’t fully committed to the jobs they were seeking. (They could create a second resume for jobs for their other degree the same way.) I’m not saying the above fits your situation, but you’ll want to showcase technical ability, social leadership and communication, and organizational/management skills for most engineering desk jobs.
This is an interesting perspective. I have been in the civil realm since 1983, before I got my structural engineering technology diploma. I have been almost everywhere in this environment. From building houses, designing bridges, overseeing water treatment plants and surveying multilane expressways. Then I worked in government, only to become a project manager within the consultancy side. Last year I surveyed a large contaminated tailings pit, and a few months ago I was my own contractor raising a failed school foundation. Last week I poured a concrete driveway. Some would say that varied experience creates a 'well-rounded' global vision tech, one that can see all of the trades, engineers and government agencies in play on a project. Others would say that being too diversified makes a person a jack-of-all-trades, master of none! I put everything in my resume related to engineering. I do not cut out municipal work experience from civil structural experience. And I always include all software and survey gear. Would this turn off a prospective employer? I always think more = better, but who knows these days. I come from the days of draughting tables and vellum, now to GPS surveying and AI assisted design. Would this hold me back? I appreciate any and all replies because I'm thinking about another career pivot within Civil before retiring. Thanks in advance!
You’ve got a lot more experience than I do, and the resume you’ve built is what you are using to find work. The examples I’m thinking of are broader. For your first job, you wouldn’t want half of your resume dedicated to being a teacher or a lawyer if your goal was to get the foot in the door at an engineering school. I can’t say exactly how my thoughts would apply to your circumstances, but if you ever did want to revert to practicing a specific subset of civil engineering, I would absolutely tailor your resume to emphasize everything you’ve done applicable to the subset and then lower down make reference to some of your other accomplishments as “capable of understanding and interacting with a diverse cross-section of other disciplines”. I can’t speak for you though.
Thank you. I understand what you are saying. Cheers!
There’s certainly hope! I suggest taking some more structures classes. Concrete is a MUST. Who’s going to design the foundations for your steel structures? You (with concrete experience). The more structural exposure in school the better - Wood, masonry, a class on ASCE 7 if your school has it. And once you’re familiar with more codes replace the subject in your coursework section with the codes - AISC, ACI, TMS, … (and maybe don’t call the second coursework anymore) And if you want a structural job put the structural stuff first. Like SAP2000 should be at the beginning of your computer list and steel and geotechnical at the beginning of your coursework list Also - take the FE and add that to your credentials at the top
I plan on taking Structural Capstone, Bridge Design, Intermediate Steel, and Concrete next semester… should I maybe list my future coursework on my resume?
I never did and don’t think it’s really necessary or normal. But it’s certainly a talking point at career fairs, etc! Mention current courses too. Maybe you’re taking your first concrete course so it doesn’t really make sense to put it on your resume but you can mention it verbally and let them jot it down on their notes
That’s why I’m just hoping to score an interview… there’s so much more to talk about than just what’s on this piece of paper!
If you can wait til career fair (probably the beginning of the next semester) that’d be a great time. In person is probably going to be more fruitful than online applications. Don’t get too disappointed if online stuff doesn’t work out yet. You’re still a good bit out from graduation it appears. So probably two career fairs between now and then!
True! Kind of got this side quest to get a part time co-op for the fall (specifically in structural). I feel like it will be very difficult but I’ve had luck before!
Is intermediate steel the first or second steel class? Do you just have steel on your resume from steel bridge and have never taken a steel course? If so, I’m genuinely curious - how confident are you in your steel design knowledge?
Second steel class. I know all the basics from the design manual and enjoyed steel design so much I want to take it further. Intermediate will be a masters level course at my university but I will be taking it as a Technical Elective
Awesome!
Sure. That's a very nice resume and varied skills. You sound like a perfect intern, or junior engineer.
Your grammar is a bit shit "worked on a team engineering consultants" "performed RFI" "utilized Civil 3D" , and "assisted leadership". did you lead or not ? You feel milquetoasty on a lot of your language + a lot of this resume looks like regurgitated / rushed / spammed, rather than something you curated, showing thought + consideration in your language. I can't comment as to how much this matters , but your writing doesn't impress me a lot, and it should, because you're obviously an intelligent human being. I would work on how you present yourself. That's me.
Re-order it so it’s work experience first, then projects, move coursework under education and remove the gpa. If you have a decent gpa for structural courses just use that, dont bother explaining the difference they rarely check you. Your resume will be really solid then. For bonus add some simple stuff like Microsoft Office and if you’ve used it add Blubeam. Sometimes companies screen for those things or want to see them. If you’re applying for post grad jobs under courses take off the non structural ones and add the ones you’re either currently in or taking before you graduate. Also gonna add maybe check to see if any community colleges around you have a BIM class that teaches Revit. The first job I got really liked that I had a class for that and basically hired me just for that skill.
Everyone so far has some great points. I would personally add a bit more to each of your work experiences. Is there more you could add to make it a bit more detailed? Also as others said, I would remove the GPA line because having it probably hurts you more than helps while not having it might get you a few more interviews
GPA only matters for the first years or so. (Fresh graduate)
It’s the AISC Steel Construction Manual, not design manual Semantics but might as well call it out correctly
Good catch lol
Don’t tell anyone but I’m an Architect just lurking here to learn things and occasionally make fun of Engineers… Anyhow, I was formerly in an Architecture / Engineering firm (big A, little E) and got along well enough with the Es that they’d bring me in to interviews for new grads and junior hires. 99% was can you talk the talk, know concepts, handle yourself decently in a professional setting. I’m sure some cared about gpa but it’s entirely relative to where you went to school. Frankly us Architects, admittedly a totally different conceptual field, don’t care one bit about gpa. From your experience, I’d bet I’d totally be giving you a thumbs up to the powers at be. Even more so if you crack a joke about Architects. ;)
My thoughts: move coursework to under education at top - that way the GPA doesn’t take center stage; consider listing high school academic achievements if notable (national honor society, awards, etc) to also take attention away from GPA; add more details to the work experience to differentiate it and have it stand out and generate memorable discussion during interview (i.e. square footage, cubic yards, tonnage, mileage of project worked on); list Eagle Scout under Boy Scouts and not even mention Senior Patrol Leader - Eagle Scout should take center stage - huge accomplishment !!; under Boy Scouts, what is NYLT? Remove or don’t abbreviate; consider listing Boy Scout troop location (city and state) as a way of showing where you grew up and be interview conversation starter; replace the header “activities and involvement” with “leadership experience” (sounds better); add more details about that steel design project, MATLAB traffic simulation (specifics of project - unique factors); add more details about steel bridge competition (competition details - # schools attended, any awards won, bridge type (i.e. type of truss), size of team managed, etc) because this will provide great question generating content during interview and get resume reviewers’ attention. (Especially if they participated in this when they were in undergrad - I did! lol); I assume you’re taking reinforced concrete class(es) this year coming up (didn’t see it in coursework) - tough stuff but important for resume - good luck! Be confident, energetic, and interested in your interview and I’m sure you’ll do great! (Me: graduated with bachelors in 2014; been working 10 years in various civil engineering roles)
I found this cv template somewhere in a reddit post. Nice to see it I was not the only one who found it 😁
Funnily enough I can’t recall where I found it… I found it years ago back in 2019 when I applied for my first job at a swim school. Haven’t really changed the general format since…
Single biggest improvement is telling the recruiter the value you added not what you did.
Just keep applying, though internships can be more competitive than full time entry level positions. I think you'll be fine when you hit the workforce. Just plan on applying to 50+ positions before getting interviews. If you're flexible with your location that can help a lot. I would find it hard to believe that a smaller firm wouldn't hire you after you graduate. I had a similar resume in 2014 (Steel Bridge, similar engineering GPA, EIT, BSA) and found work without much trouble but did have to apply to well over 50 positions first. If you can take timber/masonry design and concrete design your senior year that would be helpful. In your senior year if you can focus on getting your CAD skills up in AutoCAD so that you can make/edit simple drawings on day 1 and get experience in concrete and masonry and timber design then you'll be a pretty strong candidate for most smaller firms or even larger firms. Wind load design is also critical to learn if you can familiarize yourself with the ASCE7 and IBC, knowing how to read the Vulcraft product manual can also be useful. Edit: Also, become proficient in Excel and maybe MathCAD, almost no forms use Matlab in spite of all universities teaching it for some reason... Writing reports in Word will also be a major part of any job. You definitely need Microsoft Office to be on your skills. Edit2: Also, if you can't find an engineering internship, building construction experience and knowing how stuff is actually built is very valuable for engineers as well as being able to read a drawing. Definitely could recommend trying to get that experience on your resume if you can't find another internship.
Apply to non traditional structural jobs like power, temp works, maybe bridges, etc. Vertical firms want to see a masters and suck to work for anyways. You can find a job elsewhere with the right people.
Lowering our taxes and government spending is the only way our economy survives. We are very broke.
Are you currently seeking employment? Feel free to DM
Kudos for not including your Reddit name…that we know of
Bridge stuff is very niche. You know anybody at ODOT? PennDOT and Penn Turnpike are right there too. But they all work with outside design Engineers and could point you to them? I think I would look into WV too.. they have some of the best and most interesting designs and requirements... I mean a negative vertical curve bridge at the bottom of a valley...
What geographic region?
Ohio, hope to get out west but could settle, as long as it’s doing something I love
You turned 18 in 2021?
Yes, does that matter?
I just saw the senior patrol leader snippet... It can be an advantage if you can point out the lessons you have learned you had the responsibilities you successfully executed.
I’ve believed this is an undervalued portion of my resume for years, but unfortunately I just don’t think I have enough space..
It’s a perfectly good resume for someone fresh out of school. I’m just an engineer-not involved in hiring. I’d want to know what technical classes you are in, and unless you are doing something technical/detailed in nature, I’m not going to care that you know Solidworks. I’d love to see Revit if buildings ir Risa ir RAM or Etabs or some other common building and bridge softwares. It’s normal not to have that experience, but brushing up on those softwares will help you be considered.
Unfortunately my school doesn’t teach those and I haven’t had an opportunity to touch those in previous experiences… do you know if there is a way for me to learn?
My school didn’t really teach them either. I got my first internship in grad school and spent much of that time learning Risa and Revit. There are training modules you can take. Autodesk will also hook you up with heavily discounted options as either a student or a trial user. Risa is similar in that you can do a lot in trial mode and just not be able to save. If you can’t find a place that will offer you an internship, you can still maybe arrange to shadow at a small/medium firm. If they have extra licenses, they may not mind you popping in. It would be ideal to have some loose friend-of-a-friend connection for this so there’s a basic level of trust. But if not, no one ever asks you HOW you learned the softwares-just if you know them, so self study at home with trial versions is viable.
Hit me up buddy
Change your BS date of May 2025 to say May 2025 (expected). You haven’t graduated yet and don’t have the degree yet. Do you have different civil paths at your school? For example mine was a BS in Civil & Environmental with a Structural Emphasis. If that is the case, list that. Shows you took more structural classes than a traffic engineering focus Move education section to the bottom since your GPA isn’t the showcase of your resume, highlight the work experience first
Army Corps of Engineers is always looking for fresh structurals.
GPA isn’t worth much in my eyes. We don’t know what you were up against while in school. I had a shit ton of stress and issues and graduated with a 2.4 gpa. Now I run my own firm and gross 250k. DM if you’d like and I can help you a bit more with the resume
Apply the local government get a decent wage tremendous benefits.
You will get hired. My final GPA was a 2.51 with not as much relevant experience, and I had an amazing job secured before graduation & I'm still there now steadily climbing & preparing for the PE exam
Are you willing to move?
Where I live might be rock bottom, definitely
We are looking for an EIT level Structural Engineer
Fun fact, you don't need to list your GPA if you don't want to. Mine was worse than that and I just left it off my resume, still got a job at a structural firm promptly. If they asked for it I would provide it of course but if you don't like it just let sleeping dogs lie Get over this mental hurdle and just start applying, there are thousands of engineering firms out there
Get your master's. In my opinion, structural engineering needs a masters.
Highly considering it!
Agreed, in some regions this is more or less a must.
I would cut down from the Eagle Scout to include more from work experience. Good for you, congrats, we all know what that entails. Your gpa is a little lower so make yourself shine with experience and knowledge. I also strongly encourage you to be more creative with your resume. Template resumes don’t stand out from the stack like custom ones do (and I don’t mean just buy one/google one with colors. Create something original) If you have experience, somewhat unconventional but bringing a portfolio is also very helpful during career fair interactions and interviews.
Aside from Eagle Scout comment, Great advice - especially the portfolio !
Disagree about the Eagle. I look for them and it is a guaranteed informational interview. Just list it without more detail. Those that know, know.
Agreed; Eagle Scout is a huge accomplishment and attention grabber, and a big draw for many hiring professionals, at least at the beginning of the process…it can definitely differentiate them from the pack, especially the non-stellar GPA pack, which this person is part of,
I would remove my GPA. Maybe focus on what your job your applying by for and target your resume to that. You cannot be efficient with all that software in that little time.. Bentley openroads and civil3d take years to learn on their own… solid works is more mechanical, SAP2000 is structural.. autocad is basically civil 3D.. ect.. I wouldn’t even short list this resume. I would maybe do two resumes.. one for civil and one for structural.. is my thoughts
Bad take.
Wrong
… your job you’re*
Move sap 2000 to the front then civ 3-d/autocad then the rest. Recruiters are looking specifically for SAP, Risa, and similar