2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The purpose of an engineering education is to prepare students for the profession; yet minimal research focuses on the process students undertake to find career placement. Given the licensure requirements in civil engineering, the first post-college job may be particularly important for civil engineering majors. We use social cognitive career theory as a theoretical framework, focusing on the job search as a contextual influence that moderates choice goals and choice actions. We examined the following research questions:
1. What barriers and challenges do students encounter during the search for full-time employment?
2. How do students navigate through such barriers and challenges on the job search?
We interviewed 10 civil engineering undergraduate students and recent alumni during the Spring 2022 semester (five graduated in December 2021 and the other five planned to graduate in May 2022). Three women and seven men participated in the interviews, which took place at an institution highly ranked in civil engineering. The interviews focused on participants’ experience with the job search, including submission of job applications, attendance at the university career fair, and participation in interviews with recruiters. We conducted several rounds of qualitative coding, using thematic analysis. Initial findings indicate different types of barriers, including difficulties advancing through certain stages of the process. Discipline-specific barriers include difficulty obtaining employment in structural engineering with a bachelor’s degree or missing key elective courses (e.g., steel design). Students shifted their job search strategy by practicing how to answer interview questions. In addition, they used resources at the university and relied on their social capital (e.g., older siblings) for guidance during the process. The findings from our study will provide helpful information for career services and civil engineering departments to better align their students' expectations with job-search process dynamics. Outcomes can inform the learning experiences offered (e.g., workshops, other professional development opportunities) that prepare students in developing adaptive strategies for job attainment.