2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Background
There is a growing gap between the preparation of Civil Engineering (CE) students at graduation and the needs and expectations of the professional Civil Engineering Consultant industry. With the American Society of Civil Engineers rating our nation’s infrastructure a C-, and the federal government enacting an infrastructure plan to address the needed improvements, the success of these efforts depends on a skilled workforce to design, build, construct, and maintain critical infrastructure. While the demands of the civil engineering field continue to evolve, academic programs are not adapting at the same pace. This widening gap between engineering consultant requirements and academic preparation impacts companies' productivity and exposes issues within engineering education programs.

We want to hear directly from CE leaders about the current state of graduate new hires. They can detail the difficulties, if any, in developing the new workforce to be effective in the profession and build a career that propels solutions to infrastructure challenges.

Objectives of the work
This research aims to better understand the skills desired by the civil engineering consulting firms for new graduates as they enter the workforce.

Assessment methods used
This research identifies key skills to provide new CE graduates with a solid foundation to build upon. The methods consist of a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews.

Data we collected from ten CE Industry leaders have experience in hiring, onboarding, and training recent graduates. The selected interviewees varied in their management level within the CE industry, ranging from CEO to division managers. These sources, along with the interviewer, have multiple years of experience within the CE industry and will share data on the potential gaps between graduates’ preparation to enter the CE Industry and the current industry needs.

Major findings
This research is a work in progress and will produce a preliminary list of learning objectives illustrating the core skills of new graduates interested in working in the CE consulting industry. The findings will help identify gaps in current training programs and suggest areas for improvement to integrate these essential skills into coursework. This will ensure graduates are better prepared for the demands of the field.

Relevance to the civil engineering community
This study may result in an enhanced understanding of the skill sets needed to equip the next generation of engineers to be leaders, with diverse perspectives, and the tools necessary to succeed. This will be accomplished by identifying potential gaps in the curriculum, creating pathways for engineers to enter the workforce, and developing future industry collaborations. Academia will better serve our CE students if we learn the industry needs of entry-level civil engineers necessary to build a successful career.

This abstract is submitted to the Civil Engineering Division and is in alignment with the interests of ASCE Liaison Committee. This study aims to contribute to the important topics of preparing civil engineering students for mentored experience after graduation and instilling leadership and professionalism in the current university curriculum.