Which is a better career, civil engineering or software engineering?

Im also a civil engineer. This guy NAILED IT. i mean NAILED it.

career dude man wrote:

I understand that Mech > Civil on the career totem pole but I don't know that I'm interested in Mech because I like buildings mostly.

I assume you're pointing out that salaries tend to be higher for mechanical than for civil. They're both decent paying, though.

Speaking as a mechanical engineer, if civil interests you more, do that. The upper limits of both careers is very high.

I disagree.

I'm also a Civil Engineer. I started making $72k out of college without a masters degree. The first firm I worked for was really stickler about working at least 45 hours a week, but after a couple years there I recently switched companies to smaller firm. That switch came with a decent raise and I get flex Fridays (every other Friday off, if you don't know the term) and average about 42 hours a week. Instead of working on projects all over the country, my new firm works on more local impact projects. I love seeing the things I do impacting the community I live in.

Basically, I'm saying that not all Civil Engineering jobs are the same, and not all Software jobs are the same. The company culture makes a huge difference. I have two brothers in law who are programmers, and they both have switched companies multiple times because of job dissatisfaction until they found someplace that works well for them. Now they are happy with where they work. There are some Mechanical Engineers who end up spending their careers designing things like on/off switches for printers and similar things- they don't all design fighter jets.

It's really just about finding a company that has a culture that fits you well. If you are a hard working desireably employee, the money will take care of itself. Always keep feelers out, and don't be afraid to switch firms if you find something that fits your lifestyle better.

If you are doubting now, go for civil engineer. If you are not already coding now and passionate about software you’ll only be an average software engineer and get nowhere.

If everything is still open, you want to make money, i’d do something financial/economy-related.

If you like both get into combining architecture and ict to design smart buildings.

career dude man wrote:

I don't intend to choose my career according to the likelihood that it will get outsourced to India. I'm pretty sure there will always be software jobs in the US- Google, Microsoft, If you are a good at your work you should be able to get hired.

Judging by that statement, I question if you will be good at your work.

If you have to ask you are not serious about at least one of them.

Mech Engineer wrote:

If you are an engineer who can program, you will be highly valued by basically any company, especially the combination of chemical engineering and programming... .

I'm a chemical engineer, mid career, and get job offers all the time for $120,000 in the middle of nowhere. If going that route, definitely pair with management route to get promoted quickly. I kind of think MBA might be a better adder to most engineering than programming classes.

An old thread but software eng. is the way to go.

Software Engineering wrote:

An old thread but software eng. is the way to go.

12 years ago when I commented, I agreed with a poster who said positive things about Civil Engineering. I then made the CORRECT observation that software companies were quickly learning that outsourcing software development jobs, especially to India, wasn't necessarily a good thing. Well, now 12 years later, companies for the most part have learned that. There is still outsourcing, but there are a lot of domestic software engineering jobs available now, SOOOOOO...I agree with you that today, Software Engineering is the way to go. Lots of jobs available, good pay at all career levels. Solid career choice.

anonym wrote:

Mech Engineer wrote:

If you are an engineer who can program, you will be highly valued by basically any company, especially the combination of chemical engineering and programming... .

I'm a chemical engineer, mid career, and get job offers all the time for $120,000 in the middle of nowhere. If going that route, definitely pair with management route to get promoted quickly. I kind of think MBA might be a better adder to most engineering than programming classes.

I agree with this person. Honestly civil enjineer major with a minor in comp sci is still a very respectable degree so if that is what OP wants then I'd say go for it, but pairing some form of management-based education with your major will fast track your career the most imo. Especially in the software world (i cant speak for enjineering) where your average person is the opposite of what one typically considers to be good management material

Angelo Pappas wrote:

career dude man wrote:

I don't intend to choose my career according to the likelihood that it will get outsourced to India. I'm pretty sure there will always be software jobs in the US- Google, Microsoft, If you are a good at your work you should be able to get hired.

Judging by that statement, I question if you will be good at your work.

Since they posted that 12 years ago, they probably know one way or the other by now.

The result of this task is a document containing a partial specification of the requirements, which is used to build the initial prototype created in the next three stages. The designer constructs a model (using tools for this), that is, a partial representation of the system that includes only those basic properties that are necessary to meet the customer's requirements. Then the iterative rapid prototyping cycle begins, for more visit

It depends on where you live. 3rd World countries value Civil, Agricultural, and Power Engineers since they have many infrastructure and construction projects. In developed countries, R&D Engineers in BioTech, Genetics, Software, Communications, Artificial Intelligence, Imaging, Mechanical, Materials, Deep Learning just to name a few, are in critical demand.

Todays Status wrote:

It depends on where you live. 3rd World countries value Civil, Agricultural, and Power Engineers since they have many infrastructure and construction projects. In developed countries, R&D Engineers in BioTech, Genetics, Software, Communications, Artificial Intelligence, Imaging, Mechanical, Materials, Deep Learning just to name a few, are in critical demand.

Well we're suffering here because we don't value civil engineering.

Phil_P wrote:

From someone in the software industry, it is a snap to offshore computer engineering jobs, but civil engineering is pretty solidly a domestic occupation.

i remember in 2008-9 people talking about how software engineering was just going to be offshored and was a "dying" field.

Boy was EVERYONE wrong. I was in college then and lots of friends I had (and my self), didnt study comp sci because we thought we would just get laid off for someone in India, or any code we learned would be obsolete.

6 years later, EVERYONE is desperate to learn coding (paying out tens of thousands for boot camps), some people I knew even went back to school to get a second bachelors in comp sci.

I wish I studied comp sci - none of us knew how much it would explode post 2008-9....mobile phones really made things take off.

career dude man wrote:

Between CE and CS, which is the better degree and profession?

In 2009 when you wrote that? CS, because the housing market crashed, and nobody was building anything.

In 2021? CE, because construction picked up, and a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure bill got passed.

2009 < 2021 wrote:

career dude man wrote:

Between CE and CS, which is the better degree and profession?

In 2009 when you wrote that? CS, because the housing market crashed, and nobody was building anything.

In 2021? CE, because construction picked up, and a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure bill got passed.

no no no no no

software is taking over the world. in 2009 there was some debate, but by the time the iphone really reached full saturation.....(around 2011-12), mobile app development became an ENORMOUS boom.

software engineers are in HIGH demand, and its not going to stop. companies cannot find enough. pay is VERY high (250k for new grads at many places).