I (33f) have a bachelor’s degree in journalism (of which I have never used) and have been a professional horse trainer (Colt starting, challenging horses) where I ran my own business in a rural area of northern New Mexico, which is where I heard about the USACE. My training career was put on hold once my husband and I found out I was pregnant and we decided to move to where we were closer to his work. I continued to work for a horse barn doing labor intensive work throughout the remainder of my pregnancy and once I was able to postpartum; all this is to say I’m not afraid of hard work and responsibility. My husband and I have recently moved with our now toddler to LA to be closer to my husband’s family (which has caused its own share of stress and issues) and I’m realizing now more than ever that I would prefer to have a real career that I can depend on and be successful and put horse training on hold.

I’m very interested in the natural resources specialist job within the USACE but I need to know the good and bad and if it’s worth going back to school for. I am willing to go back to school and get a degree that would allow me to apply for this position or even something similar. The Los Angeles ACE office isn’t super far from where I live currently as well. I’ve heard work life balance is great and benefits, pay, time off are great as well. Just want to know as much as I can!

Posts here are being censored when revealing wrong doing. Why is that Admin?

Given USACE’s involvement in dams and hydropower projects, I thought this would be a good place to hear from engineers with experience in the field, whether at USACE or elsewhere. I’m interested in pursuing a career in hydropower since i’m graduating soon in civil engineering. I’m also considering nuclear, so if anyone has experience in both industries or has moved between them, I’d love to hear your perspective.

I’m trying to understand the work beyond the job descriptions, so I have a few questions that i would love answers to:

1. How did you enter the hydropower industry, and what has your career path looked like?
2. What is your current role, and what do you actually work on? Examples of projects or tasks would be really helpful.
3. What does a typical working day look like? How much involves design/calculations, site work, meetings or documentation?
4. Do you enjoy the work? What are the best and worst parts?
5. How do pay and career progression compare with civil/structural roles outside hydropower?
6. Does specialising in hydropower open up opportunities, or make it harder to move into other industries later?
7. Looking back, would you choose this path again? Any regrets or advice for someone starting out?
8. I’m interested in building expertise in a specialised field, becoming a technical specialist and potentially moving into a team lead, head of department or another management role later. To be honest, earning a high salary is part of my ambition too. How realistic is that path, and is management necessary for the best pay, or can specialists reach similar levels?

I’m based in Sweden, so I’m also interested in how your experiences might compare with Western Europe, especially regarding qualifications, regulations and career progression.

Feel free to answer whichever questions you like, or add any information you like, any insight would help!

Thanks in advance!!!