Looking for Future Job Advice

Hi everyone,

Basically, I’m looking for career advice for down the line and also need to vent. I (23M) graduated from college back in May and have been with my current job since June that’s in Wisconsin, located in one of the cities. It’s an environmental + geotech engineer position. I took this job for less pay (66K) over the other offer I had due to the fact the other offer was a transportation position and that just didn’t interest me. I really only accepted their offer because I wanted to have a job secured before I graduated but looking back I probably would have kept searching to get a job with a better starting pay. After a few months working here, I’ve realized I don’t want to be working there long term or doing what I’ve been doing for a few reasons. I plan to stay until November/December of next year just because I don’t want to be the person who left their first job after under a year and so I can have some decent experience under my belt to market to future employers. I’ll list the pros and cons of my job below:

Pros:

1. PTO (15 days, accruing one day every year worked there)

2. Overtime(1x) for billable time worked over 40 hours a week. I have been in the field for two months in total since I’ve started so this has been a huge plus.

3. Field Work- not necessarily a fan of the work itself but I like being outside.

Neutral:

1. Travel-My first field assignment I was able to come home on the weekends since the site was close by and I enjoyed that. My most recent assignment that I got back from a few days ago was in Mississippi and was pretty awful for a lot of reasons I won’t detail here.

2. My Boss- He’s kind of a difficult person to talk to when it comes to work and he stresses me out. I’ve talked to other people on my team and they’ve had the same experience with him so I know it’s not just me. I know it’s his job to make sure I’m doing my job well but the other team leader in our office along with my boss’s boss seems a lot more laid back/less uptight so I’m not really sure why he’s like the way he is. When we’re having casual conversation he’s fine to talk to but it’s like he becomes a different person when it comes to work.

Cons:

1. Having to constantly look for work- I’m not sure if this is normal for other consulting companies but I am usually expected to look for work rather than work being given to me. The problem is that asking around for work usually only lends me small tasks to work on but not consistent billable work that I can rely on to reach my utilization total. This has been getting better as of late with more consistent work being sent my way but it’s still a source of stress.

2. Billable hours- This wouldn’t be much of a problem for me if it wasn’t for the above. I don’t really like having to keep track of my time down to every 15 minutes but it’s not too much of a bother.

3. Pay(66K, Wisconsin)- I’d like some perspective on this from other people in the Midwest. From the research I’ve done, I’m on the lower end of starting salaries for entry level civil engineers in the Midwest.

4. Geotech- I don’t think I want to be in this area of CE long term. In fact, I was largely searching for water resources positions since that was the coursework that I most enjoyed in college and I’d probably like to shift focus to that field for my next job.

5. Holidays/Sick Leave- Only 7 throughout the year but I’m guessing the PTO accrual is supposed to offset that over time.

I guess I’m asking whether or not it’s smart to wait out this job for a year and a half and then move on after I’ve gotten enough experience but not enough to pigeonhole myself? I’m also looking to hear what salaries other people around my experience level and region are making just so I know what salary I should negotiate for at a future job? I’ve been debating going into the public sector to eliminate the billable hour problem in the future but I’ve heard from some that the work gets boring quickly.

Sorry for the long post but any advice is appreciated!