Promoting a Career as a County/City Engineer

Summary:

Local transportation agencies in Minnesota continue to face the challenge of hiring and retaining workers. Over the past two decades, the Minnesota Local Road Research Board (LRRB) has funded projects and developed a series of resources that promote the different types of career opportunities local agencies offer. These past efforts have been focused on entry-level engineers and technicians. Most recently, the LRRB audience voiced a priority to find candidates to fill rural county engineer positions. A career path to become a public works engineer may not be known to civil engineering students; thus, contributing to the shortage. Additionally, the county engineer position requires being registered as a Professional Engineer (PE). In Minnesota this requires four years of work experience and passing an exam. This project served as a bridge between the classroom and the community. By increasing visibility and articulating the value of public service, the LRRB aims to inspire a new generation to step into these vital roles.

Final Deliverables:

• Recruiting Minnesota's Next Generation of Public Works Engineers (Report #2025RIC20)
• Join Us as a City/County Engineer (Video #2025RIC20V1)
• Day in the Life of a Principal Engineer (Video #2025RIC20V2)
• Engineers Pass the Phone (Video #2025RIC20V3)
• It's Not Magic, It's Public Works! (Video #2025RIC20V4)
• Day in my Life at MnDOT (Video #2025RIC20V5)

Related Materials:

Related Research:

Project Personnel:

Principal Investigator:  Michael Marti

Technical Liaison:  Lon Aune

Project Coordinator:  Jackie Jiran

Panel Members: 
Adesewa Adesiji - DEED
Andrea Weleski - Hubbard County
Andrew Wrucke - University of Minnesota LTAP
Ann Johnson - Prof. Engr. Serv., Inc.
Anthony Pirkl - Lake of the Woods County
Anthony Sellner - Carver County
Brian Hare - SEH
Cameron Macht - DEED
Chris LaBounty - City of Maple Grove
Cody Mathisen - Kimley Horn
Jeanne Kurshoff - District 1
Katherine Stanley - University of Minnesota
Lyndon Robjent - Carver County
Matthew Clark - City of Chaska
Nick Preisler - City of St. Michael - Engineer
Reno Wells - MN Association of Townships
Sarah Schweiger - City of St. Louis Park
Stefan Gantert - Blue Earth County
Tom Wesolowski - City of Shoreview