Posted on Feb 29, 2020
Can an Engineering Officer become an Engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers?
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I am an MSIII and am considering commissioning as an Engineer Officer in the state of Texas. I noticed there are a number of open civilian engineering jobs in my area on usajobs. I was wondering how difficult would it be for someone without a STEM degree to get a job with the ACE as a newly commissioned Engineering 2LT in the National Guard.
Engineer Basic Officer Leader Course (EBOLC)
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
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I'm going off memory but am fairly certain CoE and most USA Jobs engineering positions require a 4 year engineering degree from an ABET EAC accredited, not ETAC. That difference relates to engineering vs. engineering technician. Lot of schools sold snake oil on an ETAC degree which is worthless for professional registration later on. So if you want real engineering, you have to do real engineering. So take a close look at the pedigree requirement on USA Jobs. There are a number of engineering technician jobs which tend to cap out at GS-12 that do not require a degree. Even if you have an ABET EAC degree, GS-13 and above typically requires registration as it usually is a first line supervisor job and PEs need to supervise the work of others in that series.
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SP5 Ann Parris
You are correct CAPT. I work for USACE and to qualify for an Engineer position you must have a degree in engineering.
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I’m confused. Do you want a job with USACE as an active duty officer or as a civilian?
Active duty slot require you be engineer branch (with rare exception). Usually you have to be a captain or above (as an officer), or an E-6 or above if enlisted, but there are exceptions. An you have to be assigned via branch. As a civilian, you have to apply for the respective position. There are positions that don’t require a degree, and there are positions that require a degree but necessarily an engineering or stem degree. If you have a particular District or Division in mind, contact them directly. I know Transatlantic Division has open civilian positions.
Active duty slot require you be engineer branch (with rare exception). Usually you have to be a captain or above (as an officer), or an E-6 or above if enlisted, but there are exceptions. An you have to be assigned via branch. As a civilian, you have to apply for the respective position. There are positions that don’t require a degree, and there are positions that require a degree but necessarily an engineering or stem degree. If you have a particular District or Division in mind, contact them directly. I know Transatlantic Division has open civilian positions.
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2LT (Join to see)
My apologies sir. I should have stated I am going to be NG. I wanted a job as a civilian.
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COL David Turk
2LT (Join to see) - ok, got it. The NG commission won’t be much of a factor. The critical piece is having the prerequisites and completing your resume on the usajobs.gov website in such a way as to get selected (they use an algorithm to search for key words). Since you don’t have an engineering or stem related degree, your choices will have to be in other areas; e.g., security, planning, public Affairs, clerical, possibly contracting. If you’re really interested, go to your nearest District or Division, and start with a talk with the PAO. Another avenue to get into USACE. USACE used to bring a lot of reserve and national guard personnel (mostly officers but also some enlisted) on active duty through the PFI program, for up to three years (although they stretched that time limit often). Occasionally, a few of these activated military would roll over to a civilian position once they finished up theirs active duty tours.
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COL David Turk
USAJOBS - The Federal Government’s Official Jobs Site
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is BUILDING STRONG by providing innovative engineering solutions to the Nation, challenging and rewarding careers and professional growth opportunities – all in a family-friendly environment. At the Corps, you matter! As a civilian employee, you will have the opportunity to do great things every day that make a difference in people's lives. Our challenging and diverse missions include providing national...
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Not going to happen. You may want to look into contracting jobs, 1102 career field. If you do get a stem degree there is a lot of opportunity with the government.
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