Education · 1 of 5
The path
A degree that sits between civil engineering and earth science, then supervised work and a licence.
- 1
High school
Grades 11 and 12
Calculus, Advanced Functions, Physics and Chemistry. Earth science or geography is a useful extra.
- 2
Accredited geological engineering degree
4 to 5 years with co-op
Only a handful of schools offer it. You can also reach the same work through civil engineering with a geotechnical focus.
- 3
Field school
2 to 6 weeks
A few weeks of mapping outdoors, usually after second or third year. Most people remember it as the best part of the degree.
- 4
Engineer-in-training
About 4 years
Register with your provincial regulator and log about four years of supervised work, usually mixing office design with site investigation.
- 5
P.Eng (professional engineer) licence
After about 4 years
Pass the law and ethics exam, submit your experience record, and you can seal your own designs.