Students have many hands-on research opportunities, such as railway engineering, improvements to plastic pipe strength and recyclability, the removal of harmful pollutants from drinking water using recycled activated carbon, the use of ground penetrating radar for detection and analysis of underground tunnels and analysis of flooding of communities adjacent to rivers.

Most students complete a paid summer internship to gain practical experience and earn money. The State Departments of Transportation (e.g., WVDOT, ODOT, etc.), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, highway construction companies and engineering design firms offer excellent opportunities. Some students have also completed summer internships at federal agencies, like NASA, the Federal Highways Administration and the U.S. Navy.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for civil engineers was $88,570 in May 2020. Across the salary range for civil engineers, the lowest 10 percent earned less than $56,160, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $144,810.