First-year civil in Ontario — which paths actually pay, and what were the real income jumps?

[u/RecentRiver3534]

First-year civil in Ontario. I picked it because I like the subject and I like math — that part isn’t the problem. What I don’t want is to drift through the degree with no plan. Pay is part of that plan, so I’m trying to get a realistic picture from people who are further along.
A few things I’m trying to figure out:
Which branches actually pay the most over a career? I keep hearing structural, geotech, tunnelling, water resources, transportation. I have no sense of how different they really are once you’re 10 or 15 years in.
Consulting vs contractor. I’ve been told contractors pay more early but burn people out. Is that gap real, or does consulting catch up once you’re senior?
Does a master’s actually move your pay, or is it only worth it for specific technical branches? I’ve heard both.
Long term I’d like to run my own firm. For people who’ve done that — what did the years before it look like, and what actually made it possible?
The one I care about most: what were the actual jumps in your career? Not the year-by-year raises. The moments where your income changed in a meaningful way. Trying to work out what to aim at.
Happy to hear “you’re thinking about this wrong” too.

[u/HackyBallSack69]

I’m in Quebec, but I don’t think the situation differs much. I work at a consulting firm, all civil disciplines and paid pretty much the same. Salary is proportionate to what the client pays, and the fee for a civil engineer is the same regardless of his speciality field. Consulting pays a bit better than client side (cities, government) but not significantly. It really comes down to what you wish to do. A master degree gets you better project, but not necessarily a better pay check. Salary later is associated with your performance and role. People with masters degree tend to perform better, so eventually get paid better, but the degree in itself is not associated with a better pay check. Don’t know much about contractors, heard it’s a lot of hours, so yes, you may get a better salary, but that would probably be at the expense of your personal life.

[u/HackyBallSack69 → u/HackyBallSack69]

For your last question, jumps came about every 5 years or so, when the clients would pay more for my services (jr eng, int eng, sr eng and so on) the firm can then charge more for my hours and in return, can raise the salary.

[u/Majestic-Flight9731]

Em dash used, ignored.

[u/Artistic_Meeting_506]

bro you couldve asked ts simply instead of getting ChatGPT to write this paragraph for you

[u/lemon318]

You are thinking about this wrong if you’re thinking about pay. They’re roughly the same. You should pick a specialty based on what you find interesting.

Contracting vs consulting is very different. Consultants are the ones doing the engineering. Contractors build things. Contractors probably make more over the course of a career. You didn’t need to study engineering to become a contractor.

It’ll probably be more realistic to have your own consulting firm and be successful than being a contractor. Takes less capital and you can do most of the work yourself. Unless you can run equipment and serve as a superintendent as well, you’re gonna have a tough time starting a construction company.

You’re very early on. My advice is to work several very different internships to get exposed to the various routes out there.

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[u/WalleyeHunter1]

Year 4 went from superintendent to estimator 10%. Year 9 Estimator to PM 10%. Year 14 PM to Senior estimator 15%. Year 21 senior estimator to Regional Manager 25%. You cannot skip a step if you want to co tinue growth. I likley would have topped out similar $ sticking to superintendent all the wat

[u/Opposite_Ad1408]

You're spot on with consultanting vs contractor. Contractor's pay more day one (especially when you factor in total compensation) but do tend to burn you out. That said, working for a contractor for 3 to 5 years then going to a consultant is a pretty common path. Your own goals will also dictate your path. Some consultants will pay overtime as cash, some will let you take it as vacation some stick pretty strictly to 37.5 hours, different people prioritize that differently. Contractors generally give you a work truck and phone, if you don't own your own vehicle you can invest the savings. Out of town jobs (almost always with company housing and very generous per diems) are a great way for an new grad to make a tonne of cash pretty quick. My big pay raises were in year 3 and then years 7 to 10, some of that was gaining experience, some of that was industry and societal trends impacting me.

[u/asapomar]

You're thinking about things way too far in your career for where you are at right now lol. The money is there to be made in pretty much every avenue and sub-discipline whether you want to stay technical and consulting or project management and contracting (those aren't opposite sides of the coin or anything, just listing out examples). If you have many years of experience, you can eventually become an independent consultant on projects for companies that will pay you much higher than simply being an employee, but you won't have the benefits or retirement matching in many cases. Pay does cap out in Canada eventually but I'd look into industries first and then the sub-disciplines within that (ex. Nuclear, Hydro, Infrastructure, Transportation, etc).