Interview questions for Civil 3D designer position?

[Anonymous]

What type of questions do you think one should expect when going for a job interview as Civil 3D Designer for the first time? The company is working mostly in civil and geotechnical projects. They will ask some technical questions specifically about Civil 3D. Please share your thoughts and experience. Thanks

[jeff_rivers]

I take it you are being interviewed, you are not the one asking the questions.  

If I was on an interview panel the questions I would ask an entry-level designer would be to gauge how familiar they are with the C3D workflow; can they create alignments, surfaces, profiles, and corridors and do they sound competent at it or can they list direct experience (i.e. "At my last job, I created x number of design corridors, with their associated profiles and cross-sections"), or do they sound vague about any part of it, or they recite a canned answer ("Well I know how to read the help files, and I'm quick to learn!").  

After that I'd sound them out about deeper things, do they know how to create styles from scratch and also create styles based on existing styles; have they created custom code sets; are they familiar with manipulating feature lines (describe two ways to change the elevation of a PI point, and explain one reason why a PI might have its elevation locked).  Also can they get quantities from their corridor using the materials lists.  Maybe ask what the difference is between the datum surface and the top surface, and how each is used to compute quantities.  

If they sound experienced at all these, I'd delve a little deeper, and ask them for examples of how things went wrong, and what they did to correct it, or how they double-check the results they get from C3D using manual methods.  Maybe ask them if they have used Pipe Networks, and give some examples of how.  

On your side as an interviewee, I'd ask them some questions too: How rigorous and well-defined are their CAD standards, and how are they enforced, do they have a CAD administrator, do they have on-the-job training or mentoring, either formally or informally for teaching their processes and standards to new employees, and do they have a formal QA/QC program.  Trick question for that last one: If they say "Yes", then ask them to define what the A and the C stand for, and what they really mean.  This is how you tell if they really have a QA/QC program, or if it's just a buzzword they throw out there when asked.  

[AllenJessup]

What you are asked depends so much on who is asking. If they have a CAD Manger and he's asking questions. There will be specific questions about the program and how you might handle different tasks.

If it's like this place. You'll be interviewed by upper level management and HR. They'll have only a few stock questions and won't know the programs well if at all. So concentrate on how you'll be on time, how you work well with others and take direction well. Let them know you'll come in prepared for each day.

[Anonymous]

@jeff_rivers if the same question iam asking you how you will anwser

can you please explain about how good you are at Civil 3d?

can you please answer to this question

[Joe-Bouza]

Absolutely!

[Anonymous]

I'm fairly new in Civil 3D but I have more than 6 years working with AutoCAD. I know the basic and concept of civil 3d well enough. I was looking to find at least 10-15 interview questions that interviewers ask from civil 3d designers at entry/intermediate level. 

[jeff_rivers · Accepted solution]

My organization (public works for a large County) is as Allen describes, the questions are always from a list, and are not Civil 3D specific.  So be prepared for the typical interview questions that cover many positions: 

* Give an example of a challenging situation, and how you solved it

* Give an example of how you organize your work and manage deadlines

...and so on.  

If you can tailor your answers to Civil 3D you'll do well.  So, for example, "Well one challenging deadline required me to revise the FG profile, and edit my corridor by doing x, y, and z..."  filling in the details, of course.  

If you aren't that experienced with C3D, don't bluff your way through, obviously.  

And if you are interviewing at a private firm, then expect a CAD manager or an engineer to grill you in far more detail to suss out how much you really know about C3D.  You really can't bluff your way through these questions.  

Without knowing a few more details of where you are interviewing and what the position is, we can't give you better answers than this.  

Perhaps, if your skills are still developing, the first question to ask them at the start of the interview is just how much they expect you to know, and how much mentoring / on-the-job-training they expect to provide you.  Everyone knows that CAD techs and new engineers don't have a deep depth of experience and so employers expect to do some training of new hires.  Your question is how much they expect you to know versus how much they will train you.  

If I'm interviewing an applicant for a Tech-III position, I expect that person to be a recent graduate of a technical program, or a person with a few years of work history driving AutoCAD and/or C3D.  I don't expect them to be a power user.  We can teach them the rest on the job.

If I'm interviewing an applicant for an Engineer-II, I expect that person to show me they have done some complex corridor modeling, are very comfortable doing take-off's, and can generate bid-ready plans, among other things.  They should be very familiar with most of the parts of C3D, and maybe even be able to teach me some new things.  I should only need to give them our standards guide, and they can jump in and be productive with little to no mentoring.  

[AllenJessup]

---

@jeff_rivers wrote:

My organization (public works for a large County) is as Allen describes, the questions are always from a list, and are not Civil 3D specific.

---

Ah. Civil Service at the County level. How familiar. 😀

[Anonymous]

@AllenJessup @jeff_rivers @Joe-Bouza @Anonymous 

Thank you all for taking the time and sharing your valuable knowledge. I really appreciate. I have a good understanding of interview questions now. You guys are awesome

I would also appreciate if you could write down the top 10 critical skills (or top 5, if 10 is too much) that a Civil 3D designer must have, before going to an interview for a position of Civil 3D designer in a big company that does all sort of civil and Geo-technical projects. Bearing in mind that the candidate has an associate degree in civil engineering + 6 years of CAD works.

[AllenJessup · Accepted solution]

I never worked for a "big" company. What skills I would highlight in regards to myself are;

• Create existing Surface from Field Data
• Create Alignments both for Existing and Proposed.
• Create Existing Profile from Alignment and Surface
• Create a Proposed Profile based on the Existing and Design Criteria
• Create a corridor
• Create a Design Surface from the Corridor
• Calculate Volumes based on the Existing and Design Surface.
• The ability to start a Plan set showing the above
• Creating Details based on Village, Town, County and/or State Standards

These are the basics of Civil roadwork.

You might also need to show knowledge and/or experience in

• Site Design
• Grading
• Drainage design
• Lot Subdivision based on local zoning.

Some skills I have that I wouldn't expect a graduate Engineer to have.

• Knowledge in the collection and analysis of Boundary Control based on Field Survey
• Expertise in Map and Deed Research
• Experience in the analysis of field location of Boundary Control points against filed Maps and Deeds, Boundary Analysis

[Joe-Bouza]

 Keep this in mind but dont be arrogant about it.

They need you.

Let them know how You can Help Them.

[jeff_rivers]

Are you offering me a job? 

[Anonymous]

No @jeff_rivers 

Actually it's for myself

IAM looking for job opportunities on civil 3D iam preparing for interview that's y I sent you msg..

How should I answer to my interviers

IAM expecting like that

[Anonymous]

best one thrown at me:  "how do you profile a water line?"

and was expected to fill in any blanks.

Answer: I am going to assume you have an alignment for the water line, and either existing or finish grade surface.

the company cad expert said i could stop there.   my job title was civil designer 2.

the problem is most interviews do not have a company expert in the mix to really check your knowledge.

best wishes

nonbeard13

[jeff_rivers]

Well, I really cannot answer the questions for you.  The point of a job interview is for you to show the interviewers that you are qualified for and capable of doing the job.  

Telling you how to answer the questions would be like cheating on an exam in school by giving you the test answers.  

If you need help answering job interview questions, then I would wonder if you are qualified for the job.  

[Anonymous]

I need Interview questions and answers for Civil 3D designer position

[Neilw_05]

What is your experience with Civil 3D? What kind of projects have you done? How did you learn it?

What is your experience with Autocad Map and GIS?

Do you have access to the software at home? Are you willing to spend your own time learning how to use the software to overcome the challenges you experience on the job?

Do you know how to create a corridor?

Have you processed a surveyor's data file to create COGO points and a surface model of the existing site?

Do you know how data shortcuts work?

Have you used the pipe network tools?

Have you used the pressure pipe tools?

Do you know how to use the grading tools?

Can you create sheets using the plan production tools?

Do you follow the development of Autocad and Civil 3D?

What we look for are self motivated users who are eager to apply themselves to advancing their skills, which in turn advances the company and thus their own financial security and well being. Those type of employees we'll invest in.

This software is highly technical. If you don't follow the development of the software you are not a good candidate. Being on this forum says something about you.

Sounds like you have already thought about these things.

[ChrisRS]

Is "Do you know how to use the grading tools?" a trick question?

[Joe-Bouza]

Wow! I would be very intimidated as an entry level person. Very comprehensive.

[Joe-Bouza]

Did you get the Job?