Some ways to engage with the transportation profession:

• Review Transportation Engineering lecture from CE315 Civil & Environmental Engineering Profession course (2008)
• Join PSU transportation email list. Attend weekly transportation seminars, ask good questions, view/listen to the archives.
• Join Students in Transportation Engineering and Planning. Undergrads join PSU ASCE student chapter.
• Visit CEE department job, internship and scholarship website, and apply for the many scholarships that are available.
• Professional organizations: WTS, Portland Chapter activities, ITE, Western District annual meeting, Oregon ITE, ITS America, ITS Oregon, ASCE, APWA, SWE, EWB, APA....
• TRB: Subscribe to e-Newsletter, volunteer with a committee, e.g., Committee on Traffic Flow Theory and Characteristics, participate in an Annual Meeting, first review the Survival Guide, join the Young Members Council.
• Learn about transportation agencies and intern programs: USDOT, FHWA (Salem), FHWA Federal Land (Vancouver), ODOT, WSDOT, Metro, TriMet, C-Tran, Multnomah County, Clackamas County, Washington County, City of Gresham, City of Portland.....
• Meet our alumni and see where they work, agencies and firms such as David Evans, DKS, Kittelson and CH2MHill and PB.
• Read academic transportation literature, visit PSU Library to access transportation journals and other resources.
• View ITE Journal and study the professional advertisements in the back where many transportation engineering firms are listed.
• Be a great writer. Visit PSU Writing Center. Before you submit a written product to a professor, have a friend or classmate critically review and edit it. Read great writing—a sure way to improve.
• Have a great resume. Visit PSU Career Center, take a resume workshop and conduct practice interviews. Be sure to use action verbs when describing your experience. If you email your resume, save it as a PDF with a sensible name such as "lastname_firstname.pdf" (not "resume.pdf"). Use your PSU email or an email address that contains your real name.
• Be multidisciplinary--take courses outside your major. Collaborate with colleagues from other fields.
• Nervous about interviewing? Here are some suggested questions to ask you interviewer.
• Read Wolf Homburger's essay about future of Transportation Engineering.
• Become a confident public speaker. Become known for asking good questions. Join Toastmasters to work on this.
• People are important. Support your colleagues, be a mentor, help prepare the next generation of leaders in transportation.
• Value public service. Civility, ethics and loyality are important in your interactions with each other and in your work.
• Give something back to your profession and to the community. Enjoy what you do. Have a passion. Be engaged. Have fun.