Army Corps program fast tracks engineering careers

A shortage of more than 20,000 engineers by 2033, is the looming statistic published in The American Society of Civil Engineers 2025 report card on U.S. Infrastructure — but the Corps’ Fellows Program is one slice of a larger pie of upward momentum in infrastructure planning.

What is known today as the USACE Fellows Program, is the evolution of a World War II workforce development initiative to build an ecosystem of civilian STEM experts to lead critical infrastructure projects. “This program supports a pipeline of talent needed to ensure we are postured for predicable and unpredictable attrition,” says Shyreese Moncivais, USACE’s Career Program Manager.

As technology evolves and the workforce begins to experience aging infrastructure and retirement-driven workforce shortages, the Fellows Program is a pipeline for entry-level civilians to receive a variety of training in technical roles in engineering and science, real estate, logistics and contracting. “Upon completion of the program’s two-year training cycle, cohorts are enabled to support leaders and the critical engineering and infrastructure missions,” Moncivais says.

The two-year entry level training program recruits recent college graduates for positions nationwide and overseas including the Corps’ Europe and Pacific locations. Although the program primarily focuses on technical roles, cohorts receive a variety of training aligned within their field of studies. Samantha Boyle, a 2026 Fellow’s Cohort graduate, currently supports public affairs in the USACE Sacramento District.

“The Army Fellowship and USACE have both given me a great foundation for my career,” Boyle says. “From access to great leaders across our enterprise to supporting projects on dams, reservoirs, dikes, flood walls and gates, and how they work together to improve flood risk management for roughly 500,000 residents,” she says. “I see firsthand how our team at USACE Sacramento is delivering vital engineering solutions.”

As the increase of workforce shortage for these mission critical projects rises, necessary pipelines like the Fellows Program can bypass delayed hiring processes that could be typical to civilian employment. "We are returning to a focus on our core missions. ‘Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork’ (initiative) allows our teams to deliver critical projects sooner and at less cost by eliminating bureaucratic delays,” says Adam Telle, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. By leveraging the direct hire authority for placement of post-secondary students and recent graduates, USACE Fellows cohorts are the vanguard of the Agency’s focus to recruiting and acquiring mission critical talent at a moment’s notice.

“We aren’t focused on one specific pipeline, though it all contributes to healthy civilian workforce structure,” Moncivais says. “We have a team dedicated to monitoring and forecasting hiring priorities.”

Those priority roles could range from mechanical, electrical, structural, civil, hydraulic, hydrologic, coastal and cost engineers to biologists, geologists, economists or architects and real estate specialists, all working to support national priority infrastructure projects.

The USACE Career Program has tracked the success of its program over the years and in the time since 2022, approximately 1,700 civilians have come through the Fellow pipeline, with more than half being specialty engineers.

Entry-level fellows are hired at the GS7 to G9 pay grade which ranges from roughly $50K annually and by the 24-month program completion secure a GS12 role of nearly $115K, a promotion track that most recent graduates would work nearly five years to achieve.

“I see myself continuing to build my career, connect with other fellows and use information and data to tell some of the unlimited stories of USACE mission critical projects,” Boyle says. In addition to fast tracking salary, fellows benefit from student loan repayment and tuition assistance, travel and rotational trainings, pensions benefits and flexible PTO.

The Corps’ Fellows Program is an investment in its own leadership accelerator. By leveraging leadership development as a strategic capital investment, USACE can build the next generation of infrastructure leadership. The upward mobility, training, resources and hands-on experience new graduates’ access through this program is a necessity to support national infrastructure, stability and serves as a career jumpstart and growth for civilians.