What is it like to be an Engineer Officer and what is your favorite part about being one?

I always loved the sense of accomplishment. When we built a bride, it was built right and it was obvious. The variety of things we did was wonderful and clearly the engineer soldiers are the best. An increadible sense of "Can Do" Essayons!

If you're lucky enough to be assigned to a combat heavy then you'll be able to really maximize your construction background. My degree is in Civil Engineering and one of benefits of the military is being able to supervisor from the beginning. I had friends who had to wait years to lead projects and I was able to do that from the start. I liked seeing things come to life... from paper to reality.

Crabs over castles!! LOL

Combat engineers are different than Construction types & I,ve been both. The Military channel has a program on the 291 Combat engineers in Europe that put the Kibosh on the krauts making their way to Antwerp, As Hitler gave his tank commanded, orders, be ruthless, take no prisoners & give me Antwerp.... And about 200 engineer types stopping about a thousand tanks with full german infantry support Then went on to be one of the Engineer units that bridged the Remagen site while under fire. My Battalion in Nam, 15 EBC was the last unit organized of the 9th Infantry Div in ft. Riley, but was the first unit deployed & arrived in Nam about 4 or 5 months before the first Infantry out fits arrived then still supported infantry units while building other peoples barracks, chow halls & base support requirements....

Good luck PFC Fenton. Your construction management education is a perfect fit for the Corps of Engineers. As a 1331, Combat Engineer Unit Commander, my unit built roads and airfields, perfected yo-yo dozing, cleared minefields, built artillery gun emplacements, built buildings, and fought as infantry. The highlight of my military service was leading men in combat. The men, and now men and women, in the Corps of Engineers are the best of the best.

PFC,
Congrats on the ROTC appointment. I hope you got a scholarship.
I'm a retired LTC, Engineer Officer, but started out as a PFC like you.
I received a Regular Army, Corps of Engineers commission after completing ROTC, and did not have an Engineering Degree. In fact, my undergraduate was in Journalism---go figure. At the time, I thought it would hurt my career but it didn't. There are two separate EN MOS's for Officers; one for degreed engineers and one for people that don't have a hard engineering degree. A hard engineering degree would be Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, etc.
As an LT or CPT , your degree won't matter. The majority of your time will be with troops doing combat engineering, route clearance, etc. Once you make MAJ, things change. Most EN Officers I know (Active Duty), that are assigned a Corps of Engineers billet have an engineering degree. Corp of Engineer slots are one of the best gigs in the Army---especially if you deploy.
One of the best things about being an EN Officer is the versatility. Everybody needs an Engineer! I did everything from horizontal and vertical construction, project management, staff work, deployed with a Joint Special Operations Task Force, deployed for disaster relief with the Corps of Engineers, and deployed serving as the OIC for a Project Construction Office for the Corps of Engineers in Baghdad.
Here's a piece of advice. Find your local Corps of Engineers District HQ, go there, and ask for an appointment with the CDR or Deputy CDR. They will be EN Officers, and they will have Engineering Degrees---and they will be happy to help!
One last thought: if you do get branched EN, find two mentors. An EN MAJ or LTC would be good on the officer side (LT's and CPT's don't have enough versatile experience), and find a SFC on the enlisted side.
AND---Listen To Your NCO's!!! They know the deal, and have "been there, done that"!
Good Luck!

In one word, as has been said before me, "diversity." There is great variety in several aspects, the people you work with, the people you otherwise meet (such as those from other agencies/offices you can work with, etc.), the missions available, places you can go, the types of units you can become a part of... the list goes on. everything from 12B Sapper units to Facility Detachments, Construction (Horizontal or Vertical) to Survey & Design, Multi-role Bridging... again, the list goes on. The history is kick ass as well. "Damn the Engineers!"

Myself, I have been a part of Horizontal Construction units and missions, a Facility DET briefly, Battalion level Combined Arms Exercise as the S3 Construction Officer, Foreign Military Advising, and Project Management which overlapped into acquisitions. All of that and I am a LT with only one tour.

Airborne guys like to greet "leg" officers saying "Airborne Leads The Way, Sir!" to which I enjoy responding "As soon as I build the airstrip"

As for the other side first part of your post, the ROTC, know this: the accessions process is a complete CF. The only way to guarantee your preference is to work your way in to the top 10% of cadets in your year group, nationwide. As part of the packet for this process, you have to document your preferences, Component (RA, NG, AR), Branch (EN, AR, IN, etc.), and Duty Station. There were classmates of mine who got their 5th or lower choices when it came to branch or duty station, a favorable result in one of those 3 is not correlated to a similar result in the others. The year I went through it, I got forced into the Reserve. The year before, many who got similar news found loopholes and averted the Reserve and subsequently said loopholes were shut. As Engineers, 80% of all our forces army-wide are Guard or Reserve (only 20% active duty).

While I love being an Engineer and have worked with great people in my units and above... getting stuck in the Reserve was news I considered to be catastrophic at the time, and am still not particularly happy about. The upside to that at the time was that because they were so short on people, I got to pick Engineer (by far the coolest branch in the Reserves given that there are no pure combat branches present), as well as choose to remain in Texas. Next goal (after Company Command), the AGR program.

You have to know the mission for each of the combat arms branches and be able to seemlessly fit into their organizations and still conduct Engineer missions. You have to have basic understanding of construction, engineering and mnaging people and schedules. It is a great branch with a long and proud tradition. I think engineers are the best.

Congrats on your contract. It was always bittersweet to see soldiers go from Enlisted to Officer as we need incredible NCOs and warrants also. Most officers will agree that my most enjoyable days were serving as a platoon leader to be with soldiers.

In addition to the diversity others suggested, I loved blowing things up. Gaining the experience and knowledge to maneuver and do incredible things while employing demo safely was an unforgettable aspect. As a company XO or CO planning the training for your guys and watching them love it is rewarding.

Caleb,
I am a former medic who became an engineer officer. It was the best career decision I have ever made. The best thing you can do is speak with active duty engineer officers at an Army Corps of Engineer District office near you (Pittsburg and Buffalo).