He pursued to be educated at West Point, which was a school of engineering. As he grew older within the military, his ranks did as well. With his high ranks he began to get to know some very important people and have some power of his own. So whenever Eads would want for a project of his own to be done, Humphreys would try and put a stop to it and in some cases did. This just shows how competitive and how much hatred they have. Their ethical behavior seemed to be very poor at times. They would constantly be at one another's throats, always trying to be on top. There wasn't much that wouldn't be done to keep their competitor from being unsuccessful. .
A level of experience in different areas also helped the civil engineers. For instance, Eads started his own business on the Mississippi salvaging vessels on the bottom of the rivers bed. He was unable to see at the bottom so he had to feel it. Not only did he feel the bottom he also got to understand the current. Eads was able to experience how the river acted and what minerals were in the river. This helped him better understand the Mississippi, which would help him in later projects with the river. Eads also was able to learn about various types of metal, such as iron and steel, from experience he had working with them from his salvaging business. This would later help him build the first ever- steel bridge. .
Humphreys on the other hand got experience from school and the military. It was very common for West Point graduates to advance quickly. Humphreys did so as well. He went from captain of engineers to brigadier general and commander of a combat infantry division. All this was accomplished in a short span of eight months. With the experience that Eads had with his own business helped him with his civil engineering career. He had an understanding of how the to do business and how to negotiate business deals. This assisted him to get certain jobs that were related to civil engineering.
