Lewis Carter earned the bachelor of civil engineering in 1883; in 1885 he earned the first civil engineering graduate degree granted by the university. He served as instructor in applied mathematics at the university. Beginning in 1886, he served as superintendent of the workshop. He established a manual training workshop, which significantly influenced the evolution of a real College of Engineering.
He left the university in 1888 and later became connected with the Black Diamond Railroad Company at Knoxville. He helped his classmate, W. G. McAdoo, build an electric railway in the city. In 1896 Carter built the Gay Street Bridge with the Youngstown Bridge Company. (The Gay Street Bridge is 1,600 feet long and cost $25,000.)