Szmanda moved to Los Angeles after he graduated from Carroll College. Shortly thereafter he landed a role on the Lifetime television series The Division. From there he went on to star in the short-lived USA Network show The Net.

Szmanda can be also be seen in the movies True Vinyl, Rules of Attraction, Little Athens and Snow Wonder'.

1. "I remember once seeing Madonna in an interview where she said you have to change your look at least once a year to stay fresh and alive, so I've always done that." — Eric Szmanda on his style
2. "I was pretty lucky with the last season, going through the whole process of becoming an investigator so I'm just excited to start off this season officially as an investigator and kinda just grow from here. I don't know what really lies in store yet, but I'm sure it'll be good." — Eric Szmanda on his character Greg Sanders
3. "I watched the first ten minutes of CSI: Miami and I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the two shows and it was kind of frustrating. It was almost like I felt like there was a parody of our lives being made, like they were making a TV show about something that was real. It was too surreal for me to watch it, so I haven't watched either one--either New York or Miami. But there's plenty of room for all of us and I really have no say in what goes on, so I try not to get too upset about it. I guess everyone was afraid in the beginning that it would dilute the success of our show, but I have no doubt in my mind that the fans know who the original one is and the original is always the most popular--even in potato chips!" — Eric Szmanda on CSI spinoff series
4. "I know that my career is hopefully not going to end with CSI. It's only going to be the beginning. I couldn't ask for a better springboard and it's also a great learning environment. I was excited to be working with William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger and a lot of these producers that I had known of just from auditioning. I knew I was in really good company. I knew there was something special about it, but I didn't think it was ever going to amount to this. If I had to do it over again of course I would. I'm finally making a living doing what I love and CSI will provide me with that living for a very long time." — Eric Szmanda on his career