Becoming a better engineer

[Pulpboy]

I started this thread in the wrong place and I think they deleted it.

I have been out of school for several years and I work at a great company. I've been doing project management for the most part. I'm in charge of most small and large projects in my area. I look at varous designs, compare bids, scope out work with some minor calculating, get budgets etc. The company is set up with a lot of standard engineering documents. I.e, What type of materials for what type of processes, detailed drawings of access doors etc. I modify them slightly to produce what I want.

My question is should I be doing something else to become a good engineer. Personally I like what I do, I don't like doing a lot of boring, intense calculations but I'm scared I'm not getting enough designing and calculating experience to become a good engineer. In the end I use a lot of vendors for information... they can calculate it out in mere minutes because they specialise in it versus me that would take hours to do the calculations.

 

[lgray66]

Hello,
Would you like to trade jobs? My job requires that I do alot of project management, and I would rather be doing design and engineering. But seriously, if you like what you are doing, don't worry. Being happy with your job is the most important thing.

lgray66

 

[ramnam]

I have been in HVAC consulting design engineering for the past 10 years. Design jobs pay less than project management-contracting jobs. Risk level is less for consulting. Reward is much higher for contracting. Thus they make more bonuses.

You seem to be on the track of contracting, which is not a bad choice at all. at some point you have to decide whether you find it more rewarding to scratch your head and create a design for a space or to scratch your head and figure out how to build that design that you see in front of you on the drawing.

Check your environment again. Throw out some resumes with serious consulting companies and with serious contracting companies. See who is more interested in you. Then you can decide which side of the field you want to be at.

 

[IRstuff]

The only question is whether you can still see yourself doing that job 20 or 30 yrs from now. If you can, then you've made the correct choice for yourself.

I wouldn't sell yourself short. A good project manager who can bring in projects, on schedule, on budget and meeting requirements is worth his weight in gold.

TTFN

 

[Miper]

dosenbro,
Most Engineers get fairly specialized, usually because they work in a specialized industry. They, too, worry that they couldn't do other engineering work if their company or industry went away. It's a similar problem to yours.

Your concern about becoming a stale engineer after several years of project management is one we all face when we take that step. The concerns range from a loss of professional satisfaction to a worry about becoming too remote from hands-on design and analysis, ultimately becoming unemployable as an engineer.

One way to keep your edge is to stay close to the in-house designers and analysts who engineer your projects. Ask questions about how the design decisions were made - not to second guess them - but to learn what you can by looking at the methods and data they use. Good engineers love to show somebody what they do. You may be the first to ever ask.

Of course, there are some highly compartmentalized engineering organizations that have continual turf battles and hold all information close to their chest. You can still learn a lot by asking non-threatening questions. Again, engineers usually love an audience.

Two other things that worked for me: You might be able to do some technical teaching, depending on your degree and the schools in your area. Finally, you might want to do some design and analysis work at home on your own original project.

 

[SlideRuleEra]

Miper's recommendations to teach & work on your own projects is excellent advice. Along that same thought, look at everyday events and consider the mathematical and "engineering principals" behind each one - for example:
How may horsepower does it take for an auto to accelerate under certain conditons?
A birdhouse is on a tall pole, at what wind speed will the pole fail?
These are trivial examples that come to mind - my point is that continuing practice will be of amazing help when you are facing a true engineering problem. In my experience, a majority of engineers are capable of solving situations with clearly stated conditions - however most "real world" problems do not have clearly stated conditions. Frequent practice will make it easier for you to create a reasonably accurate mathematical "model" that you can solve.

 

[RDK]

Dosenbro

I am you 25 years later. My career has been mostly project management with very little design and “hard” engineering work.

I feel that I am a good engineer. I am the man responsible for bring a lot of projects to successful completion. I am the man responsible for a lot of cost saving improvements to the designs. I cannot do the design but I can influence them so that the finished product is more economical and easier to build and more useful to the client and end user. I have saved my clients more than my fees, both on almost every single job and definitely on my work portfolio as a whole.


Sure a person who has specialized in structural design can design a steel beam in a minute. Could I design a steel beam without a couple hours hitting the books? No but can the designer stand in the field with mud on his boots and see that the design is implemented correctly, while ensuring that all safety rules are followed, and thinking about the cost and schedule and not only checking for interference between the beam and the mechanical once installed but making sure that these trades are not only not conflicting in any one area during installation but that they are suitably employed somewhere on the project every day.

Most designers are so specialized that they cannot see anything other than their own specialty. Electrical designers think of a building as something that holds up those interesting wires, mechanical designers think of a building as a plumbing system. Structural designers think of a building as somewhere that the plumbers go to drill holes in their structural members.

Project managers like us think of a building as more than the sum of its components. We understand the hard work that everyone from the designers to the tradesmen to the owners and to the inspectors put into making the finished project a reality.

We are the only ones who get the full satisfaction of driving onto a green field and leaving a year later with a new facility that will meet the needs of the users for years to come. We are the only ones who can influence the project at all stages of the building. We are the only ones who see everything about the building from foundation to roof and everything in between.

We are also the only ones who are not pigeonholed into narrowly defined areas. Because project management is project management we can and do work around the world and in every sector of the industry. I have worked on pulp and paper, municipal treatment plants, aerospace and airports, industrial works, commercial and institutional projects. I have worked on both costs and most provinces in between.

Anyone can be taught to design. It might take a certain personality type to really like it, but I believe that it takes a certain personality type to become any sort of project manager. If you are this type and you are willing to face the challenges and responsibilities then it’s a good career. If not then you owe it not only to yourself but also to your family and profession to get out into a field where you will be happier.

It’s only a choice that you can make.

Good luck.



Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com

 

[ramnam]

I think this was a very interesting chain of replies. Glad I found out about this chat room.

 

[Pulpboy]

Thanks everyone. I do like my job and I think I'm getting pretty good at it. I guess it's all in your definition of engineering.

 

[PatMcG]

I figure the keys to being a good engineer are imagination, communication, and ingenuity.

I think your epiphany of 'its all in your definition of engineering' is completely correct!

I see any given engineering job a delicate balance of technical and social ( i.e. management, economic, politcal) skill sets. I find it equally important to develop the skills that aren't being challenged regularly at your job. If you feel that you aren't doing enough technically difficult tasks, you might find yourself falling behind in your field. No one ever wants that.

You sound as if you are well on your way to a successful career, since you are satisfied in what you are doing.

But it never, ever hurts to take a step back every now and then to evaluate your situation.

I commend you for what appears to be a natural intuition for prosperity.

Good Luck

~Patrick McG.