Career Advice Needed 4

[Moonstone]

Hi, I am bachelor in Civil Engineering and have also done an MS in Constuction Management. I have been working with an environmental engineering firm for the last 2 years and am currently on a CM job for a waste water treatment plant. I am not really satisfied with my work which is more like an office engineers job - updating record drawings, maintaing missing information logs, taking pictures of the site and doing miscellaneous work ( I was brought in to this project at a very late stage of the project to help out with miscellaneous stuff). I feel like I am doing an interns job and the pay sucks too. I do not feel as if I am learning enough here and my MS degree seems to be a waste.

I cannot change my job at this point as this comapny is sponsoring me (I am not a citizen). Any advice on how I could advance my technical knowledge and my career by taking courses, etc. I want to eventually have a stable career (dont want to move from jobsite to jobsite). Any advice on how I could work towards one.

Thank you.

 

[CESSNA1]

MOONSTONE: You are at disadvantage with your employer sponsoring you. The construction field is not too stable. But with a CE and CM degree you are sort of stuck in it. Try to find a company with a reputation for long term jobs and stability. Now is probably to time to look around, If you truly are doing intern work now then it may be harder and harder to rise above it. Talk to your employer about other assignments they may have. Explain that you would like to try other areas in which you have skills. They may or may not work with you; hopefully they will.

 

[JPatten]

All I can say after being in the construction industry for the past 15 years is that we all get put into those situations from time to time. Sometimes companies have to put somebody on a project to get the things done that have not been getting done. The choice is usually made by the availability of the person and not their qualifications.

My best advise to you is to talk to your employer about the next project and your interest in learning more and how you would like a more challenging position. You will get a much better response from them if you are committed to finishing the current project.

If your not willing to pay your dues from time to time I would suggest getting completely out of the industry.

 

[Moonstone]

Hi JPatten and CESSNA1,

I kinda agree with both of you. I have been put up on this job just because they needed help with some activities at that time. I have been trying hard to get myself involved with PCO's, scheduling, etc. but, since we already have a person assigned to do that work, it gets difficult to get involved. I was looking at a couple of project management courses that I could take to get a project management certification, but, I am not sure if this is the right time to do that because I do lack technical knowledge. Would you recommend taking these courses? What other certifications would you recommend. Since my background is CM and not design, would you recommend getting a PE certification?

Thanks.

 

[PSE]

Moonstone,

You will likely be able to get a PM cert before being able to go for a PE (personally I think both would be worth going for as they could complement each other). Since you are currently tied to your employer, perhaps they have a re-imbursement program for classes that you could take advantage of.

Depending on how long you have been with this employer, you may be in a bit of an evaluation or training period so that they may assess your skills. Depending on how you do with closing this project may open up additional (more challenging) work for you. As JPatten and CESSNA1 indicate, talk with your employer about your goals.

Regards,

 

[SB63]

Get the PE license. It changed my life dramatically.