fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company 6

[ingdott]

I am holding a new position which kind of puts me in stress for the following reasonI am a fresh graduate with a master's degree in structural engineering)

- The company is so small and fresh, and I am the ONLY assistant of the boss, who is a very smart and experienced structral engineer (of course he is the owner of the business). So I will be doing the structural design work, and he will be supervising and delivering it to the client. I find it also as an advantage because he has a lot more experience and knowledge than the first supervisor I could have in a larger company. But this position with such a high responsibility stresses me out also, becuase obviously I am not experienced yet! My supervisor(boss) had offered me this job relying on my success during my studies, and also because we are understanding each other very easily and well (I like working with him a lot).

Well, I am also confident about my academic background, capacity to learn, intelligence... But I just don't have practical experience. Besides I dont have anybody to ask my STUPID questions, becuase I feel that my boss is too qualified for that, and I dont want to dissapoint him being stupid.

These make me feel overstressed, and unconfident while working on a project. If I do something wrong, or lose time, it seems like the company will lose money and clients. Though, I am treated so nicely and calmly at work, and they have full trust on me. What I do now, is to study and restudy the topics that I might be concerned with in the future projects to be ready to answer instantaneous questions, during my free time (like weekends)

Is there anyone either in my position or in my boss's, or anyone who could give some suggestions on the subject? Thank you for reading!

 

[csd72]

Get yourself a hard cover notebook and write down all these new lessons that you learn as you go along - you will never remember it all.

 

[ash060]

ingdott

I worked for a one-man show for a year about two and a half years after I graduated. It was the best experience for me. I learned more from my boss in that one year than I did the whole time I was working before that at my first job.

Your boss knows that you are green and will understand when you ask questions, and asking questions is good. No one has their sea legs the first day on a ship.

 

[btrueblood]

"Yes you are allowed to sleep but only in a lie-awake-at-night-obsessing-over-it kind of way "

And, if you are good, you will continue in your career and continue in having plenty of sleepless nights as you face new challenges over the years (at least, I still do). If you're lucky, those sleepless nights will come in your own bed in your own home...if not, perhaps in a 12x12 concrete room with bars on the windows. Enjoy your career.

 

[beej67]

Kenat and Ron have the right of it. And don't buy all this "there are no stupid questions" crap either. Of course there are stupid questions.

But you MUST ask them. The way to not look stupid yourself, when asking a stupid question, is to try and research the stupid question first, before asking it. Then hypothesize an answer, and mention your hypothesis when you ask the question. That way you're merely asking for assurance, not asking for the world to be delivered to you on a platter.

You're lucky, you've got Wikipedia and Google. And Eng-Tips, even. Hell, ask us the stupid question, we won't laugh, and even if we do, at least you wont hear us laughing, and you'll get an honest response.



Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -

http://www.campbellcivil.com

 

[ctopher]

At least 'I' will not laugh.
Stupid questions are not crap.
We 'all' started at some point in our lives learning what we know. Someone may seem stupid, but he/she just doesn't know.
BTW, Wikipedia should not be used. Universities also teach 'not' to use it.

Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[KENAT]

So for the record, in my not so humble opinion there are stupid questions.

Be it something you should have learned in middle school or maybe the same question asked for the umpteenth time, or a question covered by some reference or training or similar source I pointed you to already etc.

Also, while generally better to spend time thinking about it/researching it to come up with an idea you want verification on, in some situations, especially time critical ones, you may be best to ask sooner rather than later.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[weab]

I see a lot of myself in you. I was young and in a job working with a very intelligent boss. I was afraid to ask the stupid question. But after a while, I noticed coworkers asking the boss what I thought were stupid questions and getting intelligent answers.

Eventually as I grew in experience, I had younger engineers asking me questions that I would have been afraid to ask. But I never once thought that this is a stupid question. I love educating and training others. The point is that I realized that "stupid" questions are normal.

Kanat and Ron are right-on about thinking things through before asking. I'll go one step further. During conversations with your boss, ask additional questions such as cross discipline questions. Try to understand why one type of pump is installed over another, what takes place during a certain process, does that transformer contain oil? A good boss appreciates questions.

 

[ctopher]

KENAT and weab, I agree.

Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[csd72]

you know what is really stupid - getting to senior level and not knowing the answers to questions you wished you asked when you were a junior.

If I was your employer I would probably be worried if you didnt ask them.

 

[plasgears]

The boss, of course, answers your questions.

But ask intelligent ques.:
- Present trade study of X, Y, Z different approaches; 'what would you recommend? I personally like this X approach.'
- 'I formed a number of dimensionless groups relating to the problem, and this surprising result came to the surface. What are your impressions?'

I had a boss who was not an engr [QC!!!] and he called my studies bullshit. He left shortly after I left after a pointed letter to the big boss. The top staff of the company was almost all QC types, not engineers. The company is now suffering the consequences.

 

[ingdott]

I am back from vacation to work, and it is my first day, and I have to say that I feel much more confident now, and actually happier about my position since I am convinced that I will be learning a lot during this experience! Thanks for all the advices, and talk to you soon!