How To Build Career in Geotechnical Engineering 6

[massagung]

all,

could you to share your experience,
1. why you choose your job and your passion in geotechnical engineering?
2. how to get many of knowledge and experience related geotechnical engineering?
2. where is the best first place to get good geotechnical knowledge and practice, soil mechannic lab. technician, design engineer, testing engineer, site engineer (contractor) or etc?

thanks in advance,

M.A.

 

[oldestguy]

Assuming you will get answers, I'd expect them all to be different. In my case it all started with a professor who had practical experience, not just a teaching assistant. Then, regardless of where you go, show no distant for doing menial jobs. All your experiencing is useful, even if dull. A lot of work to personally improve yourself also helps. Don't expect to be "fed" by others. It's all up to you. As to the best place to get experience....it's "in the trenches" being a "grunt" in the beginning. The "go getter" moves up.

 

[massagung]

thanks for input oldestguy

M.A.

 

[BigInch]

Start with a good foundation.

Independent events are seldomly independent.

 

[charnott]

1. I kind of fell into studying applied geology at university as undergrad and really enjoyed combining the elements of problem solving whilst having an outdoor, hands-on role. Im not sure i can claim to be 'passionate' about geotech but i still enjoy that combination of challenges ot this day even if i do wish i still spent my time standing in the rain mext to a drill rig rather than attending meetings being a politician!

2. get a job! work for a lab, work for a geotech contractor and if you still enjoy it then you might look to use that experience to work for a consultant. the best consultants in my opinion are those that served their time in the field experiencing a wide variety of test methods, sites and challenges. Journals such as Geotechnique or GE (

http://www.nce.co.uk/news/geotechnical/)

provide a good idea of what the future may hold in terms of projects should you decide to start a career.

3. i think it depends upon your personality. there are design engineers who wil never have the personality to be resident engineers and there are plenty of resident engineers who couldnt be a designer. I would suggest starting with a geotech contractor or laboratory and opening your eys a little. Alternatively a graduate consultant position with a reputable company is equally as good a footing providing you get supported by your peers

 

[fattdad]

I started my career as a geologist and had no idea I'd become an engineer. My first 8 years were spent in the field. Not one of those projects were in construction. Just field work doing subsurface exploration (soil/rock drilling, geophysics, mapping) related to proposed construction projects (dams mostly). I had worked all over the west and lived the life of a nomad. Three to four weeks on one project, another month or so some where else. . . (In those days, when returning home I'd learned to never respond to a page in an airport, but now with cell phones. . .)

One day in the office, I had asked a colleague (an engineer) what he did with all the information I was collecting. His response, "You should go get your master degree at Virginia Tech." That was it. Just those words. . .

So, I packed up my few belongings and at the age of 30, moved from Seattle to Blacksburg and began the mission to become an engineer. Nice thing about field work is you get to save money.

From there I had all the character I needed and actually was in a position to understand the subject matter. Of course as an engineer, I had to deal more with field construction, but I had the knowledge to manage that.

We're all different though. Just make sure after 10 years you have 10 years of experience. Otherwise you may find yourself with 1 year of experience 10 times over.

f-d

¡papá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!

 

[massagung]

thanks all for your inspiring sharing

M.A.

 

[FixedEarth]

By your question, it is an indication that you have passion for this field. You should try early in your career to get as much lab, drilling and field testing experience as possible. Later after licensure you can go into analysis, design and report writing under an experienced engineer.

I will give you two examples & two variables. On one project, I did the soils classification during drilling and then assigned a consolidation test for the lab guy. When it was time to write the report, I looked at the consolidation curve and only saw a 3% strain. Having a firm CH soils and few years of lab experience, I knew somthing was off. It turned out the second test showed 12% strain. Without lab experience, I would not have developed a "feel" for that soil test.

On a second project, we had damp silty sand that was loose to medium dense in the upper 5 feet. On the grading or earthwork specification, we prescribed light earthwork equipment. In the field, the contractor used heavy equipment and initiated pumping. This caused undercut and rock to be used for bridging which in turn doubled the grading estimate. Had I not spent few years watching scrapers and heavy equipment get stuck in Silty sand deposits, I would not have learned that lesson.

The other two variables are the type of projects you firm gets & your off work learning. Projects should include exposure to all types of analysis - slope stability, retaining structures, deep foundations and difficult soils (liquefiable, swelling, loess, etc). About 8 to 12+ hrs a week, you should spend reading case studies, conference proccedings and attending seminars. This should be on your own time and money. Not sure where you are located, but you can go to college libraries to get recent publications and need not spend a fortune accessing newer books and developments.

Geotechlinks, Geotechnical directory and other websites are a great place to get more information. From time to time, you may need to change jobs or even geographical location in order to learn new topics. Good luck.

 

[jasperrupp]

I got my passion from my late father who was a geotechnical engineer. He would tell me all about his work adventures and sometimes even take me to work to show me all the dirty work. I feel in love immediately!
I got my knowledge and experience from school, internships, small jobs and of course my dad. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here. You can also learn more from engineers like us. We’re always here to help you.