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How to prepare for a business in 3 years 4

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1stTimeBridgeDesign

1stTimeBridgeDesign

Structural
Aug 18, 2008
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I have about 2 years of bridge design experience. Once I earn my PE, I would like to start my own consulting firm in low-rise building and facilities design. I don't have much building design experience, but it's what I learned in school and I enjoyed it much more. Finding a job as a structural building engineer with less than 4 years experience and no PE is next to impossible right now. I would like to know what I can do to plan for starting my own business about 3 years from now. Some ideas I had were to volunteer to help freelance engineers on nights and weekends to get a better feel for building design. Also, to eventually offer preliminary engineering services to clients (for free) under a s-corp which could then be checked and verified by a freelance engineer (at cost to client). This would allow me to maybe become a cheaper option to clients who would have no risk or cost in using me to get an idea of what type of structure they are looking at, and if they find the design acceptable, they could pay for it's check and verification. Also, in the year leading up to me going solo, I could build up a potential client list, build a financial history for the corporation (easier to get bank loans down the road), and provide the freelance engineer with work.

My questions are:

Does this seem like a reasonable approach for where I am in my career?

Where can I find a full set of drawing and calculations for a small building, such as in a final design submission, so that I have a better idea of everything involved?

What are some really good books for low-rise building engineering, and/or starting a consulting business?

I am basically looking at designing very small one or two story buildings or garages. Possibly even houses. If I am successful years down then line, I may partner up with a more senior engineer so that I can continue learning while I work for myself.

Am I being realistic here, or am I not seeing the picture clearly. Please try to be encouraging and optomistic, instead of shooting down my ideas. I'm looking for a plan for the future. Thanks.

 
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Are you saying you only have 2 years of engineering experience, or just 2 years with bridges? I ask, because I would not feel comfortable having someone design a safety-critical component like a bridge I walk/drive on with only 2 years experience, same as I wouldn't feel comfortable having a piece of medical equipment attached to me that was designed by an EE with only 2 years experience.

If it's the latter, that changes things a bit...

Dan - Owner
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I have two years of experience since graduating. Don't worry. All the work I do is thorougly checked 3 times before it is approved. How else do you think engineers are trained?
 
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My two cents

I think your target is very positive and if it is what you want to do, go for it.

I also think that your timeframe is very tight and probably unrealistic. Setting your own consulting business and fly 'solo' with only 5 years experience working on something in which you are not gaining experience now ... well it is a bit too much.

Advice?
If it is your dream, go for it, but be rational and careful about how you get there and how long it takes you.

Set a realistic schedule. As I said, before you set up your business, you need an appropriate level of experience on that particular field.

Do NOT go SOLO unless you have the experience required. It is not fair to your possible clients and it is dangerous for everybody

Try to change jobs to work on something related to what you want to do (I know, easier said than done) to gain that experience

I would NOT work for free. You set up a precedent (why should I pay you good money for something you did for free last week?) and it might violate profesional rules in your jurisdiction (unfair competition).

The scheme of working for free but having another engineer checking it,... well there are so many things wrong there I do not even want to comment.

I would NOT do any work on the side. It is not fair to your current employer and they probably have rules against it, even if it is in an unrelated field.

I would look for somebody very experienced on the field you want to work on and drop by for a talk with him. Maybe he can offer to mentor you or direct you in the right direction.

I would look into further education or courses in that field.

Good luck!

 
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you are not a registered engineer. you cannot legally offer engineering services to the public without that PE. Even if you offer your services for free, it is illegal. A better approach is to do as kelowna said - change jobs and get real building design experience working under a registered engineer.
 
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I just turned 31 and have had our business going for over a year now. I partnered with someone older with more experience and another guy who is a bit older than me who specializes in certain things. I think at 31 with just pure grading experience I don't have enough experience to do some of the work on my own. At the same time you ask why would someone older with more experience partner with me? Well I still have a ton of design experience that we can bounce back and forth and have some connections for new work. I don't have my PE just yet either as I concentrated trying to work as close to 80 hour weeks during the last 5 years.

BTW don't work for free. Companies are already mad that people are lowballing right now. The places going super low are getting a reputation, so even though people want the lowest bidder, they are starting to catch on.

Civil Development Group, LLC
Los Angeles Civil Engineering specializing in Hillside Grading
 
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I was doing it for 3 years. But at the job before was doing over 60 for 2 years.

I was doing 15+ hour days easily, out here in SoCal some companies were running around the clock if there were people willing to work the hours. I was working on things that weren't that normal just because I had some strange will to want to work work work.

Civil Development Group, LLC
Los Angeles Civil Engineering specializing in Hillside Grading
 
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I know my timeframe is a bit ignorant considering the knowledge required to run my own outfit. I guess I'll set my goal for 30 years old instead, a good 6 years down the line, and try to get a few years of building design experience as I near it. Thank you all for your responses.
 
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get yourself a partner with a PE and a lot of good experience. Make a business plan with him that you will work to take over the business over time. You can start as soon as you find your partner.
 
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I don't see that many PE's being a partner that is totally green though. I would definitely make it known to people you come into contact with what you are planning to do. I always mentioned my goal was to start a company by 35, and have had Project Managers joke about working for me. Some past coworkers have even asked if we are busy enough to hire them on right now. =p

Civil Development Group, LLC
Los Angeles Civil Engineering specializing in Hillside Grading
 
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Building design is a completely different animal than bridge design. As a CONSULTANT, people pay you for your knowledge and you have none right now. I've done both bridge and building work. I thought when I made the switch I'd be ready to go solo in four years. Now I'd say to be really good at what you do in buildings you need a miniumum of 6 years or 8-10 years preferably. For your years in bridge design, I'd say that's worth about 6 months towards your 6-10 years. (you've learned how to use cadd)

If you can't find a job doing building work, I'd go around to different small firms and see if they'd let you work nights (after you got off your present job) for free. (Hopefully you don't have a wife or kids). Many small business owners doing buildings will be at work long after 5:00 pm

 
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Also, let's not forget that even if the original poster gains the experience needed to be a competent building engineer, he still needs to develop a healthy client base to stay afloat.

Most architects already have good working relationships with other structural engineers. All the ones you would want as clients certainly do. Unless, you call around offering a significantly discounted rate, you may have a hard time getting work.
 
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abusementpark: That's very true. We always offer to do retaining wall calcs on our grading plans for a pretty good price, my partner can do these by hand in his sleep. But the architects always have their structural do them. The more jobs we get the more I am realizing how tight Architects are with certain disciplines.

The client base right now is hard to get since so many people are hurting and doing some true undercutting. Some bids are so low that I would make more money working at McDonalds than bother trying to go close to another's price.

Civil Development Group, LLC
Los Angeles Civil Engineering specializing in Hillside Grading
 
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All the building applications submitted to cities and counties are public domain. You can request copies of them if you're willing to pay the nominal charge for copying documents. They should include the plans and calculations.
Click to expand...

Do most local agencies allow this?

It seems like in a post-9/11 United States, a random person would have a hard time getting their hands on the plans of a prominent structure.
 
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