Productivity as a Structural Engineer 1

[elinwood]

I've been having a very slow month at work and it doesn't look like it's going to get much busier soon. I was wondering what kind of things can I do to keep my productivity up? I'm hesitant on asking my coworkers cause they seem to be busy with other stuff and I don't want to keep bugging them asking for work.

I don't want to go into too much detail here but we're a company trying to get into the power industry. For the past year that I have been here, we have been bidding on various jobs; combined cycle and coal fired plant jobs. I started here straight out of college after finishing my MSCE, so I don't have much experience in my belt yet but I'm willing to learn. I've been doing mathcad templates on spreadfooting and standard details for ductwork, but I'm running out of ideas on what to do that will be useful in bidding and/or design.

 

[TheTick]

Be careful about asking for work. When things get slow, trolls go into heavy defensive mode. Also, asking anyone but your boss for work can be risky.

 

[KENAT]

Just how busy are your colleagues that they are too busy to be asked if they need some help?

Don't get me wrong, there have been times I've avoided delegating because it would take longer to explain what I wanted done, and then verify it had been done right, than to do it myself (that and I'm a control freak) however, asking seems reasonable enough.

Without implying you have nothing to do, have you asked your manager if there are other tasks they want you to work on?

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

 

[elinwood]

Well, the situation is really complicated. My boss hired me about a year ago and he got laid off about a month ago, when it started getting slow. I have a coworker who is here now, and a couple more out at another office. I'm the only entry level engineer/fresh graduate in our office.

I guess I should rephrase "busy". Everyone is experiencing slowness, so they're protective of what the work that they have. Unfortunately, I don't have a direct supervisor who I can ask. My current supervisor is my "administrative" supervisor.

 

[SWComposites]

Update your resume and start looking for a new job - NOW. You are in a very bad situation. Maybe you can take some outside training classes in your field to improve skills, make you more marketable, etc.

 

[hdp321]

I strongly agree with SWComposites. You are not in a good situation.

Where are you located?

 

[JedClampett]

The power industry is very provincial with relationships that go back a hundred years. "Trying to break in" is difficult. The main firms are huge (Bechtel, Black and Veatch, KBR, etc.) and entrenched. It's even very difficult for regional firms to go outside their area.
If that's your company's business plan, good luck and don't buy any green bananas.

 

[jmcoope3]

Find a new boat or learn to swim.

Never hurts to look for a different job, slow times are murder on moral.

However, with the MathCAD worksheets and Spreadsheets (I tend to default towards this stuff when my work slows down) attempt to make a big change, not a little one. The old farts up stairs are quick to recognize the possibilities of a "Project" to make money and normally take interest pretty quickly. With Excel, Bluebeam, and MathCAD you can literally do just about anything (given you work at a company that is open to process evolution... i'm not the best engineer in the world by man I can design a process to ensure job security).

Jon

 

[SteelPE]

I will give a third to updating your resume. I just went through the whole company is slow to the company went bankrupt thing a few months ago. The who situation took years to develop but the writing was on the wall long ago. It was an extremely toxic situation.... I am still dealing with issues of their collapse even though they are no longer in business (professionally and financially). The only reason why they kept me around was because I was the only one with an engineering license.

Get everything lined up now. It never hurts to switch jobs and gain some more experience. The good news is that you are fresh out of college so you may even get a pay raise if you switch positions.

 

[elinwood]

Somehow this has evolved into telling me to find a new job. I was hoping for more productivity-related answers, hence the topic title. Maybe a new idea of Mathcad/spreadsheet tool to develop. I'll clarify a little bit more and try to keep it brief:
-----------------------------------
About finding a new job, unfortunately, the situation isn't as simple as that. I'm an international student so this complicates things enormously. When I just started, I'm on my student visa. My visa expired 3 weeks ago and the company is in the process of getting me my new work visa, the H1b visa. The visa isn't valid until the start of October, so now my immigration status is called "cap gap" in which I am allowed to be here and work, but if I leave the US for any reason, before October, I would not be able to come back before October. The new company will also need to sponsor me a new work visa and I'll have to wait for a couple of months before I can start on the new job due to the work visa processing times.

With all these issues in consideration, I'm really hesitant on jumping ship. I guess I should clarify too, the company that I work for isn't exactly a small company. I work for one of the firm that JedClampett has mentioned, so it's a big firm. We used to do extensive work in Power but our portfolio in this industry has shrunk significantly. In light of the upcoming boost in Power projects, we're hoping to establish a bigger base in this industry. The office that I work in is a new "engineering center". We don't have enough jobs to go around yet but because we are trying to grow, they want to keep as many engineers as they can.

Another reason that I'm not jumping ship is because the company is a global company. We have another "engineering center" in Indonesia, which is where I am from. We have a few projects in Indonesia too, so I'm hoping to work on projects in Indonesia and establish a network. If this doesn't work out, my plan is to go back to Indonesia and start a company, but I'd really like to get more experience here in the US before I do.
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@jmcoope3, would you clarify your statement "attempt to make a big change, not a little one."? What do you mean by projects to make money?

 

[SteelPE]

Well, that certainly clarifies the current issues.

When I first started working and I found things were a little slow I would find a calculation that was a PITA to do and then try to write a spreadsheet to do the calculations quicker. I was at a small company that had nothing written, so coming up with a type of calculation to write a spreadsheet for was pretty easy. You may find that a little more difficult.

 

[kylesito]

Are you a PE? How about an SE? If not, consider getting prepared for those tests because as a structural the PE especially is invaluable. Not all of your preparation for those exams involves sitting there doing example problems (not a good thing to probably get caught doing without talking to your boss about it first!). Some of your preparation can be learning new areas of the material/building codes which are outside your comfort level or experience, creating summary sheets or examples of calculations you routinely do but not by hand, tabbing/bookmarking reference material. Most of that can be argued are things that could increase your productivity in the office when work finally starts flowing again. Studying for the PE (and especially the SE) is some of the best training a structural guy can do.

If that doesn't interest you, how about offering to do some BD work. Perhaps discuss the possibility of reaching into a new market in the short term until the desired industry breaks through. Or offering to get involved in a local engineering society or group which could lead to new clients.

How about updating the company CAD standards or offering to organize the file server. Just stuff you can do to make things more efficient when work starts flowing.

The trick is probably going to be you need to grab the reigns and make work for yourself. If you aren't being kept productive then make yourself productive by taking small steps to make yourself more efficient in the future or finding new sources of work for the company.

There will come a point anyway in your career where you stop wanting to be the person someone hands work to and become the person seeking work out. It's a tough situation you are in but it can also be a good opportunity to show someone (or just get a feel for it on your own) of taking this next step in your career...just a little sooner than you may have hoped!

 

[elinwood]

Thanks kylesito, for the really good suggestions! The PE/SE licensing must have slipped off my mind. I'm not a PE/SE yet and I need some 2 more years of experience before I can actually get certified but it is definitely a good idea to start studying for it. This is especially because in IL it looks like I can take the PE/SE test early. I asked my coworkers about this and they told me not to worry about it since it's going to be a long time before I can take it. Since you're a structural yourself, would you recommend to take the PE first and then the SE? Should I take the SE instead? We do a lot of work nationally, so license transferability within the US would be important. If I take the SE, can it transfer as a PE in states like say... IN or KY where an SE license isn't applicable/available?

Can't do BD work because it's a big company. There are some guys higher up the chain hired to do just this. Last job we're bidding on were worth $350 million, so I don't think the company is interested in what I have to offer as far as business development goes.

I did actually re-tab my AISC and ACI standards and pulled off all the messy tabbing that I did as a student. I was doing some CAD work for connections standard and I'm doing a Mathcad for foundation calcs right now. My coworker suggested to learn spMats & Mat3D recently, so that's next on my list. I like having a "next" on my list because I tend to procrastinate when I don't have anything else on my list of things to do.

 

[kylesito]

Yes, taking and passing the full 16 hour SE will get you a PE in other states (unless they themselves license structural engineers seperate in which case you may need to take a state specific test in addition). The problem with this approach is the 16 hour test is TOUGH. I personally thought it was a really good test but requires a much deeper knowledge of structural topics than the Civil-Structural PE exam.

I tried a few times with the SE 1 and failed. Took the PE Civil-Structural one time and passed with no trouble (not bragging but with all the prep on the SE 1 and a morning section that was slanted to structural it really was pretty smooth!). I then took the 16 hour test so I wouldn't have to reinvest the time later. The 16 hour exam really stretches what you need to know and be prepared for. I studied about 200 hours for the Civil-Structural exam if I count up time with the SE 1...I easily doubled this for the 16 hour test in addition to already having the notes and problems worked out from the others!

I am not 100% familiar on Illinois requirements although I know they license structural seperate, I am not sure what you can do without a structural specific license (some states can design up to a certain height or length of bridge span under a normal PE). If Illinios lets you, my best advice would be to get the PE (8 hour version) done with as it doesn't require near as much effort or time as the 16 hour (you still need to study, just not as much). That will get you licensed in most states and get the letters after your name (a big boost in you preception). Then roll your preparation for that into the 16 hour test which you can do at a much more relaxed pace.

Seeing that you have 2 years to go, most likely the standards for the test will get updated so any 'tabbing' may not be worth while. However, learning basic concepts like load paths, lateral stability, and code standby's (minimum steel, connections, etc) are always worth the investment and are going to be there no matter what version the tests are using.

To your other issues...get involved in a local group like ASCE. One, it will be good exposure for the company and is essentially BD experience whether or not someone higher than you is getting paid to do it! And two, if things ever do go south for you, it's good early on to build a network of local engineers who know you and you can establish a reputation around the community.

Sorry for the novel...hope something helps! I was you about 5 years ago....





PE, SE
Eastern United States

"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"