Resources for New Structural Engineer of Record

[Mch2018]

I have been working in structural engineering for several years, have my P.E. and a M.S. in Civil Engineering. I have worked for a few companies, always as part of a team and under a senior engineer. I have been managing my own projects and doing all of the calcs and coordination. I have also always had a senior engineer to go to for questions and to review my work. I applied for a job with an A/E firm for a structural engineer. When i interviewed I found out i would be the only structural engineer at the firm and i would have a drafter working under me. i am a confident engineer and am up to the challenge of taking on the extra responsibility and work that is evolved with being the engineer of record. I am a bit nervous and feel somewhat overwhelmed knowing that i will be completely on my own, with no one to turn to for help. I will now be solely responsible for calcs, drawings, specs, notes, etc.... I am used to working with engineers with decades of experience and seemingly endless wealth of knowledge.

I am wondering if there are any engineers that know of good resources for someone in my position.

Thank you!!

 

[spieng89]

You are engaging on a good resource right here on eng-tips. You are never truly alone. Be humble enough to seek out advice and ask questions when needed. Use this board, join a local structural engineering chapter and make contacts there, etc. IMO no one is ever "ready" to be start being an EOR; you just tackle one job at a time and seek help when needed. Never been on my own but this is how my boss explained it to me how he developed.

 

[DVWE]

If you've developed a good rapport with your former colleagues over the years, they'll always be good resources; they'll go out of their ways sometimes to help you out. Lord knows I've come to rely on a few of mine over the years...

 

[TehMightyEngineer]

I'm the sole licensed engineer for our precast plants. A few other engineers and drafters but I'm the EOR on all our delegated engineering projects. You're never ready, just dive in. That said, be mindful of what is over your head and the responsibility you're taking on. Be ready to be the "bad guy" who is putting his foot down to ensure the design is done correctly. As spieng said, use eng-tips. It's a great resource to point you in the right direction if you're doing something new.

Also, being the sole EOR at a company can be a great opportunity or a curse. You're the odd person there so be careful not to become a 5th wheel. That said, it also opens up an opportunity where if other engineers are brought on board you'll become the chief engineer and soon will be the engineer "with decades of experience and seemingly endless wealth of knowledge".

Good luck!

Professional Engineer (ME, NH, MA) Structural Engineer (IL)
American Concrete Industries

https://www.facebook.com/AmericanConcrete/

 

[oldestguy]

I'd be active in all the professional organizations that are in your area. ASCE, PE groups. There you will meet other engineers in similar situations or supervisors. In time you can feel free to discuss situations with them, being careful not to give competitors any advantage however. This also is a good basis for meeting other professionals who you may some day get work from, where you are and when in business for your self.

 

[msquared48]

JAE, Hokie, BARetired, and Ron are all great structural resources here, as are many others...

If you feel that you lack the confidence to take the job, though, perhaps you are not seasoned enough yet.

How complicated, relative to your experience, are the projects this A/E firm will have you stamp?

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[TehMightyEngineer]

are the projects this A/E firm will have you stamp?

Mike has a great point here. If you're just stamping simple building designs, odd architectural details, etc.; no problem. If the firm has been farming out these grand designs with high complexity and are hoping to bring you on board to bring these in-house then I'd be very careful you don't get overworked or be forced to cut corners to meet deadlines.

Professional Engineer (ME, NH, MA) Structural Engineer (IL)
American Concrete Industries

https://www.facebook.com/AmericanConcrete/

 

[Mch2018]

Thank you to everyone that has responded, it was some very helpful advice. To answer msquared48's question the building are of similar size and complexity as I am used to. They have had an in-house engineer for years, but he is gone now so they are hiring a new structural engineer. All of the projects on our horizon are things I am very familiar with, I can foresee possibly running into some situates were I haven't had extensive experience and needing extra resources.

 

[P205]

A very similar situation happened to me 2 years ago (still at the company) and I can say it's the best thing that happened to me.

Turns out I used to rely too much on all the experienced people around me that I never truly tested myself. At least not to the extent that I have been since making this change. I HAVE TO get to the bottom of things now, on my own. There's really no other choice.

It's been quite stressful at time. For instance, I had never really done a whole masonry building before. When one landed on my lap, I ended up spending 50-60 hour weeks for several months trying to learn and apply what I was learning while designing the building. I knew that I would be stamping this design in the end, so there was no choice but to get myself to the point where I was truly confident in my design. With enough books, and a whole lot of searching eng-tips, I managed it. Now I'm pretty happy with all this new masonry knowledge.

Anyway, since 2 years ago, I have been doing a lot of searching on eng-tips, and I'm constantly on the lookout for new design books to build my knowledge.

 

[Ron]

Very kind and appreciated, Mike...but you didn't include yourself, dik or slideruleera....all of you are excellent resources. There are numerous others as well.

One of the things that makes this site so good as a resource is that each answer ultimately gets peer reviewed, so you get to see many facets of an answer. When you get to the bottom of a thread, it is extremely rare if an appropriate answer is not in there.