Those were great questions
@Benjamin Heckard. For what it's worth, I struggled with many of the same things you mentioned throughout the years. This is my 23rd year in engineering and construction management. Here's some thoughts on your comments:
- keep developing a particular expertise. For instance, I specialize in large assembly occupancy commercial structures and immersive storytelling environments i.e, churches, performing arts theaters, theme parks, museums, zoos, etc. Opportunities will seek you out when people recognize that you are the person to go to when it involves your specialty.
- As you move up in your career you may find the technical work becomes less of your day to day. If you are like me, you may mourn this a little. The technical is still there, but now you are really good at it so it takes less time. I think engineers enjoy climbing the proverbial mountain of difficult things, particularly throughout college, after a few years of being out you will spend a period of time in what I'll call production mode. That's where that expertise will be developed. You will see the same things over and over and will begin to develop that engineer's judgement, where you know right away where the trouble spots will be.
- If you go into project management, the above feeling will be a little more severe. When I got into senior project management, I remember calling my uncle, a SVP in a zoological environment, he talked about how he loved working with the animals but now works almost entirely with budgets, contracts, and people. None of of which was the reason he got into that profession. I felt the same way. I loved designing and building things but management is all about people, process, and money. Make that choice knowingly.
-Keep learning new things but expect to do it on your own time. If you want to learn a new software or financial management, etc. you'll mostly need to be a self educator. Your university professors probably talked a lot about wanting you to be "life-long learners" that's what they were talking about. From your employers perspective, there's a limited amount of training money and it needs to go towards learning specific things that advance the companies goals in a very short time window.
-Value your time. Your employer sees your time as production time and you should too. Get used to asking yourself, "is this worth my time" a lot.
-Non-profit work is an interesting discussion and a point that I think a lot of people misunderstand. There are roles that would allow you to do that kind of work full time but they are nontraditional pathways so you will have to look very deeply for those opportunities. I currently work as a SVP of construction management for a non-profit investment and lending firm. I also voluntarily serve on the board of directors for two non-profits. I get a lot of odd looks at when I tell people what I do for a living because it doesn't fit in their heuristics of an engineer or a construction manager. One misunderstanding about NFP's, is Non-profits still need to turn a profit, just in NFP's it's called a surplus, the surplus funds are moved to reserve accounts for funding the NFP during tough financial times (like the corona shut downs). Volunteer labor is a large part of the work force and since NFP's have different sources of revenue's than for-profit enterprises so we try to control the wages a lot more consistently. Salaries may be less than what you might see in other similar roles where shareholder distribution is the main goal. NFP's have a missional goal which can be at odds with money sometimes. In some NFP's you might be tasked with raising your own funds for salary before you start. I think that might explain why you've gotten some resistance to volunteer opportunities.
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Jesse Kamm PhD, PMP, A.M.ASCE
Senior Vice President of Construction Management
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-29-2020 10:08 AM
From: Miguel Andrews
Subject: Long-Term Career Path Advice
Benjamin,
There is a job out there that you would enjoy doing more than your current one, you just have to keep looking for that opportunity. In the meantime, though you're not practicing exactly the type of engineering you envisioned yourself doing, remember that there is still a lot of time left to do so.
One of the great things about our field is that it is broad so there is a really good chance of finding a niche, but you can only do so by getting experience in different things until you find something you're really happy with. So, just because you're not doing, say floodplain modeling, the skills you are getting now will give you a different perspective and more to add when you're actually get on a team doing what you desire. All of your experience is valuable even if it's to just tell you what you don't like.
I think that what can guide you and make your intentions clear to your employer is a career plan in which you list out your short term and long term goals. Make it clear where you desire to be, and if opportunities are not provided to you, keep searching for the right company while making yourself marketable through workshops and courses.
It sounds like you would be a really great fit at a smaller firm where you have more responsibility and a wider range of work. Some state and local government agencies provide flexibility for doing charity work or be in the military. They would also train you well. Good luck and don't stress too much about your current job, you're headed in the right direction.
Cheers
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Miguel Andrews P.E., M.ASCE
Transportation Engineer
Bismarck ND
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