Professional and Career Topics

Architect Harold G. Nelson describes scholar-practitioners as "thinkers and doers."  The two examples of scholar practitioners are martial artists and pilots, practices that require much skill, discipline, and development.  Nelson applies this model to ...

That's awesome! I'm volunteerning at my kid's high school as a mentor for their FIRST Robotics club, and I'm inspired by the kids as well! ------------------------------ Kathryn Goede S.E., A.M.ASCE Structural Engineer San Francisco CA ------------- ...

My dad was an aeronautical engineer and worked for Boeing, and in my discussions with with my dad I knew that was not for me.  Growing up as a young kid I liked to play in the dirt, make roads, and drive my toy vehicles around.  So I went into Civil Engineering ...

What should a mid-level engineer with a Professional Engineering license expect in a job interview, in terms of what the company may expect from them and their license, and how can they prepare to effectively communicate their qualifications and readiness ...

Start the meeting exactly on time - state the objective of the meeting and quickly go over the written agenda. Keep the agenda specific to the objective and keep tangents to a minimum. The agenda and issue should limit the time in the meeting. I have ...

My mother also encouraged me.  By about my sophomore year in high school, because of her influence, I had made up my mind to pursue engineering as my career.  I am retired now, but even from this perspective, I know it was the right choice for me. ------------------------------ ...

My older brothers who were studying Engineering when I was in High School and was fascinated by the way they were preparing accurate geometric drawings and how enginnering worked methodically. ------------------------------ Vinod Thanki P.E., M.ASCE ...

Fascinating question, Mitch. I grew up in a college town, attending public schools that were totally college-oriented. Most of my classmates have ended up with graduate degrees, typically in humanities or basic sciences. I always felt that college was ...

Thanks, Venessa. These are great points, but I've always had reservations about CE salary concerns. I got curious about this a little while ago, since it's such a hot topic in my field of Structural Engineering, the lowest-paid Civil discipline. Here's ...

When I was young, my mother encouraged me to become an engineer. I could visualize designs in three dimensions and I loved to construct in 3D since right before elementary school, so she figured I could combine the math and physics skills later on. From ...