Discussion: View Thread

  • 1.  Advice on Part-Time Jobs in the Civil Engineering Field

    Posted 07-24-2018 12:39 PM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 07-25-2018 10:53 AM
    Would anyone care to comment on or provide any advice on part time work in the civil engineering field? I feel like it's difficult to work part time in this career but I am eager to hear of other's experiences or if anyone has had success working part time after starting a family?

    ------------------------------
    Elizabeth Rophael P.E., M.ASCE
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Advice on Part-Time Jobs in the Civil Engineering Field

    Posted 07-25-2018 10:08 AM
    I'm going to start by saying this is all based on my personal experience and I'm sure others will disagree.

    Background: I have my BS and MS in CE, over 10 years of experience, and two kids aged 3 and 5.  I work in bridges, which is different than other specialties.  Take this with a grain of salt.

    You have to really know what you want out of your career and that will make a huge difference in whether or not you can make part-time work.  There are many moms that really just want to work enough to stay current, but don't want to grow their career or take on stretch goals so they can work part-time and be at home more.  That is a perfectly fine decision to make if it's what you want.  If you want to keep growing your career and work on critical projects, you may not be happy going part-time, and that's an OK decision too.  

    I went part-time very briefly with both of my kids and it didn't work for several reasons. First, when kids are babies and you're also having to pump at work, part time comes very close to being full time because of the logistics and time needed (unless your employer doesn't require you to take unpaid breaks to pump).  So I was part time but I felt like I still wasn't home much.  Second, because I was part time, I couldn't get critical or time-sensitive projects (which I understand and agree with).  I was bored with my assignments and felt like I was losing my edge and my career was slipping away.  Third, because I was part time at work and part time at home, I felt like I was failing on all fronts - I wasn't doing as much at home as I thought I should and I couldn't be fully dedicated to work.  That was the worst part, the feeling that I was failing everyone.  Fourth, part time daycare was only *slightly* less expensive than full time in my situation, so from a financial standpoint, I was paying more per hour of child care to be unhappy at home and unhappy at work.  It was far worse for me to be part time than to go back to work full time.

    The more crucial aspect to finding good balance (for me) has been having a flexible schedule and having a partner with a flexible schedule.  I work efficiently, so I rarely have to work more than 40 hours and I've been able to keep that schedule while growing my career.  I can work from my laptop on nights and weekends if I need to.  I'm firm with my schedule, so everyone in the office knows I leave at 4:30 to pick up my kids and I need at least 24 hours notice for staying after 4:30.  When I need to work overtime, I do it in the mornings so I don't disrupt my kids' evening schedules.  So far, I've been really happy with my work-life balance and also how far my career has progressed.  I know I'm in the minority and there are many more women that will tell you how great part-time work is.  And it might be for some people. It just never worked for me and my family.

    ------------------------------
    Samantha Kevern P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
    Structural Engineer

    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Advice on Part-Time Jobs in the Civil Engineering Field

    Posted 07-25-2018 10:45 AM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 07-25-2018 10:53 AM
    ​I was employed for 30 years with the same employer. During that time, the middle portion, I worked part time for 11 years when my three children were young. I worked Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at first and then four days a week later on; therefore I was never gone more than one day (and never away from my children for more than one day). I was promoted twice while working part time, which was a big surprise to me. But I was productive when I was in the office. I've heard that it works best if you can go part time while working for a current employer. It helps to have a good reputation when you ask. I was in consulting where what is important is the bottom line. So, it was a good business deal for the company. It's always a good idea to make the proposition as a good business deal for the company. I can't say they were enthusiastic but I was a valuable employee. Working part time was one of the best decisions I ever made - I was so much happier. I now have my own company so my hours are sometimes flexible.

    ------------------------------
    Martha Vangeem P.E., M.ASCE
    Principal Engineer
    Self-Employed
    Mount Prospect IL
    (847)259-6338
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Advice on Part-Time Jobs in the Civil Engineering Field

    Posted 07-25-2018 10:47 AM
    When I worked in structural consulting (earlier this year), we had a part-time engineer and also a contract draftsperson. The engineer did calculations/detailing working under a project manager while her kids were at school. That seemed to work well as (in this case), the part-time person was licensed and could do calculations much more quickly than if we had hired a new graduate. This also freed up the project manager to spend more time managing the clients (meetings, phone calls, etc.). The key that made part-time work was that the schedule was still set (i.e they were there set hours consistently on certain days of the week). 

    I agree that we don't see a lot of part-time jobs "advertised" in civil engineering, and finding a truly "flexible" or work-from-home schedule is unusual. Suggest that if, for example, you would like to switch to part-time and you like your current employer, you simply approach your manager with the request and a general plan (for example, I would like to work Monday-Friday 8am-1pm). That will work for some firms/managers but not for others. I also expect that we will continue to see trends towards more remote working arrangements in the future (but that probably doesn't help you at the moment).

    From the business side, part-time employment can be beneficial to an employer because benefits are typically not paid (assuming you want to work 20 hours a week or so). But, it also depends on where you want to go in your career. In my <g class="gr_ gr_6447 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="6447" data-gr-id="6447">opinion</g> one would need to be on a technical track when part-time. Project manager/client facing roles (especially for large projects) tend to require someone either full-time during business hours or someone who can respond instantly to email notifications during those times. Discreet technical tasks are easier to delegate (i.e design this canopy in the 4 hours you are here today.)

    You should also be aware that at some firms, employees who are part-time are perceived as not being as "committed" to their work (although <g class="gr_ gr_7357 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="7357" data-gr-id="7357">frankly</g> the part-timers I've worked with were some of the most productive staff members!), and as such would not be considered for promotions/significant raises, etc. while working part-time. Just something to consider.

    ------------------------------
    Stephanie Slocum P.E., M.ASCE
    Founder
    Engineers Rising LLC
    State College PA
    (814)826-3151
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Advice on Part-Time Jobs in the Civil Engineering Field

    Posted 07-25-2018 12:34 PM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 07-25-2018 12:34 PM
    Part time is possible, but not easy.

    If you are a PE, and have your seal and a reputation, the easiest way to go part time is to start a shop.  Find a contract CADD expert and you can probably work 20-30 hours from home when your kids don't need you.  It will take a while to generate clients, but there are a lot of people out there wanting flexible, but reliable engineers.  Do not go this route until you get your company registered with the state board, which may take as much as 4 months, and have purchased liability insurance.  Most other insurances are negotiable.

    If you have not created your local reputation, either because you are too young, or you worked for someone too large, and the box they put you in was too small, then you might want to try to jump to a smaller team.  Try to find someone that is flexible to networked data solutions.  You may be able to go part-time or even contract with a small company that is ready to expand, but not ready to commit to a large weekly pay-roll.   This is an especially viable option if you do not need benefits.  They may even let you work part time from home, and part time from their office.

    How do you find a small company?  The best bet is the local ASCE group.  I have found ASCE attracts a higher percentage of younger members than most groups I have been part of, and therefore has a lot of discussion about their current companies.  The Houston group is not dominated by the large players in the neighborhood, and has lots of small company engineers too.  I assume the other groups are similar.

    As a third option, try talking to a specialty company (I am thinking Architects here, but it works for Geotech's or Traffic Engineers) and offer to provide them with your services at a reasonable rate.  If you do not need constant work, then they could feed you projects until you have to back off.  This would allow you to be your own shop, but also have the advantage of possibly taking advantage of their support people, such as CADD and survey.  Only problem here is most architects require a pay-when-paid contract, which means occasionally you may work and not get paid.   It's also a good way to generate that reputation that you need to start marketing outside your life.

    Be careful though, once you start working for yourself, you probably will never go back to working for others.  So if you ever want to do the really big projects, it is probably better to go with the small company option.

    I hope that this helped, and I wish you luck.


    ------------------------------
    Dwayne Culp, Ph.D., P.E., P.Eng, M.ASCE
    Culp Engineering, LLC
    Richmond TX
    (713)898-1977
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Advice on Part-Time Jobs in the Civil Engineering Field

    Posted 07-25-2018 01:52 PM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 07-25-2018 01:51 PM
    From a consultants' perspective, if you want to advance in your career, part-time may not be the way.  That being said... As a single dad the last two years, and at the time, starting a new role in a company where I am leading a civil design group I can tell you that having a flexible work schedule, and effective communication with your team is going to be critical to being able to juggle both raising a family and raising a career in Civil Engineering effectively.  I am a father first, and sometimes work has to take a back seat to my kids.  It helps that I only have them every other week, but I do see them nearly every day (intentionally) 9 months out of the year because I coach soccer. My staff knows they can call me anytime if they have questions.  When I work from home, they are the first to know. I also agree with the child care conundrum, and if your without extended family support it is nearly impossible to make everything work with the cost, working part-time.  If you want to advance in your career, and raise your family too, it requires a flexible work schedule and good communication with your team members in my opinion, not a part time schedule. Good luck with finding the sweet spot for your work-life balance. 


    ------------------------------
    Larry Tortuya ENV SP, CFM, P.E., M.ASCE
    Senior Project Manager

    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Advice on Part-Time Jobs in the Civil Engineering Field

    Posted 07-27-2018 10:40 AM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 07-27-2018 10:39 AM
    Several commenters here made some really good points. One <g class="gr_ gr_235 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="235" data-gr-id="235">takeway</g> to think about is if you want reduced part-time hours, or if your ultimate goal is really a flexible schedule (i.e. you work varying hours based on when you are available)? Those are two very different things, and in my opinion if a flexible schedule is desired you are better off to open your own shop as Dwayne commented. That said certain clients and firms are more open to varying work hours than others.

    ------------------------------
    Stephanie Slocum P.E., M.ASCE
    Founder
    Engineers Rising LLC
    State College PA
    (814)826-3151
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Advice on Part-Time Jobs in the Civil Engineering Field

    Posted 07-30-2018 10:06 AM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 07-30-2018 10:06 AM

    Hi Elizabeth,

    People have offered some extremely helpful advice, when I've asked this question here about a year ago. 

    Sign In

    Asce remove preview
    Sign In
    View this on Asce >




    Sign In

    Asce remove preview
    Sign In
    View this on Asce >



    It looks like we have to use creative job search techniques for part-time employment. I found both of my full-time jobs through the 'front door', by replying to a job ad.  I haven't once seen a part-time job ad, and I've never got further than auto-reply when submitting resumes for full time postings with a note that I am interested in a part-time opportunity. As others have mentioned, going part time with your current full time employer is the easiest route. It has worked out well for me for a year after having my first son. I've wanted to switch directions for a while, so I ended up leaving the work force completely for almost three years with my second son. 

    I ended up finding a part-time contract gig for a couple of months by posting to this forum. My current job as a part time research assistant also came from writing a letter to someone who posted here. I've also volunteered for one of the ASCE committees, which got me a chance to attend a conference. The great part for me was that both of these jobs have been nearly 100% from home, only a few hours per week, and on a flexible schedule. The downside is that these aren't money-making enterprises, as I got paid just $1-2 more per hour then shelling out to my babysitter. I have to say, looking for a part-time job while also switching directions may not have been the best idea. It's nice if you already have experience and reputation, which is what I hope to be building now. 

    I've also briefly considered an idea of setting up an LLC, getting liability insurance and looking for contract jobs, but ended up deciding against this, at least until I get more experience. There is an upfront cost associated with this that might not make sense until you at least have some potential projects lined up.

    Another thing that people with part-time jobs and families find happening is that you work with a team of people who are mostly full-time. Even if you've been clear about your schedule, you constantly find yourself catching up with everyone else, or working what's way over your agreed hours. Especially if a deadline is coming and everyone is working evenings and weekends, which is the only time I could work anyway.  The lesson I took out from this experience is that you can't just do your job and hope for the project manager to figure out the schedule  - be familiar with the overall project schedule and what part of it is expected to be done by you. If it's too much - tell them right away. After all, your part time status is likely reflected by your salary and lack of benefits.

    Best luck!



    ------------------------------
    Natalya Sokolovskaya P.E., M.ASCE
    Wynnewood PA
    (323)382-6176
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


Related Content