Any Engineers Out There?

[idnative1948]

Water/Waste Waster, Civil, Transportation, Electrical, etc?

I work for a employee owned international engineering firm. You guys are killing me! I just need to make it for two more years, but BP is starting to get to me according to my doc today during a follow-up. How hard can it be to design a crapper on the correct side of a river with power and a road to it?

 

[shortside]

I am a civil in MT. My BP has been under control for a year now, and I'm 38. We are a small firm that does lots of work and stacks up well against the big dogs.

I totally get where you are coming from.

 

[idnative1948]

I think we are called a big dog. You doing any highway work? Can't really go into specifics due to conflict of interest. At 63 my firm is eating me up so just trying to hang on for my two remaining years.

I am a civil in MT. My BP has been under control for a year now, and I'm 38. We are a small firm that does lots of work and stacks up well against the big dogs.

I totally get where you are coming from.

 

[shortside]

Right now our highway work is slow, but I have LOTS of FHWA experience in rural highway projects.

If we can get another highway bill we might be back in the saddle.

I worked 4 CH2M Hill in Boise for a summer in the 90's.

 

[nmtaxi]

I'm a civil designer for Parsons Brinckerhoff. Been with the firm for almost 20 years now. Things had been slow, but are starting to pick up here.

 

[Jwill]

I'm a civil/transportation engineer. Just got the official bump to project manager about 6 months ago, though I had been doing the job for a year. We're a pretty small firm, but I have been working wide open on railroad projects for the last year or so. I used to work for one of the big guys (AMEC), but went with a smaller firm a little over two years ago to get out of the big city. Almost landed in Laramie, WY and Grangeville, ID, but it wasn't meant to be...

 

[idnative1948]

My 5th grade grandson with an IQ waaaay out there met with our mayor last Saturday and gave him a proposal for light rail transit for our valley. The pill had everything in there from Co2 emissions, yada, yada. The kid makes me feel very uncomfortable because I am just a grampy with a PhD in the school of Hard Knocks with college mixed in. Keeps asking me where I learned everything from. How do you *esplain* to him?
On a side note: Nothing in Grangeville other that beautiful country and white tails.

I'm a civil/transportation engineer. Just got the official bump to project manager about 6 months ago, though I had been doing the job for a year. We're a pretty small firm, but I have been working wide open on railroad projects for the last year or so. I used to work for one of the big guys (AMEC), but went with a smaller firm a little over two years ago to get out of the big city. Almost landed in Laramie, WY and Grangeville, ID, but it wasn't meant to be...

 

[MNElkNut]

I am an engineer in the environmental area. I also do a lot of work for railroads. we aren't all socially inept though! just most of us.

 

[Bambistew]

I love how some people assume engineering is "easy"... especially when they can't be held liable… for the rest of their life.

Let’s break it down... no knowing the complexity of the project, but can assume its not some two track road to an outhouse in a camp ground…

How hard is it to build a road? I assume you know AASHTO standards like the back of your hand, along with the governing agency standards? Ya know, if you fugg up the design and it doesn't meet the requirements and someone gets hurt... who is responsible? Last I looked the "green book" is about 1200 pages.

What about the soils? Again I'm assuming you're an expert geotechnical engineer, that can merely look at soils and tell you what the structural sections should be? Screw the pooch on that one, and you'll be building a new road/building on your dime, or worse yet, have a failure and someone dies and you go to jail.

Since you mention its next to a river, I'm assuming a hydrology study had to be performed, or at least looked into in order to determine flood elevations? Everyone is an expert on flooding until it happens, then its someone else’s fault (engineer) that the building/road/bridge was constructed in a flood plain.

I’m not an electrical engineer, but do know that it’s generally not that easy to get power to a building/site as you might think.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. Engineering is a thankless job. No matter what, if something goes wrong who is the first person that gets blamed?

 

[fowladdict]

I love how some people assume engineering is "easy"... especially when they can't be held liable… for the rest of their life.....

Engineering is a thankless job. No matter what, if something goes wrong who is the first person that gets blamed?

Very well said!!

 

[J Elky]

I'm a Mechanical Designer working for a A & E firm in central Minnesota. I do hvac, hydronic and plumbing. I would call us a small to mid sized firm, everything from civil, mech, elec, structural, evironmental, survey and architects.

It seems that the simplier a job seems at first, the more complex it gets when you really dig into the details.

 

[Rat Fink]

I love how some people assume engineering is "easy"... especially when they can't be held liable… for the rest of their life.

Let’s break it down... no knowing the complexity of the project, but can assume its not some two track road to an outhouse in a camp ground…

How hard is it to build a road? I assume you know AASHTO standards like the back of your hand, along with the governing agency standards? Ya know, if you fugg up the design and it doesn't meet the requirements and someone gets hurt... who is responsible? Last I looked the "green book" is about 1200 pages.

What about the soils? Again I'm assuming you're an expert geotechnical engineer, that can merely look at soils and tell you what the structural sections should be? Screw the pooch on that one, and you'll be building a new road/building on your dime, or worse yet, have a failure and someone dies and you go to jail.

Since you mention its next to a river, I'm assuming a hydrology study had to be performed, or at least looked into in order to determine flood elevations? Everyone is an expert on flooding until it happens, then its someone else’s fault (engineer) that the building/road/bridge was constructed in a flood plain.

I’m not an electrical engineer, but do know that it’s generally not that easy to get power to a building/site as you might think.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. Engineering is a thankless job. No matter what, if something goes wrong who is the first person that gets blamed?

How about being the guy that has to interpret the engineers work? I suffer from headaches at least 3 days a week.

 

[Bambistew]

How about being the guy that has to interpret the engineers work? I suffer from headaches at least 3 days a week.

Funny... You could always go to school 4-5 years, Pass the FE, spend another 4-5 years in training, pass PE test. Then design plans/specs so high school drop outs can understand them. Its not as easy as you might think.

The contractor/engineer thing is always a fun conversation.

 

[Moosie]

Not an Engineer.... but work near you. By work, I mean, down to "part time" now.

Last few years have been rough, I see a shine of light coming, I'm jsut hoping it's not a rtain that is gonig to hit me :=)

 

[d-bone20917]

Funny... You could always go to school 4-5 years, Pass the FE, spend another 4-5 years in training, pass PE test. Then design plans/specs so high school drop outs can understand them. Its not as easy as you might think.

The contractor/engineer thing is always a fun conversation.

Well said. I'm a Fire Protection Engineer with a large utility and we deal with this quite often. It is high stress an relatively long hours, but the worst part of my job is being on call all the time. We operate several power plants and if there is a problem on nights or weekends it needs to be resolved ASAP.

 

[noharleyyet]

The contractor/engineer thing is always a fun conversation.

Funny how humble the pencil necks can become when their fat is sizzling in the fire. The lowly contractor is suddenly a long lost buddy.

...just saying.

 

[Bambistew]

Funny how humble the pencil necks can become when their fat is sizzling in the fire. The lowly contractor is suddenly a long lost buddy.

...just saying.

What's even more funny is how easily a contractor can go bankrupt, basically dissolve all liability, yet the engineer is tied to it for LIFE even when he’s penniless, and in jail.

I can go around on this all day, and at the end of the day I wish I was a contractor, they always have someone to blame.

Can't say that it slowed down here. I've been working 50-55hrs+ a week for the last 6 months, and don't see the end in sight. Work keeps rolling in the door, and we can’t get done what we have. Seriously, any Civil Engineers out there looking for work in the land development sector give me a shout. We're looking for a PE and IE to start ASAP. Northern design experience would be a plus, and people who like snow and cold weather is a bonus.

 

[Rat Fink]

I'm thankful I'm not a contractor. I'm the guy that gets to tell engineers "This is our concept, make it work". I am very thankful for good engineers, but I can still bitch about deciphering the technical side of it, especially transportation plans.

 

[Anyfish]

Come on--the problem is the lawyers and Insurance agents! We contractors are the First to get blamed by the way. Then we have to go to work proving that we can actually read and did follow the plans. That doesnt always work out so well---hence the bankruptsy, losing the investment, losing the retirement savings etc. Oh and we can also end up in jail for a whole host of issues and most states are removing the time limitations on negligence. Good thing I love this job because there isnt any profit in it any more!

 

[idnative1948]

My bro will agree with you!!! He is an electrician/fire control geek at a puter firm. Any new building they start he ends up with 70-80 weeks. Has taught himself AutoCad so he can talk the language. Makes more money and accrues more vacation time than gawd.

Come on--the problem is the lawyers and Insurance agents! We contractors are the First to get blamed by the way. Then we have to go to work proving that we can actually read and did follow the plans. That doesnt always work out so well---hence the bankruptsy, losing the investment, losing the retirement savings etc. Oh and we can also end up in jail for a whole host of issues and most states are removing the time limitations on negligence. Good thing I love this job because there isnt any profit in it any more!