Career Goals and Challenges

TCEP 130: Dealing with Major Career Decisions and Transitions as a Civil Engineer

November 6, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

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In episode 130 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, our fifth episode in our Women in Civil Engineering series, we’re taking you with us to Hawaii to visit Coffman Engineers. There we talk to Jami Hirota PE, LEED AP, a civil engineer and experienced project manager that manages a quickly growing civil engineering department. Jamie will discuss the impact that major career decisions and transitions as a civil engineer can have on your career and tell us about a very difficult career decision she had to make around leaving the family engineering business and how it has impacted her civil engineering career and her personal life.

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Jami:

What are some of the benefits of working for a small civil engineering firm?
How is civil engineering different in Hawaii?
Is there a lot of work for engineers in the public sector in Hawaii?
How has being a female engineer in the industry impacted you in your civil engineering career?
How did you manage transitions as a civil engineer in your career?
What is your philosophy on management?

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About Career Decisions and Transitions as a Civil Engineer:

TCEP 122: How to Work Faster but Also Work Smarter as a Civil Engineering Professional

July 17, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

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In episode 122 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I provide some strategies for working faster but also working smarter as a civil engineering professional. In today’s fast paced world, engineers need to work faster to get everything on their plates accomplished. Working fast often leads to making many mistakes which can be catastrophic in the civil engineering world, but what if you could work faster, but also smarter? If you can do this, you will be setting yourself up for major success.

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are 7 Strategies That You Can Use to Work Faster but Also Work Smarter as a Civil Engineering Professional:

TCEP 120: The State of the Structural Engineering Industry from the ASCE SEI Structures Congress Part 2

June 19, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

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In episode 120 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, you are going to hear interviews from my recent visit to the ASCE Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) Structures Congress. The interviews will cover both technical and professional development topics related to civil and structural engineering as well as personal development including effective communication skills for engineers.

This is the second of a two part series. The first part can be found here on our new sister podcast The Structural Engineering Channel which you can find in iTunes here.

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are Some of the Questions We Ask Our Guests in This Episode:

TCEP 119: Working in the Public Sector Versus Private Sector for Civil Engineering Professionals

June 5, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

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In episode 119 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I visit with John M. Keller PE, PMP, who serves as the Executive Director of The New Jersey Turnpike Authority. We talk about the differences between working in the public sector versus private sector and John provides some very specific examples, which may help you if you are deciding between these two career paths.

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask John Keller during the interview:

TCEP 113: How I Went from Tinker Bell into Disaster Recovery

March 13, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

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In episode 113 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I talk with Gina Rock who is the Program Delivery Manager at Jacobs. We talk about her career journey from the circus to Disney’s longest flying Tinker Bell (yes she was Tinker Bell) and then into the world of engineering. What I love about this episode is it really emphasizes how it’s never too late to make changes in your career path.

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Gina About Her Journey as Disney’s Longest Flying Tinker Bell:

How did you end up being Disney’s longest flying Tinker Bell?
What did it feel like for you when you found out you got the job as Tinker Bell in Disneyland?
Tell us about your performance as Tinker Bell?
What made you decide to go back to the engineering field?
How did you feel when you started with your first individual assistance job?
What makes a manager or leader effective in your experience?

Here are some key points discussed in this episode:

TCEP 111: Five Reasons All Civil Engineers Should Gain Field Experience

February 14, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

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In episode 111 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I am going to give you five reasons why ALL civil engineers should get field experience on project sites as early on as possible in their careers. The purpose of this episode is to reinforce the importance of on-site experience for civil engineering professionals.

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are the Reasons Why I Think All Civil Engineers Should Gain Field Experience

1. It Helps You to Be a Practical Engineer

I started out in high school doing land surveying (see photo above) over the summers and it really changed my career. Because of my field experience, I was able to make my designs more practical and create better details for the contractors who had to construct the projects I worked on.

2. Engineering Field Experience Allows You to Start with the End in Mind so You Don’t Just Start with the Design First

A lot of civil engineers start designing projects immediately, without seeing the project sites, however the problem with this is if you didn’t see the site, there may be a condition out there that you are not aware of. When you are forced to think in reverse and you’ve seen projects built before and then you start to do your design work, those construction issues comes to the forefront of your mind, which forces you to think with the end in mind first.

3. Engineering Field Experience Forces You to Interact with People

Civil Engineering to me is about people. We work on project teams, we work with architects, contractors, developers, real estate developers and other engineers constantly. If we are not focused on improving our people skills 100%, we are going to battle to be great civil engineers.

4. You Get to Know the Industry and Construction Lingo

Field experience helps you to learn how to talk to other civil engineering professionals effectively. It improves your overall confidence as an engineer and makes you stand out from the crowd.

5. Once You Get Promoted and Move up in Your Career, Your Chances of Gaining Field Experience Diminish Greatly

Civil engineering managers typically send younger engineers into the field to do inspections, reports etc. While you are young and you have the chance, you should grab the opportunity with both hands as this will have an incredibly positive impact on your engineering career.

More details in this episode…

Sources/References:

Engineering Management Accelerator Workshop (Online) | 5 PDHs
Engineering Management Institute Professional Membership
Engineer to Manager: On-demand
Engineering Management Institute YouTube Channel
ASCE Careers and Leadership Column
EQUATION: The Engineering Management Skills Trilogy Plus the Theory of Constraints Equals Effective Engineering Managers

This episode is brought to you by PPI, the leader of civil engineering FE or PE exam preparations. Visit ppi2pass.com to find essential licensure exam prep books, digital review, and helpful tips and advice.

Please leave your comments or questions in the section below on gaining field experience in your career.

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To your success,

Anthony Fasano, PE, LEED AP
Engineering Management Institute
Author of Engineer Your Own Success

TCEP 109: Construction Engineering – Communication in Negotiated Bid Contracts

January 16, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

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In episode 109 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I talk with Nils Gransberg, MS on topics related to Construction Engineering. Nils also tells us about the research he is conducting into negotiated bid contracts, and about his military background and experience.

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some of the questions I ask Nils:

Tell us more about the discipline of Construction Engineering?
Why did you decide to get your PhD?
Tell us about your research on negotiated bid contract delivery in public projects?
Can you talk about what it was like being a civil engineer in the military?

Here are some key points discussed in this episode about construction engineering:

TCEP 108: The Value IT Professionals Bring to the Engineering World

January 7, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

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In episode 108 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I will be speaking with Lisa Roger, PMP who is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Dewberry. We talk about her work in the Information Technology (IT) Department and also discuss the importance of IT Professionals in the engineering world.

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some of the questions I ask Lisa Roger, CIO:

What does being a CIO mean in terms of your responsibilities at Dewberry?
Talk to us about your philosophy in terms of IT?
Do you encourage interaction between IT professionals and engineering professionals?
How do you decide which software will be implemented at your company?
How much do you rely on out of the box software vs. software you have customized in-house?
Many small firms don’t have the advantage of an in-house IT department. At what point in an engineering firm’s growth do you think an IT department is needed and what are some of the pitfalls if they don’t have one?
How do you think the future of artificial intelligence will influence IT jobs and the engineering world?

Here are some key points discussed in this episode about IT Professionals:

TCEP 104: Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and the Future of Transportation

November 7, 2018 By Anthony Fasano

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In episode 104 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I am taking you with me to the offices of AECOM to talk with Anthony Attanasio, B.A, Vice President and Senior Program Manager at AECOM. We’ll discuss his career which has spanned both the public and private sectors, and we also talk about connected and autonomous vehicles, and what to expect in the short and long terms.

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some of the questions I ask Anthony Attanasio:

TCEP 100: The Civil Engineering Podcast Episode 100 Compilation Episode

October 8, 2018 By Anthony Fasano

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In this episode, we have published a special compilation episode which consists of clips from some of our past episodes related to our career elevator advice question. This question gets asked at the end of each episode and goes as follows: “If you got into an elevator with a civil engineer and had about 30 to 40 seconds with him or her and had to give him or her career advice in that short period of time, what would it be?” We are so grateful for the support of our listeners and excited to share this milestone 100th episode with you!

Career Goals and Challenges

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Jami:

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About Career Decisions and Transitions as a Civil Engineer:

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are 7 Strategies That You Can Use to Work Faster but Also Work Smarter as a Civil Engineering Professional:

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are Some of the Questions We Ask Our Guests in This Episode:

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask John Keller during the interview:

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Gina About Her Journey as Disney’s Longest Flying Tinker Bell:

Here are some key points discussed in this episode:

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are the Reasons Why I Think All Civil Engineers Should Gain Field Experience

1. It Helps You to Be a Practical Engineer

2. Engineering Field Experience Allows You to Start with the End in Mind so You Don’t Just Start with the Design First

3. Engineering Field Experience Forces You to Interact with People

4. You Get to Know the Industry and Construction Lingo

5. Once You Get Promoted and Move up in Your Career, Your Chances of Gaining Field Experience Diminish Greatly

More details in this episode…

Sources/References:

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some of the questions I ask Nils:

Here are some key points discussed in this episode about construction engineering:

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some of the questions I ask Lisa Roger, CIO:

Here are some key points discussed in this episode about IT Professionals:

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some of the questions I ask Anthony Attanasio:

Engineering Quote:

Here is a summary of the elevator advice from our guests in this compilation episode: