Civil Engineering

Civil Engineers Are in High Demand

May 9, 2022 By EMI

This is a guest post by Dr. Rae Taylor

I am a member of the social networking site “Nextdoor” (I call it a nosy neighbor site). I joined for the COVID updates and to volunteer my superpowers as a relatively young, low-COVID-risk person. But I stayed for the complete insanity that is village gossip. I was a little shocked to get a notification from my county saying “Civil Engineers!!! We need you!” I clicked on the post and it sounded a little desperate. It seems my county doesn’t mind what stage of your career you are in, what area of civil engineering you are in, or even if you get your job ads from a site used primarily to discuss whose dog is barking at what time.

In the same week, I got an email from a city not too far from me, where I had unsuccessfully applied for a job in 2016, asking me if I would like to apply for a job again. They provided a link to the job they were thinking about, but stressed that if anything else caught my eye I should apply for that too.

The following week I got two messages on LinkedIn from recruiters about civil engineering jobs, located about two hours away, that they thought I might like to apply for.

Now is a good time to point out that while I have worked as a civil engineer before, until now I have never been recruited as one. There is a convincing argument that when you get a Ph.D., you will no longer be a good engineer. Clearly this is an oversimplification, and an enjoyable discussion can be had on this. But I would say that I can’t think of a person I know, or know of (other than me), who has done graduate-level research and then gone into an EIT or P.E. role exclusively. So it should make sense when I tell you that previously, all the messages I got recruiting me to apply for a job were for jobs in R&D, teaching and talking about research, or in one fun case setting up experiments for a TV show. But not civil engineering jobs. As such, these latest recruiting messages conjured up visions of a barrel and an entire HR department reaching as far as they can to the base.

So what’s happening and should we be worried? Well, lots, and yes, always.

TEQC 005: A Framework for Quality Control for Engineering Professionals | Part 4: Action

May 3, 2022 By EMI

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In this episode of The Engineering Quality Control podcast, we continue with the 5-Part Framework for Quality Control and focus on the fourth part of this framework, which is known as Action.

Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About Taking Action:

Professional Engineering Societies Must Do a Better Job Communicating the Benefits They Offer

March 31, 2022 By EMI

This is a guest post by Dr. Rae Taylor

I was reminded the other day to investigate my professional memberships — what I wanted to renew and what I wanted to let lapse. You may think I was reminded by an email or letter from one of the many professional societies., but sadly it wasn’t anything that normal. I was actually reminded while writing my daughter’s name on a toy ID badge. There was enough room for her name and fake academic credentials, but none left for professional affiliations. It left me wondering what I would write myself, as it’s been so long since I wrote them down, and they’re hard to remember since I move around a lot between institutions.

For now…

I guess I should state now that my professional affiliation has lapsed. I was a member of a civil engineering specific society, but after I left my full-time job and became a part-time independent scientist/homeschooler/full-time daycare teacher/older neighbor welfare checker, the $245 membership fee seemed too high. Now, to be fair, this organization does provide one year of free membership should you find yourself no longer gainfully employed, which is brilliant. I applied for it and heard nothing back. I assume they were inundated with applications as many people were losing their jobs at that time.

TCEP 195: The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: How It Will Affect Civil Engineers

February 2, 2022 By EMI

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In this episode, I talk to Dennis D. Truax, Ph.D., P.E., BCEE, D.WRE, F.NSPE, F.ASCE, the 2022 President of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the professor emeritus of the Richard A. Rula School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Mississippi State University about the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and how it will affect civil engineering companies in the short and long term.

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Dennis:

What does the new legislation, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, entail?
How soon will funding be available for this legislation?
Are civil engineering schools addressing new technologies in their curricula?
Should companies that are interested in the projects keep in contact with their DOT?

Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act:

TGEP 41: Women in Geotechnical Engineering: Geotechnical Construction Explained

January 13, 2022 By EMI

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In this episode, we talk to Hannah Iezzoni, P.E., a Geostructural design engineer at KELLER, about what geotechnical construction is and the relationship between geotechnical and foundation engineering. She also talks about her involvement in mentoring young female engineers and promoting inclusivity within our industry.

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are Some of the Questions We Ask Hannah:

TCEP 188: Why People Development Is Important When Growing a Civil Engineering Firm

November 17, 2021 By EMI

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In this episode of The Civil Engineering Podcast, we talk with two engineers from Alaska that decided to start their own firm and really focused on people development within their firm. They are Garret K. Gladsjo, P.E.and Lucas Chambers, P.E., co-owners and principal engineers at proHNS LLC. We talk about how investing in your staff can help grow your company tremendously.

Engineering Quotes:

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Garret and Lucas:

How did you end up starting your firm and what services does your firm provide?
Talk to us about the importance of people development at your firm, and how you find, develop, and retain the right people?
How do you ensure that the right people are doing the right things and that you promote the right people into the right position at your firm?
How do you identify who needs what training or development? Do you have a process to ensure you are consistently developing your people?
Problem-solving is the essence of what engineering leaders do, but how do you and your company identify the problems that arise?
Once you identify problems, does your company have a specific process for solving them? If so, what does it look like?
What are some typical problems that you see in civil engineering firms, specifically when they are trying to grow or scale?
Do you have any final advice to civil engineers out there who are trying to grow their own companies, or who are considering pursuing a career similar to yours?

Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About People Development:

The (Not-So) Secret to Successful Client Management

September 27, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest post by Lindsay A. O’Leary, P.E., CAE, LEED AP, M.ASCE

A consultant’s priority is to provide a service in exchange for payment. It may be advice or developing and executing a plan. In civil engineering, our industry’s charge is to build a better quality of life for all of civilization, doing so both ethically and sustainably. Each completed project brings us closer to that goal. Each time a client hires us, we have an opportunity to make a difference. Clean drinking water. A reliable route to emergency medical care. Structures that withstand flooding or safely sway during an earthquake. Our jobs are rewarding. And happy clients are critical to our success.

So, what’s the not-so-secret key to providing stellar client service? COMMUNICATION! But it’s not always easy and, frankly, it can be downright intimidating at times.

Here Are Four Communication Checkpoints for Stellar Client Service to Start Implementing Today:

Increasing the Efficiency of Your Civil Engineering Firm’s Field Work

September 14, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Nick Heim, P.E.

Whether it be construction administration for a new design project or gathering information about existing conditions on a renovation project, some amount of field work is required on most civil engineering projects. From notes to photos, a large part of field work is data collection and interpretation that can be streamlined depending on what is to be accomplished. Today, I would like to share three tips on my field workflows — and how they could help you increase your efficiency in the field:

TCEP 181: Building Your Networking Skills as a Civil Engineer

August 11, 2021 By EMI

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In the episode of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I talk about a topic that is of the utmost importance to civil engineering professionals which is relationship building. I will look at it from the perspective of someone that is not comfortable networking, whether they are shy, an “introvert”, or they’re just uncomfortable in social settings, and provide three actions that they can take to help improve your networking skills as a civil engineer.

Here Are Three Actions You Can Take to Improve Your Networking Skills as a Civil Engineer:

TCEP 177: Civil Engineering Education and Ph.D. Programs in Civil Engineering

June 30, 2021 By EMI

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In this episode, that is part of our Women in Civil Engineering (WICE) series, I talk to Eva Lantsoght, Ph.D., a Full Professor at San Francisco de Quito & Assistant Professor at the Delft University of Technology. We talk about civil engineering education and how it differs throughout several countries. Eva also touches on the impact of COVID-19 on education and provides some advice for engineers considering pursuing their studies and a Ph.D. later in their careers.

Civil Engineers Are in High Demand

This is a guest post by Dr. Rae Taylor

TEQC 005: A Framework for Quality Control for Engineering Professionals | Part 4: Action

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Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About Taking Action: