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In this episode, we talk to William A. Modrall, PE, a senior geotechnical project engineer from Wood, who recently hiked the Continental Divide Trail between the borders of Mexico and Canada about his experience during this hike, and how it benefited his geotechnical engineering career.
[Read more…] about TGEP 33: How Taking a Hike Benefited This Geotechnical Engineer’s Career
Finding an equilibrium between our professional and personal lives is a vital ingredient for boosting productivity and improving our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Behind the elegant facilities and seamless production processes are maintenance engineers who guarantee the reliable and safe operation of equipment. They perform their duties under strict regulations and deadlines.
I ask myself: Are maintenance engineers happy? How do they balance the high levels of stress, frequent burnouts, and personal satisfaction? Here are some of the things that affect the work-life equilibrium and practical solutions to them.
[Read more…] about The Challenges of Achieving Work-Life Balance as a Maintenance Engineer
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In this episode, I answer critical career questions from engineers about career planning, licensing, work-life balance, credentials, finding a job, working remotely, and more, and also talk about happiness in your career.
These questions are from a Q&A session where I answered career questions for engineers. During these sessions, I take career questions from engineers on any challenging situation they are dealing with, career planning questions they might have, goal setting, or any other engineering-related questions. If you are interested in joining me on these calls, please check out the link in the show notes of this episode.
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” ~ Alice Walker
I recently received my mechanical P.E. license. However, having spent most of my career as a quality engineer, how should I make the most of it?
[Read more…] about TECC 242: Critical Career Questions Answered for Engineering Professionals
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Having a healthy work-life balance is a difficult challenge even in the best of times, but it is becoming more and more necessary during these times of economic stagnation and uncertainty. That is why, in this week’s episode of The Civil Engineering Podcast, Ken Mika, P.E. M.ASCE, a project engineer and office leader for Geosyntec’s Green Bay, Wisconsin office will provide some great work-life balance strategies that you can use to help you along the way.
[Read more…] about TCEP 156: Work-Life Balance Strategies for Civil Engineers
Over the last 10 years, remote work has grown in popularity by 91%. Even though the current pandemic has given businesses no other option but to move to remote work, many have seen it as a silver lining. The benefits for employees are clear: flexible work structures, improvement to work-life balance, job satisfaction, and productivity.
But as leaders and managers, you may think: It’s great for individuals, but how do I make it great for the business?
After all, you need to keep goals and projects moving forward, but managing teams and your firm’s operations simply looks different outside of the office. A new set of challenges can arise.
The good news is that with the right tools in place, it is now easier than ever to make this happen and to make it happen efficiently. In this post, we’ll explore the three most common challenges of managing a remote or hybrid office for engineering firms, and the strategies you need to navigate them successfully.
The goal is to have a new management outlook for remote work, so your firm can find its groove outside of the office and empower your team to be productive and grow.
Let’s get into it.
[Read more…] about How to Navigate the Challenges of Managing Remote Work
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In episode 129 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, our fourth episode in our Women in Civil Engineering series, I talk to two female civil engineering presidents from different cities in Texas. They are Julia Harrod, P.E., F.NSPE who is the President of MWM DesignGroup and Bonnie Moss, P.E. who is the President of MBCO Engineering. We talk about the steps they took to become successful civil engineering presidents and they also provide some great advice on how you can become a productive and successful civil engineering professional in your field.
[Read more…] about TCEP 129: Two Civil Engineering Presidents on the Steps They Took to Success
The number of engineers launching their own startup companies is increasing. More and more engineers are pursuing new entrepreneurial ventures with the dream of becoming their own boss, launching their own product or services, and making a dent in their industries. This has highlighted something that is critical to startup success: employee management, which is a huge challenge.
Employee management covers best practices to retain the top talent who will help you achieve your goals. As a founder, you know that a big part of your success (or failure) is your people. So, as you work your way towards establishing an engineering startup, it is important to equip yourself with knowledge in employee management.
[Read more…] about Successful Employee Management for Your Engineering Startup
Work-life balance is a renowned concept that refers to the situation when a person has a regular and sustainable source of income, while at the same time, is able to take out enough time to relax with his or her loved ones or to do stuff that they find entertaining, in order to regularly rejuvenate themselves and avoid experiencing burnouts. [Read more…] about Does Work-Life Balance Exist? A Myth or a Reality?
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In episode 121 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I will be bringing you with me to visit with William T. Thomsen, PE, who is the President and CEO of Urban Engineers of New York, DPC. We will be talking about his career journey and what has factored into his success and progression from engineer to Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He’ll also talk about how his Engineering Management degree has helped him in his career.
[Read more…] about TCEP 121: From Engineer to CEO and Everything In-Between
With millennials making up a large part of the workforce, it’s fast becoming necessary for all employers to know how to manage them. Millennials who have just graduated are well aware of the growing opportunities in other countries. As a result, they are likely to consider moving abroad; one study suggests that 59% of millennials in the United States would consider moving to a foreign country for a job, compared to 35% of the general population, and this statistic is even higher in countries such as France and the Netherlands. There are a few things to keep in mind that will make hiring and managing millennials a smooth process:
