Advice to young structural engineers

At one time, in the mid-nineties, my colleagues were leaving the engineering profession for jobs in computers and networks but I chose to stay in engineering through the lean times. I was tempted many times, as computers are my forte. I figured that ultimately engineering is a profession of wisdom; it gets easier and better paid with the years. Sadly, most of my colleagues became unemployed at the time of the dot.com bubble burst; so they were busted, struggling to learn new technology, new languages and all for less money. I stood alone in my generation between the seniors and the juniors.

Suddenly, more than ten years on, I have the grey hairs now and I teach the graduates and the trainees the ropes. My career has taken me worldwide into so many different but similar environments and it has been a great learning curve to see how different cultures respond to the needs of the graduates and the engineering profession at large. I find I enjoy my work; I work harder, I work better and I relax more. Most of all, I still look to see if 'the penny drops' and another engineer's lights get switched on. For most of us, it happens years beyond graduating. You ask yourself all the time, am I doing the right thing, is this what I want to do? Am I doing it yet? Is this it? For me, the answer is yes, yes and yes.

It is important learning the equations as a grad but it is a tiny slice of life as an engineer; you need vision, passion, confidence and still go out there and prove your competence to the client and yourself. In the early years, you need to stay to finish your professional registration where you can, use it as a rare time in your life that won't come again and observe actively. Possibly everything in your future will be tied to this period of your career. Or possibly not, but choose.
Go with your instincts, you have a whole life, an amazing career to enjoy, whether you stay with the herd or fly with the eagle. Each have their own path.

I had a heavy academic and sheltered life and chose to get as much site experience as possible to learn how the real world could use my ideas. My numerous years of site experience drive my office-based reality now. I wouldn't trade my experience now for anything! I got to blow up buildings, drive piles in six feet swells, reclaim land, see a danish refinery project from grassroots to completion, design new pipeline anchors in Khazakstan, innovate a new manhole design that will become the new standard. The list is endless. Now, I am fortunate, proud and grateful but it was not always easy. So my advice is be active, be alert, be assertive and advocate.

Active is to listen, look and learn. Alert is to to see opportunity to do something better. Assertive is to stick to your guns. Advocate is to know we have to change. It all takes time.