1. CVE 4070 Construction Engineering Civil Engineering Jobs Prof. Ralph V. Locurcio, PE

2. Civil Engineering Jobs…  Design – specific discipline  Construction  Facilities Engineering  Project Management  Construction Management  Public agency  Private firm

3. Skills you will need…  Engineering analysis  Construction take off & estimating  Work scheduling  Ordering & receiving  Negotiating  Supervision & leadership  Common sense

4. Design…  Technically narrow career path  Start as member of design team  EIT & PE absolutely required  Progress from team member to team leader to group leader to expert  Attend professional society meetings  Write & present technical papers  Build experience & expertise in “your” field  Become a “technical” expert  Construction experience a plus  May have to change firms to advance

5. Construction…  Technically broad career path…  Begin as assistant construction manager, office engineer or inspector  Seek experience in all construction fields: estimation, project management, logistics, purchasing  Obtain project management certification  Seek broad construction experience in problem solving and leadership  Join construction related professional society  EIT & PE a plus; required for larger firms  Projects may vary widely  Location vary widely; mostly field work  May progress within one firm with good performance

6. Facilities…  Municipal or public works engineer  Concentration is operations & maintenance  Broad experience in many disciplines essential  Knowledge of project management a must  Knowledge of budgeting & policy a must  Very limited design & construction; but require technical knowledge of same  Goal is preventive maintenance & availability of physical plant  EIT & PE a plus; ususally not required  Customer relations very important

7. Project Management…  Leader & Problem solver  Application of leadership to engineering  Need broad understanding of many engineering fields & interactions  Understand process & quality control  Skill in cost control & scheduling a must  Requires great skill in human relations, group dynamics & communications  Applied to all engineering fields

8. Construction Management…  Specialty form of Project Management  Knowledge of building methods & processes  Knowledge of construction trades  Knowledge of contracts & legal aspects  Knowledge of union & labor relatons  Requires understanding of engineering that underlies design features in all disciplines  Skill in cost & quality control essential  Excellent problem solving skills a must  Must have flexible, responsive personality

9. Public or Private agency…  Public agency  Service mission  Very structured & rule oriented; sometimes political  Steady work; allocate public resources or enforce rules  Advancement slow but steady; seniority counts  Low salary; good retirement; good benefits; good training  Private firm  Profit mission  Unstructured; matrix organization; few rules  Work can be chaotic; varies with economy  Advancement depends on profit gained  Salary can be excellent; retirement is 401k & or stock, benefits vary; training sparse, up to individual

10. Large or Small firm…  Large  Very structured & rule oriented; sometimes political  Individual has less influence  Steady work  Good training & benefits  Advancement slow but steady; seniority counts  Opportunity to move within firm  Retirement is 401k, sharing a plus  Small  Pay for performance and expertise can be substantial  Individual can have great influence  Poor structure; can be confusing or political  Erratic work  Training & benefits depend on profits  Advancement can be rapid; expertise counts  Firms tend to specialize; narrow opportunity  Retirement is company stock & 401k

11. Job selection & success…  Know what’s important to you  Different strokes for different folks  Criteria for job comparison  Compare apples to apples  Use objective criteria… money & values  Use a matrix to keep you honest

12. Job comparison matrix…

13. Notes on Construction Jobs…  No decimal places in construction  You don’t often get a second chance to make a good first impression  Performance more valued than potential  Keep a record of your experience  Keep a record of your superiors

14. Job success…  Have a “loose” career plan  Things will change  Be prepared to accept opportunity  Don’t be afraid to volunteer or change  Be vigilant for opportunity  Network  Be happy or change

15. Leadership  What are key functions of a leader  Why is a leader so important  What is the leader’s primary task  What is the concept of one-to-one authority and how does it relate to leadership  Why is communications so important  Who are the leaders on a project

16. Course evaluation…  Take 15 minutes to fill out the course evaluation.