Biggest Challenges Faced by a Civil Design Engineer at Siegfried Engineering Inc
Andrew's biggest current challenge as a Civil Design Engineer is "managing projects" due to the industry's current high demand, requiring prioritization of tasks and meeting deadlines. Early in Andrew's career, the main challenge was "learning the design aspects," but five years in, project management has taken center stage.
Project Management, Overcoming Challenges, Industry Realities, Workplace Challenges, Mid-Career
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Andrew Manes
Civil Design Engineer
Siegfried Engineering, Inc.
California Polytechnic State University, SLO
Engineering - Environmental
Architecture, Construction & Design
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Managing multiple projects and deadlines effectively is a significant challenge.
2. The initial challenge was learning the design aspects and industry requirements after graduation.
3. The role's challenges evolve with experience; early challenges are replaced by new ones related to project management and prioritization as the engineer grows in their career.
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
I would say, just with the industry being so busy right now, one of the things I enjoy most about my role is managing. But that's also been one of the harder parts of my job in the last year, really.
Just making sure deadlines get hit at the right times is a challenge. It’s about not spending too much time on things that aren't a priority right now.
Instead, I need to make sure the priority items get done and identify which ones should be worked on and which ones shouldn't. That can be quite a challenge, and that's what challenges me right now.
When I first started, the challenges were a lot different. It was more about learning the design aspects of things. You think you might know a lot coming out of school, but you really don't.
Learning the different requirements for what we're designing and telling the contractor to build was more of a challenge then. But now that I'm about five years into my job, I have a lot more of a grasp on that.
So that's not as much of a challenge anymore. It's more the managing projects side of things.