Comments on: And The Gap Widens http://blog.civilengineeringcentral.com/2008/11/20/and-the-gap-widens/ building teams . engineering careers Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:00:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Saber Tooth Tiger Mike http://blog.civilengineeringcentral.com/2008/11/20/and-the-gap-widens/#comment-753 Saber Tooth Tiger Mike Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:13:43 +0000 http://civilengineeringcentral.wordpress.com/?p=406#comment-753 revised version. So in other words, there isn’t a shortage and if there is, it’s encouraged by employers. and is mantained by the high cost of education to become a civil engineer in the United States. There’s the cost of a four year undergraduate degree from a respected institution+ graduate school + continuing education ( some of this is on the job and some of this is off the job.) I assume you’re fairly sharp but let me propose something to get your point across. How about presenting a table outlining the costs and benefits of becoming a civil engineer to eighth graders This would encourage young people to enter the feild over time, assuming there’s enough work for them to help them gain enough experience to be trusted on infrastructure work. There’s a reason why certain jobs are renumerative…Certain jobs are difficult to perform. Almost anything that pays well is difficult to do. Engineering involves a lot of scenarios where a mistake could cost money or lives. Of course, there’s going to be a “shortage” ...A “shortage”is shorthand term in human resources for “this occupation is a fairly difficult to perform well in. Our clients are very demanding because there is alot at stake.” revised version. So in other words, there isn’t a shortage and if there is, it’s encouraged by employers. and is mantained by the high cost of education to become a civil engineer in the United States. There’s the cost of a four year undergraduate degree from a respected institution+ graduate school + continuing education ( some of this is on the job and some of this is off the job.) I assume you’re fairly sharp but let me propose something to get your point across. How about presenting a table outlining the costs and benefits of becoming a civil engineer to eighth graders This would encourage young people to enter the feild over time, assuming there’s enough work for them to help them gain enough experience to be trusted on infrastructure work.

There’s a reason why certain jobs are renumerative…Certain jobs are difficult to perform. Almost anything that pays well is difficult to do. Engineering involves a lot of scenarios where a mistake could cost money or lives. Of course, there’s going to be a “shortage” …A “shortage”is shorthand term in human resources for “this occupation is a fairly difficult to perform well in. Our clients are very demanding because there is alot at stake.”

]]> By: aepcentral http://blog.civilengineeringcentral.com/2008/11/20/and-the-gap-widens/#comment-211 aepcentral Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:29:49 +0000 http://civilengineeringcentral.wordpress.com/?p=406#comment-211 In response to this blog entry I did receive an email from a professional civil engineer who wrote the following: Matt, I like the points made and like you, I have been around this business a very long time. But, over the years many people have been leaving this industry for a number of other reasons than the economy. Such as pay, client expectation and treatment of the professional. When was the last time a client thanked a professional for the hard work, long hours in the pursuit of what many of us have a strong passion for? The typical response from our clients is, "it took you to long and you cost to much." This kind of stress has driven many engineers, planners, LA's early in their careers to the client side or construction with the lure of higher pay; now in the down turn they are wanting to come back. But, they now lack the technical knowledge, design experience not obtained early on and are demanding the high salary. If they are welcomed back into the fold, they are rarely successful and leave again. In response to this blog entry I did receive an email from a professional civil engineer who wrote the following:

Matt,

I like the points made and like you, I have been around this business a very long time. But, over the years many people have been leaving this industry for a number of other reasons than the economy. Such as pay, client expectation and treatment of the professional. When was the last time a client thanked a professional for the hard work, long hours in the pursuit of what many of us have a strong passion for? The typical response from our clients is, “it took you to long and you cost to much.” This kind of stress has driven many engineers, planners, LA’s early in their careers to the client side or construction with the lure of higher pay; now in the down turn they are wanting to come back. But, they now lack the technical knowledge, design experience not obtained early on and are demanding the high salary. If they are welcomed back into the fold, they are rarely successful and leave again.

]]> By: What a recession means to individuals « Continental Shelf http://blog.civilengineeringcentral.com/2008/11/20/and-the-gap-widens/#comment-210 What a recession means to individuals « Continental Shelf Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:37:43 +0000 http://civilengineeringcentral.wordpress.com/?p=406#comment-210 [...] 2-5 years of experience: they’re productive and inexpensive. Civil Engineering Central has a little overview today of how the gap in qualified civil engineers (and related professionals) continues to widen at [...] [...] 2-5 years of experience: they’re productive and inexpensive. Civil Engineering Central has a little overview today of how the gap in qualified civil engineers (and related professionals) continues to widen at [...]

]]>