Engineer to Firefighter

[Buke]

Agreed, alot of first year out of college jobs are the suck. Somebody's got to do the grunt work and right now you're the grunt. Welcome to the real world!

Don't look at what you're doing now, but where this career path can lead you.

This is solid advice. And as other have said, there's a large variety of work in civil engineering. What other degree can allow you to design a water treatment plant, a high rise, a highway or a site plan? You probably owe it to yourself to try something different within civil engineering before you give up on it.

Doing grunt desk work is often times the experience required to advance into more interesting aspects of the field. That's true of pretty much any job you're ever going to have. The difference between civil engineering and many other careers is that you can ultimately find yourself involved with things that are fairly significant. No matter how you look at it work is always going to be a 4 letter word. Before you jump ship make sure that it's the right decision.

I'm a structural engineer that does mostly small projects. I've learned through my career that the best engineering work rarely has much to do with the actual work and everything to do with the client. If I feel that the client values what I do and I can add value to the project then we can be working on some dudes back deck and it's satisfying. On the other hand If the techincal engineering work is interesting but the client perceives my work as just a necessary evil then I'm not going to be very happy. Personally, I like working on small projects that I can start and finish in a relatively short period of time. In the past I've worked on large projects that required a significant amount of my day, every day over the course of several years. I found I just burned out on those projects so now I focus on small things and I don't work on public projects.

With all that said, you've picked a field that is tedious and often times requires lots of solitary desk work. It may be that your not cut out for it and need to switch to something else. Or it may be that you need to find a small civil firm that does work that you find more satisfying. Or maybe you're a normal human being that would rather be out having fun than working and you just need to man up change your attitude because no work is going to make you happy. Job satisfaction is important but often times people think that means that their job should be fun. The fun and satisfying aren't the same thing.

[rmnpsplitter]

My experience with CE is based on working for a small private firm. No experience working in a gov job but I work with gov engineers all the time during review processes. Ive been with the same company for 6 years now and it really is an awesome job. We are project manager based and our jobs range from large developments to single family residences. I personally specialize in drainage and floodplain management so I also get to do a lot of drainage/floodplain studies which is pretty interesting. Anyways, I get a project and am responsible for everything from the initial field work to final construction management. As another post in this thread mentioned, when you see your project go from a vacant lot to finished construction it is very rewarding. I would imagine the gov job would be incredibly soul sucking. However, there are a ton of firms out there that deal with a huge variety of projects. Search around and find a job that is good for you in an area that interests you or find a company that will allow you to have a good variety of projects and work. That's what I did and it has been pretty great so far. My advice is to put in enough years of work to get licensed and your opportunities will really open up. Then re-assess if you really aren't finding it to be rewarding. You've put in a lot of time, energy and money to get this far and to throw it all away seems foolish to me this soon after graduation. Best of luck to you.

[4matic]

Outside of sales, marketing, and sales & marketing, oh and maybe some bio something, there aren't many pretty broads in the workplace.
.

Investment banking, accounting consulting, and private capital have some full package talent.

[grrrr]

Heh. Check out a fire crew sometime. "She's a fire camp 9, real world 4." Unless you like chicks with black soot ground into all their pores.

14 days spiked out with a real world 6 turned her into a 2 pretty quickly. I just can't do 14 day BO that up close. Doesn't stop most guys from hitting on them pretty quick.

There was a crew about 2000 had some chicks from Borneo or somewhere. Those two were the meanest hardest working chicks on the crew, and also the most hard core about not showering even in camp. Do. Not. Want.

The flip side - be a city firefighter and get yourself on the calendar. Unlimited.

[Timberridge]

Investment banking, accounting consulting, and private capital have some full package talent.

You left out porn.

[jamesp]

I've got a CE buddy working a gov't job, he runs tunnel boring machines for new drains & culverts etc. Lots of time outside, banks OT when the project is on, junkets to Europe drinking beer aka "learning about the machines". Seems like a decent gig to me.

[4matic]

You left out porn.

Too much financial engineering.

[nickwm21]

At this point in time, I would stay clear of the FF career unless you have an "in". There are a lot of young guys waiting in line.

If you want to stay in the CE industry but get outside, quit working for the state or design side and work for a contractor. Run the job. Large GC's are hiring CE's as assistant superintendents all the time. More money too...

[cinnepa]

I would imagine the gov job would be incredibly soul sucking. However, there are a ton of firms out there that deal with a huge variety of projects. Search around and find a job that is good for you in an area that interests you or find a company that will allow you to have a good variety of projects and work. Best of luck to you.

This.......and once you're in for while, how's 26 years so far - well, you just gotta stick it out till the end to get the full retirement benefits. yes, it has sucked a bit of the life out of me, the workers are pretty much treated equal - regardless of performance, but as long as you could withstand the general BS and realize you won't get to be a millionaire, or ever have to take work home ever, or go on blood pressure medication, it is steady income and there is rarely layoffs of any kind. best of luck to you for sure. ask yourself if you'll be happy doing the type of work you went to college for in 20-30 years from now.

[Timberridge]

Well, at least he doesn't want to become a ski instructor.

[4frntmorrison]

Thanks for all of the input everyone. This got way bigger than I thought it would. Nice to have opinions on both sides. I'm working for a private firm in Wyoming mostly doing contract work for the highway department and some site work. I want to be inspired and feel like what I'm doing is making a difference and what I'm doing right now just isn't cutting it. Spending three more years doing something I'm not real thrilled about just to get licensed in said area I'm not real thrilled about worries me.

[Hugh Conway]

Investment banking, accounting consulting, and private capital have some full package talent.

there's "some" talent everywhere by that standard. the above just have more money to pour into clothes and beauty products and a bitchy attitude to match.

oh good god. you want to make a difference. Ugh. if you want something really making a difference start your own business. everything else is sucking on some tit or another. Or get some skills and go volunteer to build water pipes in the 3rd world with all the difference makers.

[Kevo]

Thanks for all of the input everyone. This got way bigger than I thought it would. Nice to have opinions on both sides. I'm working for a private firm in Wyoming mostly doing contract work for the highway department and some site work. I want to be inspired and feel like what I'm doing is making a difference and what I'm doing right now just isn't cutting it. Spending three more years doing something I'm not real thrilled about just to get licensed in said area I'm not real thrilled about worries me.

How about something like engineers without borders? You could go and do cool stuff in remote/interesting places and potentially make a difference.

[DJSapp]

Thanks for all of the input everyone. This got way bigger than I thought it would. Nice to have opinions on both sides. I'm working for a private firm in Wyoming mostly doing contract work for the highway department and some site work. I want to be inspired and feel like what I'm doing is making a difference and what I'm doing right now just isn't cutting it. Spending three more years doing something I'm not real thrilled about just to get licensed in said area I'm not real thrilled about worries me.

You want to help people and do/build worthwhile things, but you live in a state with 700k people... Hate to break it to you but the largest thing you're going to build is a freeway overpass if you stay there. Maybe a dam retrofit if you're lucky. The large CE jobs are where the people are.

San Francisco is pouring literally tens of billions into the transbay transit center and surrounding high rises. Los Angeles just awarded over a billion dollar job for the Regional Connector project. Seattle's sound transit is ramping up a couple billion in light rail expansion. Sacramento is gearing up for a two billion dollar wastewater plant. When I get off the freeway to get to the jobsite, I can see 15 crane booms over a 10 block area. You are in the wrong place man. Wyoming isn't doing shit.

[skideeppow]

I volunteer and I will tell you there are a lot of people who are super qualified trying to become full time paid staff on our dept. We have people who put themselves through paramedic school and are still in volunteer status.

So I believe that career ff, or widland is pretty competitive right now.

I end up volunteering over 30-40 hours a week. That includes training and on call hours.

If i "deploy" to a widland fire (i do have my red card s130/190) i would get paid by the feds but that is far and away less than i make at my day job.

[GeezerSteve]

Health care has more chix than all others mentioned.

I want to be inspired and feel like what I'm doing is making a difference. . . .

ha ha ha ha ha ha. Seriously, the most a professional service provider can expect along those lines is to make a difference in your clients' lives and businesses (private sector) or enhancing the commons (public sector).

As my bud counseled his son: Work is something that, if you didn't get paid for it, you wouldn't do. That's why they call it work.

[Hugh Conway]

< shrug > if you became an engineer to build shit (the fun part of engineering) there's a big difference between engineering jobs where you are actually building shit, and engineering jobs where you are shuffling paper/emails/changeorders/designrevisions on your computer and transferring between various Lumberg meetings of fuckwads who's goal is to thieve oxygen and get nothing done (aka the daily life of a lawyer). Given Wyoming can't even keep a fucking interstate open, a state which actually builds shit's probably a better choice if you want to build shit as Mr. Sapp suggested. Or go work in the oil fields/fracking or something, I'd think a competent CE could get a job there, but that's not my field or expertise.

[grrrr]

Health care has more chix than all others mentioned.

ha ha ha ha ha ha. Seriously, the most a professional service provider can expect along those lines is to make a difference in your clients' lives and businesses (private sector) or enhancing the commons (public sector).

As my bud counseled his son: Work is something that, if you didn't get paid for it, you wouldn't do. That's why they call it work.

I'm glad that I don't feel that way about my career. I am shooting for getting it back to a better balance at some point, but I don't wake up on Monday mornings wishing it was Friday afternoon.

[GeezerSteve]

I don't wake up on Monday mornings wishing it was Friday afternoon.

Nor do I. That's wishing one's life away, which I don't do. And that's completely off my point, which is: That one must love his or her job/profession is a stupid requirement, one reserved for the pathetic people who do not have lives outside of work. I've had a good career as a professional, now in my 28th year, tapering it down to part-time (1/4-1/3 practice). All in all, it worked out pretty goddam well. Have I reaped rewards, monetary and non-monetary (e.g., helping my small biz clients)? Hell yes, but I've also endured plenty o' stress, dealing with assholes and frustration. Did I love it? Fuck no. I saved my love for my SO, friends, family and avocational pursuits.

Work to live, not live to work.

I am shooting for getting it back to a better balance at some point

Good luck with that. I never allowed it to get out of balance. IME, most professionals who let work take over their lives are doomed to either live out their careers that way or burn out.

[DBdude]

I have an intellectually stimulating gig at least half the time. do i love it, fuck no

working with other people sucks - no matter what you do. if it doesn't you are a special snow flake, but for most of us the day to day interaction with co-workers, clients, etc is draining

[Kevo]

If i "deploy" to a widland fire (i do have my red card s130/190) i would get paid by the feds but that is far and away less than i make at my day job.

Be sure not to use the word "deploy" in the wildland world unless you are talking about a shelter deployment.

Resource order, dispatch, etc is ok. Say the word "deploy" at a firecamp or over a radio and you'll start some crazy rumors about a crew or engine deploying shelters without even knowing it.

[Rip'nStick]

I have an intellectually stimulating gig at least half the time. do i love it, fuck no

working with other people sucks - no matter what you do. if it doesn't you are a special snow flake, but for most of us the day to day interaction with co-workers, clients, etc is draining

That is just you dude, and there is nothing wrong with it. IT right?

[Rip'nStick]

Background in engineering here, looking for my third career at 40. The one thing I have found in my short time here is that the company and culture you work for make a huge difference. I have worked as a grunt for large aerospace companies that had their shit together and as a director of ops for smaller energy consulting companies that thought they were the shit. Finding the culture and business practices that make sense for you makes all the difference.

Which is to say, identify work style and culture first, then the companies that fit that in a field of preference. I have found engineering to mostly be an analytic way of looking at problems, and highly transferable.

[skideeppow]

Be sure not to use the word "deploy" in the wildland world unless you are talking about a shelter deployment.

Resource order, dispatch, etc is ok. Say the word "deploy" at a firecamp or over a radio and you'll start some crazy rumors about a crew or engine deploying shelters without even knowing it.

That is why i put the "Deploy" in italics. I know all about not using that word anywhere near a wildfire. They go over that in the s130/190 thoroughly

[gointhedistance]

The one thing I have found in my short time here is that the company and culture you work for make a huge difference. Finding the culture and business practices that make sense for you makes all the difference.

Which is to say, identify work style and culture first, then the companies that fit that in a field of preference. I have found engineering to mostly be an analytic way of looking at problems, and highly transferable.

^I think this is some of the best advice...

I'm going through a bit of a career path change dilemma myself, and am actually in a similar situation. Graduated as an ME, worked in the med device development field for about 4 years out of college. Had a really good/cool gig brainstorming, problem solving, building protos, etc - with fun people too. Then my role was changed and I was forced to take one of those protos to manufacturing - and I f'in hated manufacturing engineering for alot of reasons I won't get in to. It was a miserable 8 months, so I decided it was time to try something different. I got into technical sales. I've learned alot in two and half years, and it's been great for networking and personal interaction - but I've reached the point where I've saturated my interest with this role/company, and being bound to the midwest. So... I'm currently looking to move on to the next thing.

I guess my point is, don't be afraid to afraid to branch out from engineering (CE specifically). If you can be multi-talented, sell yourself to potential employers and prove that you can be a diverse employee. Then you can branch into whatever you want to. Try new stuff. Figure out what you like. I miss tinkering around in the lab - but would I give up the freedom of sales and personal interaction... probably not. So for me - and to rip'n'stick's point - move around, take a chance in order to find out what type of culture or role makes you happy. Once you determine who are the type of people you want to work with, the companies direction/goals, the route you want to go - just go for it. If it turns out you don't like it - onto the next.... the good news is you've got time.

If firefighting is what you think will make you happy now, then go for it - but also have a long term goal/understanding associated with your decision. If you think long term it's not the best route - and you will regret it, or think you will have hard time getting back into the corporate world after a few years fighting fires - then maybe there are other options for you.

Good news is - you can always change your mind if you don't like it. So go for what you think will make you happy. Don't forget to network to meet different types of people - doing that will allow you to see who shares your values - which will make it much easier to work with them.