Proper mentoring for structural
Proper mentoring for structural
(OP)
Just curious as to the experiences that other structural engineers have had during their first 4 or 5 years out of school related to the mentoring or lack of.
I have been out of school for 4 years now and I am curious how my experiences compare to others, as well as the company that you worked for at the time.
I have been out of school for 4 years now and I am curious how my experiences compare to others, as well as the company that you worked for at the time.





RE: Proper mentoring for structural
I then had 5 years under an engineer very good at theory (member of BS & EC code committees and also lectured) and adequate on the practical side.
All in all a very good grounding, I am thankful for both.
What's your experience shacked?
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
However, I have also learned a lot on my own from industry magazine publications and from regular perusal of this board. Also, when you get a masters like I did, your theoretical side becomes pretty strong from that experience. While there a lot theoretical things I still wish I had a grasp of, the practical side is where I still need the most work.
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
This is one place where the medical profession is head and shoulders above engineering (IMO), although I don't know what a medical residency is like, so.........
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
As for me I have been working for small structural engineering offices for the past 4 years. From 2 to 4 people total in the company. Needless to say there hasen't been a lot of time, in my opinion, to devote to proper mentoring.
My current boss is the owner and is very practical engineer with approximately 15 years experience. So far there has never realy been a time when he has sat down with me and went over a project that I have done and discussed the mistakes that I have made, the corrections and why these corrections should be done.
There have been times that he has reviewed details of mine then corrected them, but when I asked why he seems to get mad and never realy explains why, except only to add,"it is stronger this way."
I think he gets mad when I question why he does something a certian way. I do this to understand the principles behind why he designes something the way he does so that I can apply the same thinking another time if the situation is different.
I guess what I realy wanted to know, is how the mentoring was accomplished?
Did you actually sit down with your mentor (boss) and discuss the theory and or why a certian detail is the best for a specific situation? Was there a freedom that you felt to question why he detailed or designed something the way he did? Not like you are questioning his ability, just curious as to what his thought process was.
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
If I ever felt like I was being given a hard time for doing that or asking questions, I would look to move on asap! You can't be an independent thinking, competent engineer by being a yes-man that doesn't ask questions.
I don't think that "because it's stronger this way" is a reasonable response to your question of why he likes the detail. I understand that you can't always put your finger on why you like one detail over another when they both work, but at least own it and say, "I don't know, this just "feels" better to me". When I'm asked to change a detail it's typically because of constructability or cost concerns. I always ask why, and if I were given a "just because" response, I honestly would not accept that and I would continue to ask until I get a response (without being obnoxious, of course).
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
I received almost no mentoring, it was trial by fire. I purchase many books over this period and taught myself as much as I could. I picked up a few things about detailing and setting up drawings, practical things, but not much in the way of design.
I decided to leave when I was told there was no such thing as at-rest pressure in soils by my manager.
My next boss ended up being one of the best engineers I have ever met. He thaught me how to really think like an engineer. At the end of every project he would review my drawings until we came to a consensus that everything was as it should be. Top notch engineer.
But I was laid off due to lack of work and had to move on. I am glad that I got to work with such a good engineer.
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
"Does the man make the journey or does the journey make the man" - Mark Twain
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
I was thrown in on complicated projects and had to figure out a lot of things on my own. I feel that I learned a lot of things just by being thrown at the far end, but I sure wish I had someone to fall back to ask "why".
Like many others here, I used these forums extensively to get the answers to "why". I really wish there was more mentoring.
Any takers for being mentors in this group of structural engineers?
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
However I will now give you a flip side, from a mentor position I find young engineers refuse to study up outside of work or spend the time researching the subject before asking the question. I also find problems with young engineers wanting to use the computer for everything. Also some interns want the full answer not just a reference they can read. This is not mentoring to me, I expect and require my interns to do hand cals, before using a computer to check the results. I expect and require my interns to do at least 150-300hrs a year of extra study, note this means about 3-4 hrs a week bare minimum. I expect my interns to ask products technical departments & program developers questions about there products.
If you can say you do all these things you will find that your mentoring becomes almost unrequired.
Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in mud. After a while you realize that they like it
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
Like SEIT and RE mentioned above, don't be afraid to question something if you don't think it is the best solution. The one answer I would never accept as a mentoree was "it will work because that's the way it's always been done" or "it will work because it will work". Both those answers are cop-outs.
A lack of mentoring resulted in me spending the majority of my weekends going through built design drawings in the office and understanding what each element is doing and how it needs to be designed.
I am of the belief that graduate engineers need good quality mentoring.
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
You are talking about the nurses right?
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RE: Proper mentoring for structural
All of these experiences gave me opportunities to learn. I got to see the designs implemented in construction. I saw what worked and what didn't. I worked in fab shops and in the field. I got to practice my analysis and design as well, almost all of which got reviewed and critiqued by outside sources.
College was only a small stepping stone....my education began and continues with the constant interfacing of the theoretical and practical aspects of engineering, and has crossed the disciplines of structural, civil, geotechnical, materials and mechanical. The sparkies won't let me touch anything!!
As RE noted, I too have been in a position of mentoring for many years. I enjoy it, but sometimes have seen the same things he mentioned...young engineers not willing to put the extra effort into their careers and much too much dependence on calculation and computing....If you can't get an idea of what the answer should be (ballpark) in your head, you'll have no groundtruthing of your calculations. It's OK to be a little geeky at times...after all, we're engineers.
Slickdeals and Asixth....you can get a lot from these forums. You get to learn to separate the wheat and chaff, with help from the best peer review system you'll find anywhere.
Which way did the nurses go?
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
What is good mentoring?
In my particular case I find that the technical support is only a small part of it. Most times is about being there for support whenever they need it, be a sounding board for their ideas or doubts and keep an eye on them to make sure they are going on the right direction and correct direction (nicely and explaining why) when they start to veer off.
Two questions that I pose to them and usually puzzle them, 'What do you think?' (when they come asking for help) and 'What did you learn today?'(after a particular challenging or difficult day). Answers are amusing.
Oppinions?
RE: Proper mentoring for structural
"What did you learn today"- Interesting question, the way I approach work is to try a continue to learn new things. I don't ever want to get myself into a rut of always doing the same thing the same way and never exploring new approaches. They way I see it, if you try something new and it doesn't come off, it may waste 20 minutes. But what happens if your sitting on a goldmine and you find something that can double your productivity.
What I learnt today. I just sat through a two-hour training seminar on wave loading and I took away what the limiting SPT value is for driving different types of piles.