fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
(OP)
I am holding a new position which kind of puts me in stress for the following reason:(I am a fresh graduate with a master's degree in structural engineering)
- The company is so small and fresh, and I am the ONLY assistant of the boss, who is a very smart and experienced structral engineer (of course he is the owner of the business). So I will be doing the structural design work, and he will be supervising and delivering it to the client. I find it also as an advantage because he has a lot more experience and knowledge than the first supervisor I could have in a larger company. But this position with such a high responsibility stresses me out also, becuase obviously I am not experienced yet! My supervisor(boss) had offered me this job relying on my success during my studies, and also because we are understanding each other very easily and well (I like working with him a lot).
Well, I am also confident about my academic background, capacity to learn, intelligence... But I just don't have practical experience. Besides I dont have anybody to ask my STUPID questions, becuase I feel that my boss is too qualified for that, and I dont want to dissapoint him being stupid.
These make me feel overstressed, and unconfident while working on a project. If I do something wrong, or lose time, it seems like the company will lose money and clients. Though, I am treated so nicely and calmly at work, and they have full trust on me. What I do now, is to study and restudy the topics that I might be concerned with in the future projects to be ready to answer instantaneous questions, during my free time (like weekends)
Is there anyone either in my position or in my boss's, or anyone who could give some suggestions on the subject? Thank you for reading!
- The company is so small and fresh, and I am the ONLY assistant of the boss, who is a very smart and experienced structral engineer (of course he is the owner of the business). So I will be doing the structural design work, and he will be supervising and delivering it to the client. I find it also as an advantage because he has a lot more experience and knowledge than the first supervisor I could have in a larger company. But this position with such a high responsibility stresses me out also, becuase obviously I am not experienced yet! My supervisor(boss) had offered me this job relying on my success during my studies, and also because we are understanding each other very easily and well (I like working with him a lot).
Well, I am also confident about my academic background, capacity to learn, intelligence... But I just don't have practical experience. Besides I dont have anybody to ask my STUPID questions, becuase I feel that my boss is too qualified for that, and I dont want to dissapoint him being stupid.
These make me feel overstressed, and unconfident while working on a project. If I do something wrong, or lose time, it seems like the company will lose money and clients. Though, I am treated so nicely and calmly at work, and they have full trust on me. What I do now, is to study and restudy the topics that I might be concerned with in the future projects to be ready to answer instantaneous questions, during my free time (like weekends)
Is there anyone either in my position or in my boss's, or anyone who could give some suggestions on the subject? Thank you for reading!





RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
Hg
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RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
Part of the senior's role is to mentor young engineers. Your boss knows you lack practical experience and expects some questions that may seem stupid to you. Trust me they are not.
I'm a senior engineer and love questions from the junior staff. It makes me think and gives me the chance to review what I think I know. Besides it gives me a break from all the project management stuff and lets me think about engineering.
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
TTFN
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RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
He hired you knowing you have no experience, so unless something is off should be expecting questions.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
The notebooks you fill will, in the future, be a handy resource, and a source of entertainment.
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
Hang in there, ask a lot of questions, go on a lot of site visits. You will learn a BUNCH!!
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
Dont let not knowing a solution bother you. Look around,do some research, have a look at the resources available in the office library or internet resources (be careful with these), dont hesitate to study work related books after hours. Come up with solutions and take it to your mentor and let him suggest you better solutions or let him tweak yours.
Eat,drink,think and sleep civil engineering. Yes you are allowed to sleep but only in a lie-awake-at-night-obsessing-over-it kind of way
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
You are in exactly the same situation as I was in 40 years ago. The saving grace for me was that the first thing my boss impressed on me was that I should ask any question, no matter how simple. He was, like your boss, a very talented and experienced engineer. He knew that I had a good education but NO training.
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
Your boss sounds patient and he surely should understand your need to learn and grow, and that you will not know everything! He was in your shoes once upon a time. Your boss would FAR rather answer some tedious questions than have you make incorrect assumptions and waste hours of work, or worse still send erroneous work to your clients!
The key is to TRY to answer the question yourself first. Try, but don't spend your life on it, or else you'll get too far behind in your work. You may find the answer yourself after a little work, and hence remember it better next time. At very least you will be better able to understand why the solution the boss gives you is the right one.
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
You are potentially in a good position. Take advantage of it. Confidence will come with time and successfully handling the issues. You won't get them all right...none of us do...even your boss won't be right all the time.
Read a few of these posts. We all disagree from time-to-time. Some of the answers are "black and white"...some not so much. That's where "engineering judgment" comes into play. As you grow in your career, you'll learn to judiciously use such judgment when interpretation and opinion are involved.
Good luck. If you have a "stupid" question, check it out here in the forums. You might find it's not as stupid as you think and sometimes such questions evolve into a spirited debate. Besides, if you ask a really stupid question, we have no problem telling you it's a stupid question!!
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
This site has already started to be useful to me, I have been reading the old posts in the subjects I am currently concerned with. I couldn't make yet a technical question since there are a lot stuff that have already been asked and answered :)
Besides I am happy hearing from you that the position I have is a good one for a fresh graduate to start.
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
'Here's my question, and this is what I'm thinking is the way to go...what do you think, am I on the right track?'
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
That being said, do not, under any circumstance, be afraid to ask questions. I asked a ton of questions when I first started working. It's how you gain confidence and that ever powerful "engineering judgment". I would not ask questions that you haven't thought about or formulated an opinion on. Most engineers I ask questions of appreciate the dialogue as it helps keep them sharp and teaches me.
I always formulate my opinion and enter the question realm prepared to convince or be convinced.
Use this forum, too. I've asked so many questions on here that I've lost track. I can tell you that I'm a much better engineer for it and have gained a lot of technical insight that would have taken me far, far longer to get were it not for this forum.
Thanks, everyone, for all the help and insight!!
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
I feel no question is stupid when you are learning your job.
If he really is a good, and very experienced, engineer...he will answer your questions.
It also doesn't hurt to ask yourself "Why is this like this, or that?"
Finding out 'why' something is done that way will help you learn it better.
Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
The more things you try that are just outside of your current comfort zone, the quicker you'll develop, and the quicker you'll become the go-to guy, because people will have confidence that you're going to tackle problem, and come up with a solution.
TTFN
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
You can also come up with an alter ego screen name and fire away with all the dumb questions. Not that anyone would do that....
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
I worked for a one-man show for a year about two and a half years after I graduated. It was the best experience for me. I learned more from my boss in that one year than I did the whole time I was working before that at my first job.
Your boss knows that you are green and will understand when you ask questions, and asking questions is good. No one has their sea legs the first day on a ship.
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
And, if you are good, you will continue in your career and continue in having plenty of sleepless nights as you face new challenges over the years (at least, I still do). If you're lucky, those sleepless nights will come in your own bed in your own home...if not, perhaps in a 12x12 concrete room with bars on the windows. Enjoy your career.
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
But you MUST ask them. The way to not look stupid yourself, when asking a stupid question, is to try and research the stupid question first, before asking it. Then hypothesize an answer, and mention your hypothesis when you ask the question. That way you're merely asking for assurance, not asking for the world to be delivered to you on a platter.
You're lucky, you've got Wikipedia and Google. And Eng-Tips, even. Hell, ask us the stupid question, we won't laugh, and even if we do, at least you wont hear us laughing, and you'll get an honest response. :)
Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East - http://www.campbellcivil.com
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
Stupid questions are not crap.
We 'all' started at some point in our lives learning what we know. Someone may seem stupid, but he/she just doesn't know.
BTW, Wikipedia should not be used. Universities also teach 'not' to use it.
Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
Be it something you should have learned in middle school or maybe the same question asked for the umpteenth time, or a question covered by some reference or training or similar source I pointed you to already etc.
Also, while generally better to spend time thinking about it/researching it to come up with an idea you want verification on, in some situations, especially time critical ones, you may be best to ask sooner rather than later.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
Eventually as I grew in experience, I had younger engineers asking me questions that I would have been afraid to ask. But I never once thought that this is a stupid question. I love educating and training others. The point is that I realized that "stupid" questions are normal.
Kanat and Ron are right-on about thinking things through before asking. I'll go one step further. During conversations with your boss, ask additional questions such as cross discipline questions. Try to understand why one type of pump is installed over another, what takes place during a certain process, does that transformer contain oil? A good boss appreciates questions.
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
If I was your employer I would probably be worried if you didnt ask them.
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company
But ask intelligent ques.:
- Present trade study of X, Y, Z different approaches; 'what would you recommend? I personally like this X approach.'
- 'I formed a number of dimensionless groups relating to the problem, and this surprising result came to the surface. What are your impressions?'
I had a boss who was not an engr [QC!!!] and he called my studies bullshit. He left shortly after I left after a pointed letter to the big boss. The top staff of the company was almost all QC types, not engineers. The company is now suffering the consequences.
RE: fresh graduate as the only engineer, in a small company