×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

A lot about a little or a little about a lot?
3

A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

(OP)
Just wanted to get some opinions from some engineers...I'm in an office that does several different types of job, all of which can either involve concrete, wood, steel, masonry or all of the above. My question is...is it better to be the guy in the office who knows a lot about just one of those materials? Or the guy who knows an ok amount about all 4?

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

It doesn't have to happen by tomorrow, but you should eventually be able to use all four materials intelligently.
Don't forget aluminum, and composites with glass or carbon fibre, and cement board, and whatever comes along...

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

I'd rather have a full team of engineers that are proficient in all materials than any specialists. Makes for too rough of a time when the "steel" guy leaves or is sick and we have a steel project come along.

PE, SE
Eastern United States

"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

I'd prefer being the engineer proficient in all of them rather than an expert in any one. When the really difficult situation or question comes up you'll generally be able to research or speak with an expert or make a post on eng-tips to get what you need.

Some of the benefits I see with being a well rounded engineer is flexibility in the type of work you do and being able to help a client find the best overall solution for the project, rather than the one you're most familiar with.

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

Weird, yet logical, responses: Where I work we try to find different persons, each "specialized" in one field, and we're trying to have them each follow courses or seminars about his field in order to become even more knowledgeable in his particular area.

Where I work, there aren't many "allrounders". Being a semi-large firm, we do have "redundancy" if the "steel guy" (or any others) should fall out (sick or leaves).

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

why not be an expert in all :P. problem solved!

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

The problem with being a "expert" is 1) if the company gives you the jobs to fix or 2) having you help fix the jobs under others. In the first case the clients may start seeing you as the problem, not that they had a problem that you are helping with.
So do you badmouth the company to the client for the company giving you the jobs or tell the company that you will help out the engineer but not take the jobs, or what?

Garth Dreger PE - AZ Phoenix area
As EOR's we should take the responsibility to design our structures to support the components we allow in our design per that industry standards.

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

I would think it would be best to be considered to be well-rounded in-house in the basics if your chosen the field (in structures, being proficient in design and drafting of steel, concrete, wood, masonry structures...), but then have one or two areas of expertise that you develop and market to others outside of the firm (so people in the outside world think of you when there is a XXXX problem, they call you).

I would think over time the people that called you first for your specialty will eventually ask the question, "hey, do you standard stuff too?" And would put you in a good long-term situation.

"We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us." -WSC

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

Best to be a jock of all trades, but specialize in one or two.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

I would prefer to be jack of all trades and master of none.
You're flexible, but not locked down into designing 1 thing. Having multiple engineers that can switch hit creates flexibility in your work load, as other have noted. And as Mike suggested, maybe a couple of topics where you can excel wouldn't be so bad, instead of " master of none".

I do think that maintain humility in all aspects of your engineering knowledge is a good idea. He who knows everything knows nothing.

Lastly, I think it important to master a different array of load magnitudes and materials. That is what separates the good from the bad, the ability to size members and obtain loads by feel rather than having to calc everything. For example, you should be able to size light gauge members and those connections as well as come darn close to sizing a large structural steel member or concrete beam without running a single calc. Your initial feel of the design should be within 10% to 20% of accuracy without the use of a computer. Lateral systems should be able to be laid out by feel where redundancy and drift will be met without major headaches down the road. In other words, you need to be able to spot weakness in your architects layout early on, not after you have run your Risa or ETABS model and are checking torsional irregularities and drifts. Design happens so fast these days, you have to design it before you're done.





RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

The problem with being a "expert" is 1) if the company gives you the jobs to fix or 2) having you help fix the jobs under others. In the first case the clients may start seeing you as the problem, not that they had a problem that you are helping with.
So do you badmouth the company to the client for the company giving you the jobs or tell the company that you will help out the engineer but not take the jobs, or what?

First!!!! NEVER badmouth your own company (or your subcontractors to ANYBODY (except your toilet in the hotel room at night). NEVER!!!

YOU are the on-site and in-meeting representative FOR your company, and YOU need to represent them professionally. Now - behind the scenes - ream the idiot causing you problems - even it is your boss or a fellow worker so the problem doesn't happen again. Keep your boss informed as well about problems BEFORE anybody else does, and always his boss the same ting you tell your boss - shit rolls downhill, but bad info evaporates into scum everywhere.

But, NEVER blame your own company or a sub. To the client's face that si.

Now, to the point of the question itself: I hope I am humble enough to always recognize that somebody, someplace, in some office or power plant will be a better expert on the inside details of her specific field than me. I just need to know enough about her field to know when she is incorrect or made an error in somebody's else's area. I also need to know how to find that expert - wherever he or she is. I don't have to know all of the details in every field, but I need to know enough about every field to get the job done safely, faster, quicker, and better quality than anybody else. So, to do that, I've had to make decisions in structural, concrete, fabrication, welding, welding qualifications, mechanical, pipe supports, piping and pipe design, pumps, seals, electrical controls, wires, routing & pulling cables, bolting, oil flushes, tank installs, equipment machining, and assembly.

If I don't know the answer, I need to know my limits and who to go to to get them enough extra information accurate enough to get the right answer. And, since I'm more flexible than many specialists (machining only, welding only, or pipe assembly only, etc.) then my own assignments are more flexible. And pay more. 8<)

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

every design structural egr needs to be proficient in concrete, steel, and masonry... unless the employment is making shop drawings to sell your material. i could see having someone who is better at wood than everyone else.

This forum is full of people who work at anywhere from mega-firms to 1-man/woman-shows.... there won't be consensus on this.



RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

Last time I checked, there were no individual PE exams for steel, wood, mansony or concrete. Better to be well rounded.

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

Reminds me of one of my favorites... an architect is somebody who knows a little bit about a lot of different things, and proceeds to learn less and less about more and more until they know practically nothing about everything! An engineer on the other hand is somebody who knows a lot about a few things, and proceeds to learn more and more about less and less until they know practically everything about nothing!

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

I agree with Darth, wood is such a difference from the others, makes more sense to me to have wood specialist. In my early days as an employee, I didn't have clue about wood because that material wasn't discussed much at university.

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

MBEnginr - do you need to be an expert in one or all four, or can you just be good enough? Would you gain something by being an expert?

I'm a jack-of-all trades. It has its advantages and disadvantages.

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

It's hard to be a true expert in all materials. What - are you going to to go to all the conferences ACI, AISC, AWC, TWC, etc? No - never happen. You need to be very familiar with all but claim to be an expert in only one or two. Each material has a magnificent depth of detail and minutiae. Each has its own secrets and takes a lifetime to be so familiar with it that it is second nature to you and you can walk past a structure and "see" the micro-structure, grade and alloy, stresses, issues, corrosion, strain, etc. I'd dive into all of them to be knowledgeable and multi-talented, then specialize in those that really intrigue you. My opinion only...

RE: A lot about a little or a little about a lot?

I haven't read thru all of the responses here but I think it is best to try and know as much as you can for all the materials. If you know why it is that you're doing what you're doing than you will be better at doing it. Personally I am trying to develop myself professionally such that I am well rounded in all aspects of design and management. I don't like the guys who specialize in one area. If you are a company that goes after a variety of engineering work than you will want the guys with expertise in particular areas but you also want them to be able to perform a variety of work if you want your company to be valuable.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources