Structural Project Management 5

[KootK]

I need some career advice. I realize that there's a seperate forum for career stuff. However, I really need to hear from practising structural engineers specifically, so I'm going to post here.

I just wrapped up my master's degree in structural engineering. I'm flirting with the idea of pursuing a second degree. The university across the street fom my office offers a graduate degree in project management. It's obviously geared towards large capital projects. That being said, most of the principles translate well to consulting projects as well.

So yeah, the program sounds interesting. However, like all grad programs , I'm sure that the work load will be pretty intense. I'd probably put in some late nights, skip some workouts, and my FT job performance would invariably suffer a little.

My question is this: is a PM degree a worthwhile investment for someone wanting to manage stuctural engineering projects? If you have a similar degree, has it served you well? If you hire structural engineers, would you consider a PM degree to be a significant asset?

Thanks,

Kootenay

 

[JoshPlumSE]

Personally, I think this is something that would be worthwhile. Even if you didn't want to commit to the whole master's program. For me, project managment is something that I would have liked to have understood better before I became a lead engineer or manager.

A lot of failed projects end up that way because of poor project managment rather than poor engineering. Just my $0.02

 

[msquared48]

In this economy, flexibility in your profession is good. It can only help you to have more options in your career to get a good job.

If you would like this type of work and it would make you happy, go for it.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[Structures33]

If you want to manage structural projects I think experience is more valuable than another degree. If you are interested in other management opportunites, a degree may be more useful. Almost all of the companies I have worked for have project managment training programs in place. These programs provide the financial and general management training that the company wants to see implemented in their company (i.e. complementary with their style and expectations which is great because they are all different).
As with most aspects of structural engineering, my experience has been that you learn far more actually doing it than what you learn in the classroom.

 

[RacingAZ]

I agree with structures33 that experience trumps the PM degree if you only want to manage the structural portion of building projects. In fact, you don't really need the degree. Now, if you're looking to be a PM consultant to owners to manage the overall building development process (assuming that you have prior experience on the construction side of the industry - like working for a contractor), it will definitely help you and will look good on your resume when you try to engage those owners. There is also a PMP certification that you can get if you want to take this route.

Having said that, the main value of the degree is what you really make out of it. I have a PM degree and more than anything, I caught the enterpreneurial bug while doing it. FYI, probably 50-75% of the course work will be similar to an MBA, so most of your classmates will be MBA candidates and a lot of emphasis on how to run a business.

 

[KootK]

Thanks for the helpful comments guys. To elaborate on the points that you've raised:

1) I agree, experience trumps all when it comes to managing structural projects. Unfortunately, I'm not getting that experience right now. I recently left a position at a smaller company where I managed projects to work for a much larger firm as a design engineer. The understanding was that, after I'd learned the ropes, I'd quickly be back in the saddle managing projects again. Unfortunately, when the economy tanked, our work flow dropped off and we had to let a bunch of people go. I'm pretty lucky to be employed at all. Given the workload and our revised office demographic (seniority / skill sets), I suspect that it will be another 2-3 years before I'll find myself managing projects again. I was hoping that completing a PM degree in the interim would further my ability to market myself as a structural engineering project manager. This may be particularly true if I need to switch companies again to get to the responsibility level that I'm gunning for. With me being nine years into my career and still not acting in a PM capacity, I'm worried that future employers will simply assume that I'm an under achiever or, worse yet, uninterested.

2) You're right structures33, my company uses PSMJ as their preferred means of training project managers. They're kind of steering me that way for precisely the reasons that you mentioned. I did some research on the PSMJ program however. The masters program that I'm considering covers a very similar range of subjects, just in far more detail. The masters program costs $700 per course which is very reasonable in my opinion. A one week training course from PSMJ costs almost 5K. Oddly, the graduate course seems to me a much better value.

3) You're exactly right RacingAZ. I basically consider the PM degree to be -- for me in my situation -- essentially a poor man's MBA. While I'd love to have an MBA, they're wildly expensive and I'm not in a situation where my employer would be interested in picking up the tab. As you pointed out, about 1/2 of my classes will be business oriented and many of my cohorts will be MBA candidates. I'm hoping to increase my business IQ considerably if I choose to pursue the PM degree. I may also chase the PMP designation if I decide to move forward with the program. Can I ask RacingAZ, what you're currently doing with your PM degree? Are you in fact an entrepreneur?

4) I feel, as Josh Plum & Mssquared seem to, that a well rounded skill set is a very good thing, particularly in this economy. This would also be an unusually convenient educational opportunity for me. When I did my MS Structural, I had to commute 3 hours twice a week for class, pay $2500 per course, and often take afternoons off from work which had to be made up later. With this PM program, the university is across the street, tuition is $700 per class, and all of the courses are offered after 5 PM. In the future, when I don't have things so easy, I don't want to look back and think to myself "Darn, why didn't I take advantage of that when it fell right into my lap?".

5) The questionable part of this is really whether or not the PM degree would actually improve my abilities when it comes to managing structural engineering projects. My employer is quite skeptical about that. Looking the course offerings, I see two different kinds of benefits. Courses like "Project Engineering Management" and "Managing Human Resources" should be directly applicable to my day to day work. On the other hand, courses like "Contract Law", "Project External Issues", and "Procurement and Logistics" would help me to understand the needs of our clients, particularly for larger projects (I'm in oil & gas country at the moment). I've read a few articles with titles like "What Architects Really Want in a Structural Engineer" etc. The most common complaint seems to be that architects / contractors / owners feel that structural engineers don't always have a sufficient understanding of what is required for a successful project on a macroscopic level.

Sorry for my thesis sized post here. I need to make my decision by tomorrow at midnight and I'm still very much on the fence about it. Thanks again for the feedback.

Kootenay

 

[rowingengineer]

I think you have already made up your mind, enjoy the course.

Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in mud. After a while you realize that them like it

 

[KootK]

Yeah, you're probably right. In the "Pros" column, I have everything that I mentioned above. In the "Cons" column, I have "It's hard". So back to school I go...

 

[RacingAZ]

koote, I now manage my own firm. My PM degree really opened my eyes to the big picture. It's very easy to feel like some sort of a glorified technician when you get so focused on the design / engineering side of the business. The management side is so counter intuitive with an engineer's training that I'm really happy that I went back to school and learned some non-technical skills.

If you're getting some sort of a tuition reimbursement from your employer, it's really a no brainer. Any kind of additional education will always be better than nothing.

http://www.dfoxonline.com

.....executing your vision.

 

[csd72]

I have heard from a number of people that they consider project management more appropriate for engineers than an MBA. I would tend to agree if you plan to stay in consulting.

 

[RLC32681]

In my own perception, PM degree is an advantage in your present status more especially if you planning to manage a whole project later on. Remember that Project management doesn't tackle only on how to undertake the project itself but also consider other aspects like budget, time, personnel, etc.