beej67
Civil/Environmental
- May 13, 2009
- 1,976
I was searching the forums for threads on billable rates (found some good ones) and I ran across this gem:
I highly recommend reading through it, to refresh your memories of the Yay Days of 2006. Quote of the top post:
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"Though I am not myself a civil engineer I work with civil engineers. I was talking to one this morning who is driving between two offices an hour apart to work on three projects! I know there are those among you who have worked on more than that at one time so please don't regale me with your own tales of tribulation. I see how hard it is on this guy.
According to this civil engineer there is a distinct shortage of civil engineers. My question is, where are the civil engineers? Why aren't college students electing CivE as a profession?"
***
What popped in my eye first was the date - 2006. Right near the development peak.
Where are all the civil engineers now? Largely out of work, at least the entry level people, and I pity anyone coming out of school now with no experience looking for a job, they're as likely as not to just skip engineering as a profession entirely.
The thread got me thinking quite a bit about the boom/bust cycle that AEC in general, and civil in particular, go through, and how it has a tendency to force many of us into other more stable lines of work about once a decade, creating another temporary shortage when the next work spike hits. I know one civil PE who's working for the US Post Office.
Well I could use this as an opportunity to bitch and moan, which would be Standard Operating Procedure for many engineers I know, but instead I'd LIKE to view this as an opportunity. Given past history with the construction market, and given the demographic trends in the USA, I expect development to hit another peak around 2015, and come completely crashing down, along with most of the rest of the economy, around 2018.
Sooo...
As a small business owner, what I can I do to not only protect myself from this, but profit from it? Did any of you guys see the 2008 crash coming, and if so, were any of you able to spin your foresight into a profit? Any ideas to prepare for the next economic black swan?
Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -
I highly recommend reading through it, to refresh your memories of the Yay Days of 2006. Quote of the top post:
***
"Though I am not myself a civil engineer I work with civil engineers. I was talking to one this morning who is driving between two offices an hour apart to work on three projects! I know there are those among you who have worked on more than that at one time so please don't regale me with your own tales of tribulation. I see how hard it is on this guy.
According to this civil engineer there is a distinct shortage of civil engineers. My question is, where are the civil engineers? Why aren't college students electing CivE as a profession?"
***
What popped in my eye first was the date - 2006. Right near the development peak.
Where are all the civil engineers now? Largely out of work, at least the entry level people, and I pity anyone coming out of school now with no experience looking for a job, they're as likely as not to just skip engineering as a profession entirely.
The thread got me thinking quite a bit about the boom/bust cycle that AEC in general, and civil in particular, go through, and how it has a tendency to force many of us into other more stable lines of work about once a decade, creating another temporary shortage when the next work spike hits. I know one civil PE who's working for the US Post Office.
Well I could use this as an opportunity to bitch and moan, which would be Standard Operating Procedure for many engineers I know, but instead I'd LIKE to view this as an opportunity. Given past history with the construction market, and given the demographic trends in the USA, I expect development to hit another peak around 2015, and come completely crashing down, along with most of the rest of the economy, around 2018.
Sooo...
As a small business owner, what I can I do to not only protect myself from this, but profit from it? Did any of you guys see the 2008 crash coming, and if so, were any of you able to spin your foresight into a profit? Any ideas to prepare for the next economic black swan?
Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -
