Working From Home

[redbridge]

A friend of mine who is a civil engineer just started a new job where he works from home. Is this common in engineering? He does water/wastewater design. I ask because I am looking for a new job and would like to work from home 1 or 2 days of week due to the commute. Thanks for any input.

 

[cvg]

it's not that common to work from home, although it is sometimes done. Usually only under special circumstances. As a project manager, I generally want people working on my project to be in the office as much as possible so I can keep tabs on what they are doing. 1 - 2 days a week may be accceptable, but you will also need to be in the office several times a week for coordination with your project manager, attend meetings, etc. It can also be difficult to obtain / install necessary software at home such as autocad or microstation if you need that.

 

[greenone]

I think the software is the biggest obstacle to working at home in engineering. I can't afford to buy more copies of AutocAd, etc.
But everything is negotiable. Here in northern CA, the big thing is now no private cubes or offices. How that's going to work for engineers, since I personally have lots of references that are not on line, I don;t know. YOu can see if companies bring up the topic-it is usually seen as a perk.

 

[atook]

Some of the AutoCAD licenses allow for a second copy to be installed on a laptop or home machine. As long as the software isn't being used in both places at the same time. Check with your Autodesk retailer.

 

[RWF7437]

For the last 5 years I have worked for myself at home. After over 42 years working for other people and government agencies I can only say I Love IT !

I work pretty much alone with a few trusted colleagues and the software I really need. A fast internet connection makes this all the easier.

Most of the software I use is either free (e.g. HEC-RAS, EPANet, SWMM, etc.) or low cost ( Hydraflow Hydrographs, HydroCad, Excel, etc.). I do not use AutoCad but work with ACAD draftsmen, Surveyors and others. I don't use ArcView or other GIS stuff because I can usually buy the products as needed on a project by project basis.

My time and my schedule are, finally, under some control. My income is less but so is my heartburn.

good luck

 

[msucog]

i occassionally work from home (if sick, or kid sick, or have other interuptions near the house). i'd love to be able to work from home a few days a week. i typically get more done without most other distractions. and with the network now accessible over the web, it makes it much easier to pull up job files, reports, etc.
there's no way i could do it more than a couple of days per month at the most. we've had some people working from home regularly and in my opinion, we were paying them way to much to not have to handle some of the field work that pops up. luckily, most of those kind of folks leave (with some pushing). my industry (geotech and material's testing) doesn't work as well for teleworking though.

 

[jartgo]

greenone, can you expand on this statement?
"Here in northern CA, the big thing is now no private cubes or offices."

I'm looking at new office space, which will require us to upfit the space (build walls etc.), I'm considering moving from an office to all cube environment (so I can take my walls with me when I leave) but haven't considered...no divisions? What exactly do you mean "no private cubes or offices"

As far as working from home...I'd say it really depends on what you're doing. I have worked from home as much as 20 hours a week, but usually make it in to the office every day as well (I'm fortunate enough to live only 10 minutes away). But if I'm working on a big model or a spreadsheet or something like that, I could do most afternoons from home while that's going on. I have a laptop with all the software so that's not an issue...I identified three isssues to hinder me working from home:
1) My personal reference library that I keep at the office. I prefer books over electronic reference, so I feel a little bit handicapped when it's not within arms reach.
2) I also receive a lot of phone calls to the office...I've found that most folks haven't really bought into calling someone on their cell phone all the time. I don't like to miss calls...I don't always answer, but I like to know when people are calling me.
3) The high speed, 11x17 laser printer and scanner at the office is far more efficient than the 8.5x11 bubblejet here at home.

 

[francesca]

jthompson when I worked in London both in a private company and at the DfT I worked in a cube-free, office-free environment. I think an important consideration is layout. One of the larger factors in leaving the private company for the DfT was that at the private company my boss sat at his desk on the phone all day staring at my monitor. For the most part it worked well as asking a question was a matter of poking your head around your monitor and lifting your voice a little. We were a great team and highly productive, but the Big Brother Is Watching stuff got old really quickly.

 

[greenone]

jthompson-some companies are going to the communal work station concept. If their employees are only in the office a couple days a week, they give them a rolling file cabinet, and then the employee occupies a work station just for the day, bringing their rolly thing with them. Enables companies to use less floor space, fewer pieces of furniture. I never hear how they manage to coordinate keeping the right number of people in or out of the office. Personally, I have so much reference material that I would need a rolly 8' high. (I've tried scanning docs, but I still have a lot of books)
Also, as francesca mentioned, places are not putting up cubes or dividers, and just have desks scattered around. I find it hard to concentrate in that atmosphere. There is always someone who hasn't learned to use his/her "indoor voice" on the phone. If I worked in a place like that, I would work from home more often. I kinda like having to get up away from my desk to talk to a co worker-gives me a break, as we do not have formal breaks.
Plus, a private office lets me confine my dog when I need to. Yup, he comes to work with me.

 

[bylar]

I work at home and love it. Have done so for 15 years now. Mostly residential. I use STAAD , AutoCAD, Woodworks and many other software and I do not find that the investment in these software isn’t paid back in time savings. Try it you’ll like it.