22 Jan Secret #0: The Idea Behind ‘The Hipster Engineer’
‘The Hipster Engineer’ is here to help cultivate success amongst newcomers and old-timers in the field of engineering.
The career path of engineering is difficult enough, so I want to help those who are brave enough to get into engineering. There is a lot of aspects of engineering that are different than any other job field, so I think it is important to provide relevant advice in order to make informed decisions. My past decisions and successes have helped me to become what I am, so I cannot describe the idea behind ‘The Hipster Engineer’ without discussing my past. I have grown from every circumstance that I have been placed. (if you’re not interested in my brief story then continue past these next 3 paragraphs)
I didn’t even have an official interview, then later that week I had a part-time job.
I started my career path to becoming a structural engineer at Brigham Young University (BYU) where I gained a solid foundation of the fundamentals of engineering. While at BYU, I was on the cheer squad (another story for another day) where I learned about different people, teamwork, doing hard things and managing both time and resources. Did I mention that I leveraged the little experience that I had to get an internship while in school? I worked at this local engineering firm for about a year before I decided to move to California to attend the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) for my graduate degree. I was moving to a new area that I knew nothing about, but that didn’t stop me from searching out a new firm to work at while in school. I visited many of the firms in the area, but I had my heart set on one in particular… I didn’t even have an official interview, then later that week I had a part-time job at Northern California’s largest and best structural engineering firms. I had a few job offers that I could have taken, but ultimately I chose who I wanted to work for.
Over the course of 3 years with the firm, I increased my salary by over 45%!
I stayed in Northern California a while after I graduated until I was offered an opportunity I couldn’t refuse to help open up a new branch office in Los Angeles. I was not the office manager but my role was critical to establishing our presence as a firm. It also opened up other opportunities for career growth and personal growth. Over the course of 3 years with the firm, I increased my salary by over 45%! I’m not a numbers guy but that’s a pretty hefty increase in earning potential over a span of that amount of time. With great power comes great responsibility, which I learned as I oversaw many projects from design to construction of various building sizes, types, jurisdictions, etc. This helped me become a well rounded and well informed engineer which helped as I prepared for the Professional Engineer (PE) exam. There were times where projects required 60-70 hours of my time per week in order to stay on track, but I managed to set aside time to study for the PE exam and pass it. The PE exam was difficult especially since it included the California Seismic and Surveying portions of the exam, but it is another part of career growth that is important.
I left the opportunities in Los Angeles that I had in order to live closer to my now wife. Again, I was moving from one location to another without any prior knowledge of the area. Moving from California to Utah was difficult because I had to start all over again, but I was fortunate to leverage my experience to get a job offer from the firm that I wanted. Again, I declined the other offers because I chose who I wanted to work for. I am now working on buildings that I never imagined I would have a part in and I love my job.
I have been through a lot of life and career changes, so I have seen a lot of pathways that someone could take. I have done a lot of career research along the way and I want to share with everybody the ‘Secrets of the Modern Engineer’ because I want others to succeed in this rewarding field.
I want you to have a desire to better yourself in your career, whether it is just beginning or if it needs a jump start. The topics that I intend to cover include, but are not limited to the following:
- Resume & Cover Letter
- Job Search
- Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam
- Professional Engineer (PE) Exam Including CA Seismic and Surveying
- Structural Engineer (SE) Exam
- Career Growth Opportunities
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Keep on keepin’ on.
Life’s a garden… Dig it!
If you have any additional topics or subtopics that you would like me to cover, please contact me at josh@thehipsterengineer.com
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