Personal Essay: My Experience As A Professional Engineer

My unique experiences and opportunities have allowed me to become a well-rounded individual and balanced young lady with astute perspective. I have had the unique opportunity to work for a construction company I aspire to run; I have had the unique opportunity of working under the direction of a Professional Engineer who is a female; and I have had the unique experience physically perceiving how engineering and construction truly tie together. As the daughter of the owner, I do not receive special treatment; in fact, I am held to higher standards. As an employee, I am in the trenches with my peers preforming work and responsible duties. Although being in this position is tricky, I have found an effective balance of responsibilities and priorities.

As they say, “everything works on paper”. But my construction experience has taught me the importance of visiting a job site before releasing plans for bidding or building. It is important to visit a job site and visualize the plan you want to implement, such as traffic control. This perspective of designing a roadway with a plan of it being built, reminds me to consider safety not only for the traveling public, but for the construction workers as well. Also, having the ability to read plans as an engineer does, then take a step back and read them as a contractor does. This allows me to comprehend the big picture rather than focusing on small insignificant details. It is also helpful when creating a schedule for a project, finding the best location to start the project and create a smooth schedule with minimal conflicts. I feel that these unique experiences and opportunities that relate to my dream of becoming a Civil Engineer have given me a solid foundation for my future. I know what I want to do, I have tried it, and now, I am ready to be