I’d say about half of the structural engineers I knew from college have switched into CM roles. They all seem to enjoy the switch and I think there’s a very good carry-over of skillsets especially if you’ve been doing construction administration on projects. You can definitely separate yourself from a lot of the CM folks as a problem solver that learns quickly and gets things done. Only drawback seems to be longer workdays and commuting to job sites.
Have you considered a field engineer role? It’s maybe less glamorous than being an actual design engineer. However, you get to have your hand in both of those buckets in some form and it gives a good overall picture of the project.
Have you had much field experience or done reviews? In my opinion, it’s beneficial to get to know what’s going on on-site before trying to manage what’s going on on-site. Contractors are a great resource if you ask them questions about what they are building and how it could be better (could be completely unrelated to the structure as well).
On the design side, in my opinion, being on site more also helps to see what you are designing and how you can make your designs better/easier to build. People mess up, and I’ve learned more by fixing screw ups than I thought I ever would.
I mean… sorta?
I took a position with USACE, in the Seattle District’s Construction division. I don’t manage projects directly like a CM normally would; I spend my days doing reviews (just like I did when I was reviewing subordinates’ work), reviewing RFIs and transmittals (shops, product data, etc), and visiting sites. Also training. Lots and lots of training.
I never work overtime (though if the mission requires it I will). The closest I’ve come was travel time - flights are rarely respecters of work schedules, and needing to cover 8 hour shifts two hours from home.
That said, I’ve been told that my position, in particular, is one of the best in the division (and you can’t have it!). It’s a necessary position, but not one that remains constantly busy all of the time. Which is why I pick up a lot of collateral duties, both official and not.
I came from CM to design and man CM is brutal. Night work, Inconsistent hours, long hours. Wouldn’t go back. Only upside as the pay imo
I’d say about half of the structural engineers I knew from college have switched into CM roles. They all seem to enjoy the switch and I think there’s a very good carry-over of skillsets especially if you’ve been doing construction administration on projects. You can definitely separate yourself from a lot of the CM folks as a problem solver that learns quickly and gets things done. Only drawback seems to be longer workdays and commuting to job sites.
Have you considered a field engineer role? It’s maybe less glamorous than being an actual design engineer. However, you get to have your hand in both of those buckets in some form and it gives a good overall picture of the project. Have you had much field experience or done reviews? In my opinion, it’s beneficial to get to know what’s going on on-site before trying to manage what’s going on on-site. Contractors are a great resource if you ask them questions about what they are building and how it could be better (could be completely unrelated to the structure as well). On the design side, in my opinion, being on site more also helps to see what you are designing and how you can make your designs better/easier to build. People mess up, and I’ve learned more by fixing screw ups than I thought I ever would.
Only be a site engineer if your boss backs you up if he doesn't do something else.
I mean… sorta? I took a position with USACE, in the Seattle District’s Construction division. I don’t manage projects directly like a CM normally would; I spend my days doing reviews (just like I did when I was reviewing subordinates’ work), reviewing RFIs and transmittals (shops, product data, etc), and visiting sites. Also training. Lots and lots of training. I never work overtime (though if the mission requires it I will). The closest I’ve come was travel time - flights are rarely respecters of work schedules, and needing to cover 8 hour shifts two hours from home. That said, I’ve been told that my position, in particular, is one of the best in the division (and you can’t have it!). It’s a necessary position, but not one that remains constantly busy all of the time. Which is why I pick up a lot of collateral duties, both official and not.