Professional Practice and the New Graduate

Jennifer Armstrong, M. Eng.

Morrison Hershfield Ltd.

January 2002

Presentation Overview

Introduction A Master’s degree Engineers in the workforce

The job search Corporate culture and vision statements Entering the profession, levels of responsibility

Life as a consultant Women in engineering Lessons learned

Personal Résumé

Grew up on a farm in southern Ontario Held summer jobs at AECL, NRC, Ville de

Quebec, MH, RMOC Received a Civil Engineering and Society degree

from McMaster University (1998) Graduated with a Master’s degree in Engineering

from Carleton University (2000) Began work at Morrison Hershfield (2000)

Why Pursue a Master’s?

A Master’s program is NOT like an undergraduate program

Better salary (so I’ve heard…) Opportunity to pursue interesting research Build knowledge and confidence in your

chosen profession Gain contacts Lack of career opportunities for recent grads

Why Enter the Workforce Directly?

Opportunity to earn money Master’s degree not required for many jobs Company resources may exceed those available in

an academic setting Tired of school Value of practical experience Academic knowledge is not always applicable in

the workplace

Undergraduate vs. Graduate Programmes

Undergraduate Many courses (and

little sleep) Limited choice of

courses Large class sizes Requirement for

obtaining P.Eng.

Graduate Fewer courses (and

more sleep) Freedom to pursue

topics of interest Small class sizes Counts towards P.Eng.

work experience

A Typical Master’s Program

Eligibility Overall average grade of B- or better Letters of recommendation

Requirements Coursework Master’s Thesis or Major Research Project

Duration 1.5 years to 3+ years

Vehicle Emissions Modelling

Research work undertaken in collaboration with RMOC

Developed analytical tools to estimate vehicle emissions using output from travel demand models

Estimated vehicle emissions in the National Capital Region

Development of Tools

Sample EMME/2 Output

BASE NETWORKUSER DEFINED LINK DATA 1

00-05-23 14:33MODULE: 2.13RMOC........ja

EMME/2 PROJECT: 1995 land use, 1995 TRANS model calibration:emme2ban.n95SCENARIO : 30 Copy of Scenario3 -- 1995 network

WINDOW:361829/5026839371646/5034202

LINKS: ci=0 & cj=0

@area

COL-IND:

SCALE: 1

VOC Emissions:

PM Peak Hour

Why Does the World Need Engineers?

Engineers SOLVE PROBLEMS The Professional Engineers Act defines the

practice of profession engineering as: “any act of designing, composing, evaluating, advising, reporting,

directing, or supervising wherein the safeguarding of life, health, property, or the public welfare is concerned, and that requires the application of engineering principles…”

Ethical obligations of engineers are important at all levels of responsibility

Who Hires Engineers?

Public sector Government entities (cities, municipalities,

province, federal government) Utilities and crown corporations

Private sector Small, medium and large companies Entrepreneurs Consulting firms

What are Employers Looking For?

Academic Skills Communication, critical thinking, problem

solving, application of specialized knowledge

Teamwork Skills Personal Management Skills

Self-confidence, positive attitude, open to change Ability to set goals and priorities, manage time

and resources Accountability, honesty, integrity, personal ethics

The Job Search

The best jobs are rarely advertised The more questions you ask at an interview, the

more information you’ll have to evaluate whether or not a job is right for you

Typical duties, overtime work Salary, benefits and vacation time Social activities, orientation programme

Corporate culture can significantly impact how well you fit into your new job

Job Search Considerations

Who’s carrying out the interview? Are you a match for this company? Are you a match

for this particular manager/group/job? When (under what circumstances) do they hire? How

have their hiring practices changed between today and 1 year ago?

What is the history and financial situation of the company? What are some of the biggest challenges the company is currently facing?

Employer Size: A Question of Preference

Size of group vs. size of company Size of projects… Interaction, teamwork, opportunities to participate

in cross-disciplinary teams Resources ($$$, labs, equipment, budgets, &

people) Opportunities for changing jobs, promotion, new

challenges

What is Corporate Culture?

Defined as “formal and informal rules of behaviour at a company”

Corporate culture impacts: Dress code, work hours Information flow, level of interaction within the

organization / department, teamwork Social activities, sports & clubs Company organization, opportunities for career growth

Corporate Culture

Corporate culture varies across large & small companies depending on many factors: Location, company leadership, number of

employees

What one individual “claims” about any company’s corporate culture is only their view into the social structure of that particular department/product/business unit

TO THE PUBLIC we will show: Responsibility, Duty, Ethical Standards

TO OUR CLIENTS we will show: Honesty, Integrity Creativeness, Resourcefulness Responsiveness, Cooperation, Enthusiasm, Dedication Reliability, Dependability

TO EACH OTHER we will show: Cooperation, Supportiveness, Teamwork Fairness, Respect, Trust Accountability, Responsibility

Sample Corporate Vision Statement: MH Core Values and Principles

The Vision Statement in Action...

Importance of teamwork Deadlines & budgets Time-to-market vs. reliability Overtime policies Reaction to crisis situations, adversity and

market downturns Flexibility of people’s roles & responsibilities

Entering the Profession

Salary expectations Hiring statistics General advice:

Don’t expect to know everything Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion Administration and technical support staff are

important team members

Levels of responsibility: Level “A”

Duties: Receives training in the various phases of office, plant, field or laboratory engineering work as classroom instruction or on-the-job assignments. Tasks assigned include: preparation of simple plans, designs, calculations, costs and bills of material in accordance with established codes, standards, drawings or other specifications. May carry out routine technical surveys or inspections and prepare reports.

Recommendations, Decisions and Commitments: Few technical decisions called for and these will be of routine nature with ample precedent or clearly defined procedures as guidance.

Supervision Received: Works under close supervision. Work is reviewed for accuracy and adequacy and conformance with prescribed procedures.

Guide to Entrance Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in Engineering, or Applied Science, or its equivalent with little or no practical experience.

Salary Range: $35,000 - $55,000 (Median: $44,000)

Levels of responsibility: Level “B”

Duties: Normally regarded as a continuing portion of an engineer's training and development. Receives assignments of limited scope and complexity, usually minor phases of broader assignments. Uses a variety of standard engineering methods and techniques in solving problems. Assists more senior engineers in carrying out technical tasks requiring accuracy in calculations, completeness of data and adherence to prescribed testing, analysis, design or computation methods.

Recommendations, Decisions and Commitments: Recommendations limited to solution of the problem rather than end results. Decisions made are normally within established guidelines.

Supervision Received: Duties are assigned with detailed oral and occasionally written instructions, as to methods and procedures to be followed. Results are usually reviewed in detail and technical guidance is usually available.

Guide to Entrance Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in Engineering, normally with two to three years working experience from the graduation level.

Salary Range: $38,480 - $60,000 (Median: $50,000)

Current Responsibilities

Proposal preparation Traffic impact studies for new developments Traffic analysis (level of service, safety) Traffic forecasting based on anticipated land use Emissions modelling Writing reports, meetings with clients Diagrams and maps Field work / Site surveys

Typical Projects

Highway 417 / Hazeldean Road / Terry Fox Drive Forecast Traffic Assessment

GHG Reduction Measures for Ontario Brockville Power Centre Traffic Impact

Study Adult School Crossing Guard Pilot Project Kanata Pedestrian Bridge

GHG Reduction Measures

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Passenger Transportation (transit measures, car-sharing, parking pricing, driver education)

Vehicle and Fuel Technologies (alternative fuels, enhanced fuel efficiency)

Road Infrastructure (enforcement of speed limits, implementation of HOV lanes, pavement type, signal coordination, adoption of new ITS technologies)

Brockville Traffic Impact Study

Forecast future travel demand based on anticipated development (trip generation, traffic assignment)

Assess the impact of traffic growth on the operation of the transportation network (level of service analysis)

Propose mitigation measures (signal timing or phasing, road geometric changes)

Adult School Crossing Guard Pilot Project

Variation of 85th Percentile Speeds - Steeple Chase Drive

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Time of Day

85

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September Data (Before)November Data (After)

Time interval when children depart from school (school ends at 14:45)

Time interval when children arrive at school (school starts at 8:15)

Sept. 2001 (Before)

Oct. 2001 (After)

Percent Change

Location 1 396 590 49%Location 2 194 206 6%Location 3 858 975 14%

Count Location

Number of Pedestrians Observed

Kanata Pedestrian Bridge

Life as a Consultant

Opportunities to specialize Competitive environment Direct interaction with clients Everyone is a sales-person Impossible to see clearly more than 3 months

ahead Requires flexibility to respond to changing conditions

Life as a Consultant

Advantages Varied work Freedom to pursue

projects of interest Excellent technical

development / mentorship

Team approach

Disadvantages Focus on budgets Project deadlines

Women in Engineering

According to the PEO website, there are 64,000 licensed professional engineers in Ontario, of which 3,200 are women (5%)

Women comprise 16% of overall engineering program enrollment

Concerns continue to exist: Opportunities to network Opportunities to gain entry to executive level positions

(National Survey of Workplace Conditions for Engineers)

Personal Experiences

Have never once experienced discrimination at university or in professional practice

Approximately 1/3 of employees at MH Ottawa office are women (majority of “new hires” have been female)

Ratio of men to women can sometimes be intimidating at external meetings and social events

Lessons Learned

You will rarely use more than 15% of the technical knowledge you learned in university

Engineering skills must be complemented with a knowledge of the business environment, political climate, and public opinion

Good writing & communication skills are essential for all jobs

Lessons Learned

Keep good records Negotiate your terms of employment Be clear about family obligations Participate in work-related events and events

within your professional community The best jobs rarely get posted Learning is lifetime commitment