Transportation, communication, program evaluation, and infrastructure management

a researcher, planner, thinker and avid bicyclist enthusiast

I chose to be an engineer because of my interest in video games. One of the main video games I played while I was younger was The Sims. This game involves creating cities and worlds in virtual reality. As a result, I wanted to build those things in real life. I think engaging in that type of activity, that allowed me to create, got me excited about engineering.

I like my job because of the people I work with. Engineering, and the type of projects we engage, requires a very diverse group of people. Therefore, you are working with professionals in marketing, communication, legal, economics, etc – it’s a very interdisciplinary group. You are learning from each other and working together to bring a project to successful completion.

There is no typical day at work. Your clients may have issues that arise, and it’s really about being able to respond to them in a timely manner. I think the biggest thing is engaging with your co-workers on issues as they come up. Therefore, the most important things are communicating, addressing issues, coming up with a plan of action and way to execute that plan successfully.

I think the most important thing for people to know about engineering is that it's what makes the built environment. Everything you see from the table that you do work on, to the computer that you use to email your friends and family. It’s all around you and everyone has some sort of relationship to it. So, when you’re using technology, or walking on the street, there’s some engineering aspects that’s a part of it. It’s important to know that engineering is everywhere around you. It’s how you’re able to do the things that you do every day.

I think my engineering education has helped me the most by learning how to problem solve. You may not have the technical skills that are required for a new task, but you learn how to address the problem. I identify the problem, look at possible solutions, investigate the trade-offs for those solutions, propose alternatives, and then select or recommend the best one. It’s going through the scientific process to figure out a solution to a problem.

Comic booksbikinggoing to amusement parks.

The college class I used the most is the ethics class. As an engineer, the focus is always on your technical skills. However, I think the most important part of engineering is your ethics; doing work that you’re confident in, and knowing when to ask for help when dealing with some grey issues. Therefore, understanding the ethical implications of your role and responsibilities in relation to society and your client is probably one of the most important things; making the ethics class one of the most important classes that I’ve taken as engineer.

The skill that’s been the most important has been communication. I went to a liberal arts college that emphasized combination of technical skills, like math and science, as well as the importance of writing. I think that for engineers there's also the bias that they can’t communicate the ideas they have. So it's important to have strong writing and communication skills. This helps you express your ideas and theories to different audiences.