Quote of the Week, June 17th, 2009

“When you develop a game plan to get what you want, you will develop a belief that you can get it.”

~ Zig Ziglar

SE License Exam Changes, SE I, SE II

There are upcoming changes to the SE Licensing exam that could impact engineers who are looking to earn the SE License. These changes are still being finalized, but below is my current understanding of the situation. (For more information, please refer to the NCEES press release at http://www.ncees.org/news/index.php?release_id=47. )

1. There will no longer be an SE I and SE II exam. There will be 1 single 16 Hour SE Exam. Each 8 hour section could be passed separately.

2. Passing the first 8 hours will not allow you to qualify for a P.E. (in many states now, if you pass SE I, you can get registered as a PE)

3. The first 8 hours of the exam will cover gravity systems and the second 8 hours will cover lateral systems, including extensive seismic.

4. There is an effort to get states like CA and WA to agree that passing the new SE 16 hour exam will be sufficient to become licensed as an SE in those states such that their state specific exam would not be required.

5. If you have passed SE I, but haven’t taken SE II, you will need to do that before the new requirements take place if you want to only take SE II. After the new requirement takes effect (anticipated for 2011), the new exam would have to be taken (the entire 16 hours) in order to get licensed as an SE.

If you have any additional information/comments/feedback on this topic, please let me know

Webinars, Employment, and Compensation

SE Solutions Webinars

We have completed our first set of webinars and have received very positive feedback from attendees. For more information about upcoming webinars, please refer to http://www.findyourengineer.com/Webinars.html. If you would like to be notified via e-mail regarding future seminars, please e-mail Lisa.Willard@FindYourEngineer.com. You can also follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sesolutions and we will post upcoming seminar information.

Maintaining Employment in this Economy

This has certainly been a challenging economy to say the least. A significant amount of companies have reduced staff. However, we are working on a few very interesting and unique opportunities. For more information, please refer to http://www.findyourengineer.com/Hot_Jobs.html. If you know of anyone we can assist in finding a new opportunity, please let us know.

Most Recent Salary Survey for Structural Engineers Released

Structural Engineer Magazine (by Stagnito Media) just released its annual compensation survey and the results can be found at http://www.gostructural.com/article.asp?id=3812.

Quote of the Month, May 7, 2009

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."

~Native American Proverb

New LEED Credentialing Requirements - Becoming LEED-AP+

By Lisa Willard (Lisa.Willard@FindYourEngineer.com)

The Green Building Certification Institute (www.gcbi.org) has modified the requirements to become a LEED Accredited Professional. The new accreditation will be referred to as LEED-AP+. The purpose of this newsletter is to outline the procedures for people that currently hold the LEED-AP credential, and for those that plan to take the exams for the LEED-AP+ designation.

I registered for the LEED 2.0 exam prior to April 1, 2009, or currently hold the LEED-AP Title.

If you registered for the LEED 2.0 exam prior to April 1, you are still eligible to take the old version of the exam until June 30th, 2009, and become certified under the old guidelines. If you do not pass the exam prior to June 30th, you will need to qualify for LEED-AP+ under the new guidelines.

To have the new designation (LEED AP+), and existing LEED-AP will need to agree to the new disciplinary policy and continuing education requirements, as well as pay the maintenance fee (although the first maintenance fee will be waived). The designation that will be assigned to your credential will be as follows:

If you took the New Construction exam, you will be designated as LEED AP+ Building Design & Construction (LEED AP+BD&C)
If you took the Existing Building exam, you will be designated as LEED AP+ Operations & Maintenance (LEED AP+O&M)

Anyone that is an existing LEED AP can choose to transition over to the LEED AP+ certification between June 30th, 2009 and June 30th, 2011. If you do not transition over to LEED AP+, you will still be able to use the LEED AP designation, but you will be listed as inactive in the GBCI Directory.

I registered for the LEED Exam on April 1, 2009 or later, or have not yet applied.

If you are not currently a LEED AP, you will need to qualify for a LEED credential under the new tiered system. There are 2 levels that can currently be achieved:

LEED Green Associate
For the LEED Green Associate designation, there is a 2.5 hour exam that covers basic green building knowledge. This designation is intended for people who work in the building industry in more of a support role, and do not otherwise qualify for LEED AP+ Status.

LEED AP+
For the LEED AP+ designation, there are two exams that must be passed. The first test is the same as for those trying to obtain the LEED Green Associate designation. The second test follows one of the specialization tracks, including Interior Design & Construction (ID&C), Homes, Neighborhood Development (ND), Building Design & Construction (BD&C), and Operations & Maintenance (O&M). Both tests must be completed within four hours.

For all Designations
In addition to the exams, there are additional requirements to become accredited as a LEED Green Associate or LEED AP+. These requirements include:

1) Agreeing to the GBCI Disciplinary policy
2) Submitting an application including information about LEED Support (LEED Green Associate) or LEED Projects that you have been involved with in the last 2-3 years (Leed AP+)
3) Paying a maintenance fee
4) Completing continuing education requirements. 15 hours every 2 years for LEED Green Associate, 30 hours every years for LEED AP+

A diagram that shows the requirements necessary for the different LEED Designations can be found HERE.

If the above link does not work, please cut & paste the link below http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/image.cfm?imageName=images/1801/LEED_Cred.gif&fileName=180103b.xml

Are you a LEED AP? Do you plan on applying for the LEED AP+ Credentials? How has the LEED AP accreditation helped your career? We look forward to hearing from you.

Quote of the Week, April 7, 2009

"Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do "

~Shaquille O’Neal

Affected by our Current Economy & Looking for Work?

By Brian Quinn (Brian.Quinn@FindYourEngineer.com)

Our current economic situation is very challenging and a number of companies are reducing their workforce due to a variety of conditions, including many projects that have gone “on hold.” If you are impacted by the economy, what are some things you can do to improve your chances of getting another good opportunity and also improve your skill sets? The goal of this newsletter is to offer a variety of suggestions to help you during this difficult time. In addition, please refer to our Webinars website for presentations on these topics. Following are some items we’ve found to help.

Maintain a positive attitude: Even though this is a difficult time, companies look to hire positive people. If they see you are still maintaining a positive outlook, they will notice. Take the “glass is half full” outlook!

Assess your skills / talents: This is a good opportunity to “take inventory” and give some very serious thought to what you like to do and what you’ve learned from previous employment. Write down specific items you would like to see improved at your next job. Also, what do you feel your best skills are and what do you want to improve upon? Take steps to putting these things “in writing” and begin to work on them TODAY.

Get letters of recommendations (especially from your most recent employer)

Create a Project List to go with your resume (please e-mail us if you would like a sample one we’ve found that employers like)

The “Little” things make a difference. Given the extremely challenging market current, companies will be getting resumes from many more qualified people than they have previously. Therefore, they can be more selective. You want to give yourself the greatest opportunity and separate yourself from the rest, so it’s vitally important to do all you can to improve your chances.

Research Trends and Learn New Skills
Utilize Bentley FREE Training on Structural Software – see below
Learn BIM Tools like Revit Structure
Continued AISC Membership Benefits
Read to Keep Current

Invest in Furthering your Education
Get a Master’s Degree
Study for the PE / SE
Get LEED Certified

A Quick note about item 6a & 6c.

Bentley’s “Be Employable” allows people access to FREE training on structural engineering software such as the RAM and Staad product line. This is a great opportunity to further your knowledge of software technology that can help you in your next position. For more information, see http://www.bentley.com/en-US/Community/Academic/Be+Employable/be+employable.htm.

Also, regarding 6c, if your former firm was an AISC member and you have been laid off, AISC will allow you to have continued access to member benefits.

For more detailed information on each item above, please e-mail us and we will send you a document which goes into more detail. Feel free to call us also to discuss your particular situation. We hope you find this helpful.

Quote of the Week, March 17, 2009

"The winner's edge is not in a gifted birth, a high IQ, or in talent. The winner's edge is all in the attitude, not aptitude. Attitude is the criterion for success."

~Dennis Waitley

Increase the Value you Provide to your Current Company, Part II

By: Brian Quinn

As a summary from our last newsletter…

If your company had to make a very difficult decision to lay people off at your company, why should they NOT want to pick you? Or, put another way, how can you perform at a high level so that your chances of getting laid off are decreased? The key word here is PERFORM. I classify performance into 2 sub-categories: Technical and Non-Technical. Our March 3rd Newsletter focused on the “Technical” aspects. This edition focuses on the “Non-Technical” aspects.

Also from our last newsletter, recall that research has proved that “85 percent of the reason you get a job, will keep that job, and move ahead in that job has to do with your people skills and people knowledge.” So, let’s dive into this a little deeper.

There are 3 main areas I would suggest you focus on for “non-technical” improvement.

Learn about what is important to your supervisor and to your company and come up with creative ideas that will help them achieve their goals.
Always have a “YES, I would be happy to help with that” attitude.
Always focus on what you CAN DO or CAN IMPACT, not what you CAN’T DO or don’t have control over.

1. HELP Your Supervisor and Company

By spending time learning about your supervisor’s goals and the goals of the company, you can ask and suggest ways that you could help them to achieve those goals. One of the sayings of Zig Ziglar is…
“You can have anything you want in life, if you just help enough other people get what they want in life.”
This is the “Motto” of our company, and if you take the same approach of trying to find ways to understand what is important to your supervisor and your company, and have a sincere approach to finding ways to help them, you will be rewarded. When your company realizes that you are willing to go the extra mile to help them out, it will have a positive impact for you. One specific way would be to look at ways to improve any interaction you have with the company’s clients – both on the phone and in person. Making your company’s clients happy will result in them telling your supervisors about what a joy it is to work with you.

2. Have a “YES, I Would be Happy to Help with that” Attitude.

Have you ever noticed how often times when people are asked to help with something they complain about the task, roll their eyes, go back and talk negative to their friends about it and so forth? As a profession, I’ve found that structural engineering can be a very demanding job and likely your supervisor is under more stress than you may think. Therefore, anyone who has a great attitude and responds in a positive way such as “Sure, I would be happy to help you with that” is likely going to be more appreciated and advance faster. Think about ways to make life easier for people at your company!

3. Focus on what you CAN DO or CAN IMPACT

One of our prior newsletters spent some time on this as well, but the next time you start to say “I can’t …” – STOP! Find a way to rephrase your response to highlight what you CAN DO. Find ways to change what might have been a negative response into something positive. Also, don’t dwell on or think about issues that you can’t control or impact. Focus on what you can control and impact and work on those items.

Our next issue of SE Dynamics will focus on what you can do if you have been impacted by this economy and find yourself looking for a new career opportunity.
Also, for more in depth information on the topics covered today, join one of our FREE upcoming WEBINARS. We plan to cover these topics, as well as others, in the next few months. www.FindYourEngineer.com/webinars for more information.

Quote of the Week, March 3, 2009

"Life is a series of near misses. But a lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It's seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future."

~Howard Schultz

Increase the Value you Provide to your Current Company, Part I

By Brian Quinn:

This month’s newsletters are a reflection on a presentation I gave in February at the Structural Engineers of Illinois (SEAoI) Young Engineer’s Forum.

Our current economic situation is one of the most challenging that most of us have ever faced. I graduated from Purdue with my MSCE in 1991 and there were very few jobs available at the time and when you read of unemployment reports, most talk about our current levels being the highest since the early 1990’s. Someone recently mentioned to me that while unemployment is still less than 10%, more than 50% of people are concerned about the stability of their jobs.

My talk for SEAoI was divided into 2 segments: First, how to increase the value you provide to your current company (to decrease your chance of getting laid off) and Second, if you are affected by the economy and find yourself needing to look for work, what you can do to increase your chances of getting a job.

Today’s newsletter will focus on increasing the value you provide to your current company by bolstering your technical skills.

Increase the Value you Provide to your Current Company

If your company had to make a very difficult decision to lay people off at your company, why should they NOT want to pick you? Or, put another way, how can you perform at a high level such that your chances of getting laid off are decreased? The key word here is PERFORM. I classify performance into 2 sub-categories: Technical and Non-Technical.

Technical Performance
As structural engineers, we normally think about “technical performance” – or the process of designing the structural elements of a project correctly and getting that information into contract documents (drawings & specifications). There are countless ways to improve technically, some of which don’t take much time, others which will take more time and experience. Set some goals for ways you would like to improve technically and then create a plan to achieve those goals. Ask your supervisors what they would recommend for areas to improve upon. Find out if there are technical topics your company would like to become more familiar with, so that your willingness to learn can directly benefit your company.

One example of something you could do THIS WEEK would be to watch a couple of the technical sessions from last year’s North American Steel Construction Conference (NASCC) and then do a “lunch and learn” at your office for everyone to benefit. These sessions are available at no cost from AISC at www.aisc.org/2008nascconline. I highly recommend watching these soon before they are no longer available.

Another way to learn technically is to be a “sponge” and learn as much as possible from everyone around you. You can learn from co-workers & supervisors, by attending seminars, and by reading technical papers and trade magazines. I encourage you to pursue at least two methods to bolster your technical performance.

“Non Technical” Performance
The non technical aspects of your performance are just as important as the technical. We’ve talked about several of these aspects in prior newsletters, but I want re-emphasize the importance of personal skills in the workplace. Here is an interesting statement I found in Zig Ziglar’s book, Top Performance…
“Fifteen (15) % of the reason you get a job, keep that job, and move ahead in that job, is determined by your technical skills and knowledge – regardless of your profession.”

…Research has proved that “85 percent of the reason you get a job, will keep that job, and move ahead in that job has to do with your people skills and people knowledge.”

Tune in to our next Newsletter on March 17, where we will focus on increasing the value you provide to your company by bolstering your non-technical skills. Rounding out the March series will be a newsletter on March 31 that discusses what you can do to increase your chances of finding a new job.

Quote of the Week, February 17, 2009

“The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.”

~Anthony Robbins

Bentley offers on demand e-seminars for Structural Engineers; Learn more about the RAM and STAAD product lines

Are you looking for a quick way to learn more about the latest updates to some of the structural analysis software you use in your office? Are you unsure of the easiest way to find this information?

Bentley has published their e-seminars online to be viewed on demand for a variety of their structural software. These recordings of previously presented e-seminars are available at http://www.bentley.com/en-US/Community/eSeminars/Structural/Alleseminars.htm. Many of the seminars are 10-45 minutes long, and are presented by different members of the RAM and STAAD Teams.

This is a great way to quickly get the most up to date information about these programs. While additional videos are available to those engineers with a Bentley Select Login, these recorded e-seminars are available to all.

Improving your Communication Skills

In an article in the March 2008 issue of Structural Engineer Magazine, Richard Weingardt wrote in his column “The View From Here” about a Six-Pack Plan for increasing your effectiveness. One of the items in his plan focused on the importance of improving your communication skills, including verbal, written, and spoken. As you work with coworkers, superiors, clients, and prospective clients, not only could you be judged by what you say, but also the way you say it.

Not everyone is born with a love of public speaking, but it is something that can be practiced and a procedure refined, until it become second nature (or at least not dreaded). For me, it all started with writing – I would write what I was going to say, then practice reading it over and over until it was memorized. That was great, until I forgot one line in my presentation, and then I was stammering for the next line. Now, I still write many of my presentations, but instead of memorizing them, I try to outline my talk, and then remember the outline as a guide for talking points as I am giving the presentation.

There are many avenues for improving your communication skills. Classes on writing or speech are usually offered at a local community college or through an adult education program, and you can also look into a Toastmasters group (http://www.toastmasters.org/) for a focus on presentation skills. Are there others avenues that you have used to improve your communication skills? Send us an email and let us know what methods have worked best for you.

Quote of the Week, February 2, 2009

“Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.”

~Henry L. Doherty

Continuing Education

What are some ways that you can learn more about structural engineering topics, and become a more valued employee and engineer? There are so many opportunities available for continuing education, where you not only have the ability to acquire new information, but you can also earn PDH/CEU that may be needed when you go to renew your license.

One great way to gather continuing education credits is through your local Structural Engineering Association. If there are technical discussions as part of the monthly meetings, often these qualify for CEU/PDH. Another way is through conferences or workshops. Annual conferences like the NASCC and the NCSEA Annual Conference provide continuing education credits for their attendees. For workshops, contact companies whose products you use in your office on a day to day basis; they may have a seminar series or workshop you can attend (sometimes at no charge), and earn credits.

There are many online opportunities for learning more about structural engineering. Continuing education opportunities are available through SEI (part of ASCE) at http://content.seinstitute.org/services/conted.html. Both Webinars and live seminars are available. There are also webinars offered through NCSEA that can be accessed through their homepage at http://www.ncsea.com/

Universities also may offer distance learning or certificate programs that provide great opportunities to keep learning. At Auburn University, they offer Continuing Education courses through their distance learning program; for a complete list of structural classes, visit http://www.structural-engineering-courses.bece.auburn.edu/

Please visit our Continuing Education Opportunities page at http://findyourengineer.com/Continuing_Education.html for other continuing education opportunities, and if there are others that you use that aren’t on our list, please email me a link so that I can include it in the list.

Develop a Thirst for Lifelong Learning!

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “the older I get, the more I realize I don’t know.” Well, that couldn’t be truer for me. I started my first job as a structural engineer in 1991 in Grand Rapids, MI for a great firm called JDH Engineering. My first day on the job I was asked to do a design development for a 2 story university building in Holland, MI. Well, that “put me in my place” right away as to immediately realizing there was an incredible amount to learn. (luckily the building is still standing)

Not only is there an immense amount to learn technically, there is also a great deal to learn about the best way to work together as a team, the best way to get your point across to someone and the best way to communicate with people, just to name a few things. So, how do always keeping learning from the experiences of others? READ GREAT BOOKS!

As an example, one of my favorite books is Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, which I’ve discussed in previous newsletters. I’ve found this book to be really interesting in a lot of different ways. There is not a focus on technical information, but rather how to work on improving your attitude to have a positive influence on others around you.

Another favorite author of mine, Zig Ziglar discusses an interesting research study in his “Top Performance” book. In this study, it shows “that 85 percent of the reason you get a job, will keep that job, and move ahead in that job has to do with your people skills and people knowledge.” WOW, quite an interesting statement to ponder as we as structural engineers often think about the “technical” aspects of our careers.

Finally, of technical interest are books on Building Information Modeling, including “Mastering Revit Structure 2009”, as well as books that focus on the AEC industry, such as “"Refabricating Architecture: How Manufacturing Methodologies are Poised to Transform Building Construction."

At http://findyourengineer.com/Suggested_Reading.html, you will find a variety of books that you might find interesting. Also, if there are books that you have found particularly helpful from a personal or professional point of view, please let me know. I would like to add them to our website to benefit other structural engineers.

Quote of the Week, January 19, 2009

“Service to others is the payment you make for your space here on earth.”
~Mohammed Ali

Toolkit Programs

As Lisa & I traveled across the country with RAM International, many companies asked us for help in identifying software tools that are available as toolkit programs. They wanted to avoid modeling a full building in an FEA program, when really all they wanted was a small set of structural engineering calculations.
Many companies have written their own in-house programs, but maintaining these programs with constant code updates and performing extensive Q/A with documentation of processes/calculations can be very time consuming. Therefore, most companies prefer to purchase something that is commercially available.

Many engineers have heard of the program Enercalc, which has been around for a long time. (See www.enercalc.com) There are several other toolkit programs that have emerged recently as well. One of those is from Bentley Systems and is part of the RAM Advanse FEA program. These toolkit programs can be used on models analyzed within the FEA program, or can be used separately. (See http://tinyurl.com/8c5kfs)

In addition, CSC has a set of toolkit programs called TEDDS. CSC is a company based in the UK that has recently opened an office in Chicago. For more information, go to http://www.cscworld.com/tedds/tedds.html.

If you have been using any of these products and have feedback on your experience, please e-mail me at Brian.Quinn@FindYourEngineer.com.

Get Involved!

Have you heard it said that if you give of your time to help others, you will get more in return? One of the ways you can help the profession of structural engineering is by getting involved in your local / state / national Structural Engineers Association. I have been involved in the Structural Engineers of Michigan for a number of years and have found it to be a very rewarding experience. I’ve also recently joined an NCSEA national committee. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to learn many things both professionally and personally as a result of getting involved. I realize time is very limited for most people, but I believe you would find many great rewards for volunteering a little time and you can help improve the profession of structural engineering!

As you volunteer your time to be involved in a Structural Engineer Association, you may also gain valuable networking contacts, and gain new knowledge that can help you contribute to your company.

For more information on the Structural Engineer Association for your state, you can go to http://www.ncsea.com/Members.aspx (towards the bottom of the page – and you can click on your state to get to their website). If you need any help in identifying who to contact in your state, please e-mail me at Brian.Quinn@FindYourEngineer.com.

Quote of the Week, January 5, 2009

“Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character”
~T. Alan Armstrong

Improve your knowledge by “championing” a Lunch & Learn Session

Have you ever noticed that your knowledge of a subject is much better and deeper if you have to teach or explain the topic to someone else? Therefore, an excellent way to increase the value you provide to your company and also improve your skill sets is to offer to deliver a “lunch and learn” session of a topic of interest to your company and yourself.

There are so many great topics you could choose from. Possibly think about something unique you learned recently that the office may not be aware of. One example might be how to use a tool like RAM Estimator for doing quick cost estimates from a RAM model. (let us know if you would like more information on this) Another example might be to dive into the AISC Code of Standard Practice and update the engineers on a couple of topics of interest. There are an endless number of topics.

By being a champion for a lunch and learn session for your company, you will increase the value you provide to your company and also improve your knowledge of the subject because it takes a much higher level of understanding to be able to give a talk on the subject. In addition, the topic you choose could be helpful for a local structural engineers’ group. Most of the Structural Engineers’ Associations are always looking for quality topics (I’m heavily involved in SEAMi and we really enjoy when local engineers give a presentation) and this might give you an opportunity to even help out more people. (If you are not familiar with the people in your SEA group, please call me and I can help you contact them)

I would love to hear how your session goes and your topic! Please e-mail me at Brian.Quinn@FindYourEngineer.com.

Consider having a “champion” for each Analysis/Design – BIM Modeling link

In previous newsletters we have discussed BIM and Interoperability, and looked at how companies are implementing the modeling tools in their offices. One issue of great importance when using a BIM Modeling tool is the ability of that tool to link with Structural Analysis software. Interoperability is a key item that many companies take into consideration when choosing which Modeling and Analysis/Design programs they will use.

Does your company have different engineers that act as the “champion” for the links to different analysis/design software? In previous seminars we have given on interoperability, we have talked about the importance of appointing such a champion, so that one engineer could act as the primary go-to person for the BIM link of each specific analysis program. This idea of having separate “champions” was confirmed at Autodesk University this year. In a session given by Will Ikerd from Dallas, TX, Mr. Ikerd spoke about how the different analysis programs have different requirements in order to correctly import or export information, and having separate champions allows a company to approach the modeling in the best way for each analysis program.

One such example had to do with cantilever beams, and how they must be drawn differently in Revit Structure if they are to be imported into RISA Floor vs. RAM Structural System. If one person was responsible for having a complete knowledge of both links, there is always a chance they could mistake the process between the two programs, and waste valuable time if the wrong process is followed. If separate engineers are “champions” for these programs, then they could be consulted beforehand, and should be able to identify best practices that could be followed as the models are to be constructed.

If your company does not have separate champions for the BIM links of your analysis tools, consider bringing up this idea, and offer to be the champion for the analysis program you enjoy working with. Not only can this put your company on the path to preventing wasted time from incorrect processes, but it would also help you increase your skill set, and could reflect well on you as you demonstrate your desire to be proactive.