I'm a structural engineer, with specialization in bridge design, bridge construction inspection/management and bridge load evaluation, although I don't really do the latter anymore. Bridge design is what it says on the can but the other two probably require a bit of explanation.
Bridge construction inspectors are basically the people who walk around during bridge construction making sure all the rules are being followed. The standard technical rules for bridges fills a 50 mm binder, and then you have the specific rules for each bridge which ranges from a couple pages to another three ring binder. Plus if they decide to use specific products and those come with an instruction booklet I have to make sure those are followed too. It sounds like a lot but you just sort of get used to it and learn the ins and outs. Most construction crews are basically aware of all the rules and they generally want to do a good job within reason so there's rarely cause for argument. The hardest part of that job is understanding which rules matter and which ones don't in what circumstance. Even the special rules are often written with a kind of catch all flair and requiring someone to desperately follow the letter of the law in the most irrelevant situation does nothing more than make every interaction a slog and reduce the willingness of people to work with you on stuff.
Bridge load evaluation is a fancy term for deciding if a truck is heavy enough to make a bridge fall over when you drive on it. "Truck" is kind of a misnomer but that's how we always referred to it. More accurately there was a semi tractor leading a trailer doing the steering, and then behind the trailor there would be two to four trucks pushing it supplying the torque. There's a significant amount of calculations involved, and your own ass is on the line since in the most critical cases the person who signs the letter or their delegated stand-in has to walk in front of the truck as it goes over a bridge. When I did this I wasn't important enough to have people under me, so it was always me that did the walking. There have been more than a few times when I've felt a bridge pop and shift under me and I've really wondered if this is the time I finally fucked up and down we go. Never happened though, no recorded damage to a structure to date. I don't do load evals very much anymore since I've changed jobs. I kind of miss the evaluation half of the work, but the walks just killed me - not even the stress, just that nobody takes trucks like this on normal bridges in the city so I always had to drive goddamn hours to stand on a freezing bridge in the dead of night only to find out somebody shifted out of timing and blew the transmission out of a push truck and they aren't coming. Double points for no nearby vacancies so I had to sleep in the car.
Likes: I used to really enjoy the calculations but honestly that's kind of a younger persons job in the engineering world. Mostly these days I write technical reports, review other peoples technical reports, and manage other people, which is generally fine if un-engaging. I hate to say it but I most enjoy my job when shit is moving rapidly fanwards. When stuff starts to go wrong I start to wake up and get really into it. Something about finding solutions on a timer and working with contractors to find the most efficient solution to keep the job on schedule, or banging out design details late into the night really gets me moving. That may not be healthy, but I think I just legitimately work better in chaos and order becomes boring quickly for me.
Dislikes: I kind of hate managing people so I do my best to arrange things such that I'm just in charge of projects that require me plus one at most. Its not so bad keeping one person on track and we have some good juniors working for us, but I'll bend over backwards to avoid working with a couple people which makes it tough to be willing to take on jobs where I would necessarily have to dip into the larger employee pool and risk getting saddled with someone from the no-hurry no-worry brigade. I don't expect people to work the hours I do, but if they say they'll get something done "this week" I feel that should be a wide enough target that they could at least tell me they won't hit it with more than a days notice.
Dream job: I dunno. I think I'll echo the people above that its more about getting good coworkers and managers and getting comfortable. I live well and I get to do the things I want to which is plenty. I have the delightful distinction of being "difficult to fire" thanks to being one of the few who can do what I do, so I can enjoy some level of job security even now which is worth its weight in gold for a former freelancer.
Bridge construction inspectors are basically the people who walk around during bridge construction making sure all the rules are being followed. The standard technical rules for bridges fills a 50 mm binder, and then you have the specific rules for each bridge which ranges from a couple pages to another three ring binder. Plus if they decide to use specific products and those come with an instruction booklet I have to make sure those are followed too. It sounds like a lot but you just sort of get used to it and learn the ins and outs. Most construction crews are basically aware of all the rules and they generally want to do a good job within reason so there's rarely cause for argument. The hardest part of that job is understanding which rules matter and which ones don't in what circumstance. Even the special rules are often written with a kind of catch all flair and requiring someone to desperately follow the letter of the law in the most irrelevant situation does nothing more than make every interaction a slog and reduce the willingness of people to work with you on stuff.
Bridge load evaluation is a fancy term for deciding if a truck is heavy enough to make a bridge fall over when you drive on it. "Truck" is kind of a misnomer but that's how we always referred to it. More accurately there was a semi tractor leading a trailer doing the steering, and then behind the trailor there would be two to four trucks pushing it supplying the torque. There's a significant amount of calculations involved, and your own ass is on the line since in the most critical cases the person who signs the letter or their delegated stand-in has to walk in front of the truck as it goes over a bridge. When I did this I wasn't important enough to have people under me, so it was always me that did the walking. There have been more than a few times when I've felt a bridge pop and shift under me and I've really wondered if this is the time I finally fucked up and down we go. Never happened though, no recorded damage to a structure to date. I don't do load evals very much anymore since I've changed jobs. I kind of miss the evaluation half of the work, but the walks just killed me - not even the stress, just that nobody takes trucks like this on normal bridges in the city so I always had to drive goddamn hours to stand on a freezing bridge in the dead of night only to find out somebody shifted out of timing and blew the transmission out of a push truck and they aren't coming. Double points for no nearby vacancies so I had to sleep in the car.
Likes: I used to really enjoy the calculations but honestly that's kind of a younger persons job in the engineering world. Mostly these days I write technical reports, review other peoples technical reports, and manage other people, which is generally fine if un-engaging. I hate to say it but I most enjoy my job when shit is moving rapidly fanwards. When stuff starts to go wrong I start to wake up and get really into it. Something about finding solutions on a timer and working with contractors to find the most efficient solution to keep the job on schedule, or banging out design details late into the night really gets me moving. That may not be healthy, but I think I just legitimately work better in chaos and order becomes boring quickly for me.
Dislikes: I kind of hate managing people so I do my best to arrange things such that I'm just in charge of projects that require me plus one at most. Its not so bad keeping one person on track and we have some good juniors working for us, but I'll bend over backwards to avoid working with a couple people which makes it tough to be willing to take on jobs where I would necessarily have to dip into the larger employee pool and risk getting saddled with someone from the no-hurry no-worry brigade. I don't expect people to work the hours I do, but if they say they'll get something done "this week" I feel that should be a wide enough target that they could at least tell me they won't hit it with more than a days notice.
Dream job: I dunno. I think I'll echo the people above that its more about getting good coworkers and managers and getting comfortable. I live well and I get to do the things I want to which is plenty. I have the delightful distinction of being "difficult to fire" thanks to being one of the few who can do what I do, so I can enjoy some level of job security even now which is worth its weight in gold for a former freelancer.
