What's your job about?
I am a Civil Engineer for land development projects including residential subdivisions, commercial developments, retirement villages, and even quarries. I help manage these projects through all stages of the process: concept, design, and construction.
The process begins at Crang Civil with the client and a concept for a project. We use our engineering fundamentals to advise on areas of concern or general best practice techniques to bring the concept into something a bit more tangible. We can then fine-tooth the project and provide an engineering design using engineering calculations, drafting plans, and costing for the client. This then turns into a construction project where we liaise with the contractor to complete the project from its initial stage of just a simple concept.
I personally consider my role to be split into two categories, and it all depends on where the project stage is currently at or what role my responsibility is in the specific job. I am either a civil engineer who provides strictly engineering advice as a consultant with calculations and plans, or I am a project manager who guides the land development project from start to finish coordinating with many different people and many different mindsets throughout the timeline.
What's your background?
I grew up in the States, Florida to be exact. I attended my schooling in Florida, had my first job, and even finished an engineering project there. I eventually met a girl who convinced me to try out New Zealand and I have been in the country ever since 2019.
Moving to New Zealand has definitely made me a better person in my opinion as both a civil engineer and in my personal life. As a civil engineer, New Zealand is quite a difficult country to develop with the hilly terrain, streams, and climate. If I do end up moving again, I have no doubt my experience here will be invaluable in my future. In my personal life moving to New Zealand has made me a far more adventurous person. With the hilly terrain, streams, and climate there are so many varieties of activities to do here and I am really enjoying doing them all!
Crang Civil hired me as a graduate and I quickly moved up taking on more and more responsibility. I believe Crang Civil provides solidarity for one to learn on their own while also having a solid backing of senior personnel to assist. This is why I credit my quicker-than-normal rise to a Senior level as I wanted to be here and pushed to learn as much as I could. I am now quite comfortable attending meetings with clients and other engineers and feel confident to provide advice to even more experienced personnel. I believe this is something Crang Civil can provide that I consider a big advantage over others.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Definitely. 99% of the job is what you will learn on the job. School gives a solid background to understanding the terminology and a couple of relevant engineering calculations, but in reality, the calculations are roughly 10% of the job if not less. As a graduate, I would expect you to know very little and work with you through a project to better your understanding of what it is a civil engineer does.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The coolest part of the job is when your problem-solving and engineering know-how comes to fruition to solve a real-world problem. For example, storm and rain modelling is always interesting to me and is a major part of civil engineering. We control these “events” and make water go where we want it to go simply put.
What are the limitations of your job?
A limitation of being a civil engineer is the amount of information that is available. There is so many options to consider when designing for an optimal solution and knowing what would be the most efficient or cost-effective can really loop you into a wormhole.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...
The advice I would give would be to keep in contact with your Uni friends, focus on the subjects you enjoy, and you don’t need to have it all figured out now.