Hi guys. need some advice here. been working over a year as a consulting engineer in construction field. thinking of becoming a project engineer. But not so sure what are the pros and cons... Anybody with experience mind to share? what i can say is life as consulting engineer is not too bad. almost 9 to 5. well, sometimes might need to work OT or travel outstation. but what i think consulting engineers lack is on-site experience! project engineer would normally take care A - Z of a project which allows you to have more control isn't it? what do you guys think? please please please share your experience!

Yes normally take care of A - Z of a project will give multitasking experience to you. Sometimes project engineer need to handle problems occur from higher bosses. Based on my experience, I have no choice to choose the supplier because my bos is friend with supplier bos. But this supplier quality is is horrible. I've to answer many many quality issue with customers. Sometimes need to go back late night because of quality issue. Need to telan customer maki hamun. Take thing positively, I learn a lot.

hi TS, I am in the same line with you. Since you are new, based on your situation, I would say consulting is having more advantages in terms of learning. We do not need to fully station at site to gain site experience. You have to think and ask a lot of questions and find the answers by yourself. Do not expect the working environment to spoon feed you. For me, I am working full time in consulting office. Whenever I got the chance to go to site for meeting or inspection, I will surely observe, take photos and communicate with the contractor. But in the other way round, the project engineer at site will seldom have the chance to experience the design process.

This post has been edited by josephlau7966: Feb 20 2012, 05:08 PM

Thanks for the response guys. Appreciate it! But the thing about consulting engineers is... the pay is damn low! project engineer earns more i think?

true.. especially developer..^^

& the consulting engineer always lacks the knowledge on how to actually construct a structure..in other words, hand on....theres so much more 'interesting' problem on site than in office.

fyi: im a project engineer myself..i'm more hands on rather than office based.

This post has been edited by feekle: Feb 20 2012, 09:04 PM

i am also fresh graduate consulting engineer.. i think consulting engineer can learn more compare to project engineer.. thats my opinion

yeah....this is the disadvantage of being a consultant engineer. They can hardly deepen their knowledge on the construction work at the site. Thus, their design is sometimes unfeasible. And here comes the site engineer to do the magic. Anyway, i am much more interested in engineering design. That's why I am still sticking with consulting firm.

By the way, both types of engineer have their own strengths and weaknesses. We couldn't conclude who is more important.

Conclusion : both are equally important..

most probably this one more into one side opinion.

consulting engineer != project engineer
project engineer = consulting engineer

why i say so, it's because consulting engineer will work through a theory a lot. The other person will try to solve a matter for you.
Project engineer is the one that need to take care about the project, need to know the basic why the problem occur and solve by himself. more into hand on..

For TS, if u accept challenge, go ahead with project engineer, and u will learn a lot of basic thing that can use when u face the real thing outside..

In terms of prospect, the key to step up higher in consulting line is getting PE license. Engineers at site don't really bother to get PE license for career advancement but they may find it harder to establish their own business since it needs a huge amount of capital. Am I right???

Not quite..if u have enough $$ just hire one PE..simple as that..
Most of the time, being a subcon is good enough..

This post has been edited by feekle: Feb 20 2012, 09:53 PM

Erm...

I have been in this line for almost 4 years as an M&E consultant engineer and these are my 2 cents.

In the context of CONSTRUCTION, if u want to remain in the construction line for the time being, what other forumers mentioned is nevertheless true. Consultant, theory. Project engineer, hands on. But look on the other side, u can't possibly solve problems without having certain amount of design knowledge. Most experienced project engineers or what we usually call contractors solve problems based on experience, but when u ask them on their basis to the solution, they can't simply answer u. My advice, if u really want to stay in construction, firstly brush up ur design skills, i would say a minimum of 3 years, before joining contractor firms, say for another 3 years, then only u join a developer as a project manager. By then u would have obtained enough knowledge of both design and practical, not to mention age, which can play a convincing role. As for Ir, it relaly depends on ur path of life. Ir is actually more for consultantcy, for contractor and developer, its less of practical use but instead a status in this field and ppl would somehow respect u. Money wise, in an ascending manner, consultant, contractor, developer. with a basic increase of 20% per jump (just a guideline).

couldnt agree more.

my previous experience, 2 years M design exp + 0.5 years full time M site experience in a M&E consultant firm (10 projects mostly high-rise & infra), ^20% to another consultant firm. at 2nd consultant firm, suddenly a o&g opportunity came in, then jumped (monthly various claimed allowances up to >100% of my basic when extensive traveling) and never look back since.

Once in a century opportunity, even better than strike 4D.

Thank you all for sharing your experience. All are great advices! Btw, for consulting engineer in Malaysia, there aren't many BIG civil engineering consulting firms around isn't it? From what i know, big players are only a few like SKM, AECOM perunding, maybe TY-Lin... Is it better for us to stay in a small private firm (where you can learn A - Z, but actually is being exploited by chinaman boss! ) or join an established international firm? I have a friend working in the big firm, but seldom get the chance to go to site. everyday just sit in front of computer and design, design, design. I guess this is the bad thing about working in big firm? you get less chance to go out? unlike small private company where you have to take care of everything thing? Anyone from big firm mind to share your experience?

no definite answer for you. it is about the "timing" and the "projects" the companies are awarded. if one is happened to be at the correct "timing" from preliminary concept design until hand-over stage then it is great.

mind you that M&E consultant hardly sent their fresh young engineers to be full time based at site except C&S. i was a M and always requested my superior if any chances drop by, then i was willing to be full time based at site. then 1 day opportunity came as got 1 vacancy at site which was reporting to RE. then i was posted to there. it was very tough, 6 days/week. every day walked few kilometers or sometimes got luck can hop into sub-con's 4WD or main-con vehicles. climbing scaffolding. sweating under hot sun and the worst suddenly the sky turned into dark and raining. writing the reports/checklists under hot sun/raining. site acceptance test during day time or mid night also. good if can do inside air-con container or when inside under construction building. if no water-log on road or in the tunnel then i was very happy as no need to wash my safety boots. at site, just always remember finished up your report & submit on time, always at standby when main-con is calling for inspection, lot of the sub-con can talk funny stuffs after office hour or during inspection, depends. i lost a lot of weight during half year full time at site.

in office with autocad, bq, tender doc, spreadsheet calculations most of the time, weekly progress meeting with other disciplines/clients, perform site audit. services my previous company for M cold water & sanitary plumbing, acmv, fire protection system, water pump sets sizing, lift & escalator, lng pipeline, etc.

This post has been edited by ch_teo: Feb 21 2012, 08:36 PM

In my personal opinion, if u r from the civil background, i would say, there are many more things other than buildings and structures. Maybe u can try out hydro power plant, bridge building, some firms like ARUP are good firms, did u heard that they got the opportunity to participate in the 100 storey building design process?

Well, I would say both in office and site have different experiences. If u cannot sit still, then site is better lo. If u are a couch potato, office then. Well, on site, yes, sub con can give u every excuse and reson under the moon and stars, but u must not be gullible enough to buy their excuses. Site walk is definitely tiring especially when the lift is not complete and no one dares to take the shaky construction lift.

In office, u would be considered lucky to handle BQs, calculations, designs and stuff. If u have a terrible senior, who is selfish enough, u would be handling progress claim, material approval, data entry after receiving tender replies and O&M, which i term these stuffs as less productive work.

For now, I'm actually more curious at the future of construction industry.

that's what i call a real man's job

All here is a good tips.. Me my self is a freshie in bachelor civil engineering n now in my final semester, i'm more interested with design as for my last capstone project subject i design the mosque from google sketchup autocad esteem n staadpro.. All of it i start with zero, n after i done it i think wanna pursue in this sector for my 1st job after graduate

I'm a Project Engineer currently at site

The best thing about Project Engineer is very flexible working hour, i mean no punch card or whatsoever and you get daily and monthly allowance plus petty cash, entertainment cash, my company pay my phone bill + broadband, got company car and free diesel, flight ticket and many more.

The downside is workload is very high and basically you are incharge and responsible for the whole project. Always feel want to cry when doing report or after went to meeting T_T

hi bro..
mind to share what is your company?small contractor?big contractor?developer?
how many years have you been working?

tq

hi all sifus ..im a fresh grad in the field of mechanical engineering .. any companies u guys can recommend to me with lots of learning opportunities ? big or small doesnt matter.. Im interested in the consulting line for now ..and in the future of course i would like to be project engineer when i've enuff design knowledge ..also whats ur jobscope like for consultancy ? just designing?thanks

Here is my advice....since you are from Mech. background, look for opportunity in oil & gas field instead of construction....Construction pays the lowest for M & E fresh grad among all the engineering fields...Moreover, M & E field in construction is saturated in terms of manpower at the moment....The market is full of players while projects are lesser now...In short, supply is more than demand...Even contractors are fighting bloodily to capture job until the profit margin becomes lesser and lesser, let alone consultants.....This is the effect of economy booming and downturn in 1993 & 1997......This situation may apply to C & S field as well....

PS : sorry for discouraging.....but this is the reality right at the moment.....

This post has been edited by josephlau7966: Mar 26 2012, 03:31 PM

follow josephlau7966 if you are from mech background. you can join o&g consultant like technip, worley parson, etc.

though i have left this construction field with M background to o&g but initially the first few years left, still got people phoned me if wanna join back. but my answer was no.
the construction projects & the current econ situation,
the big boss in a project is the architect & c&s/ owner & developer always,
working under hot sun/rain is ok but the compensation allowance is not on par as getting aging then health..., health is more important,
it is become more competitive among consultants nowadays in order to fight the tender price--> very low profit margin especially m&e, more & more self-open consultant or part time consultant (if you have been in this field long enough, part time out there lot),
when econ down can expect late progress payment if lucky enough -->hope no one close down company,
work at late night if need to rush drawing/design due to tight urgent schedule from owner/developer.

of course, consultant most of the time sit in the office but sometimes inspection, t&c may require to present at site or opportunity arise to become RE.

but i did learn a lot from 10 projects from high-rise commercial/government buildings to infra within 3 years.

This post has been edited by ch_teo: Mar 26 2012, 04:56 PM

That is why in my honest opinion, I am quite pessimistic about the prospect of construction sector in malaysia. Beside the issue of too many players, corruption problem is getting worse as well. No matter how good your technical knowledge, without a "good relationship" with authority and developers, you cannot go any further in career advancement. Sadly, i have been a few years in this field. I could not afford to shift to O n G and start all over again. The alternative route left would be oversea for the same field.

This post has been edited by josephlau7966: Mar 26 2012, 05:57 PM

u guys is right, i'm meche graduate who work in construction for about 1 year now, preparing to lompat to oil and gas shortly, this year is the recruitment year for oil and gas, hopefully can get call back from them

---

Added on April 6, 2012, 8:24 pmIts a main contractor, grade A, ISO company, private company, i can say quite big in Palm Oil Mill construction but if we say in overall then just a normal grade A contractor. Its my first job and now i am about a year with the company. Too much pressure, want to find another job. How can the whole project in-charge by only one person..

This post has been edited by scarybuzz: Apr 6 2012, 08:24 PM

Hi all Sifuss,

I'm a Geotechnical Engineer with 1 year experience. Working in a Consultancy design office.

Just wanna ask, is it possible for Civil engineer like us to venture into Developers? Cos' heard that it has high salary etc.

Would love to hear from you all!

Is it advisable for fresh engineering graduates to join consultancy firms? I have been offered jobs at a small consultancy firm and also another job at a multinational manufacturing company (injection moulding company) as QA engineer. I am kinda confused on which job to go for?
More concerned on my career path and the opportunity to grow further... I need some advise... Pls help...

Guys
I just want to share that it is possible to join O+G and developers. I worked in in one now and the other before. I started as an engineer with a firm of consulting engineers. Perhaps I am an exception rather than a norm.

Most important is you must hone your skills, both soft and technical skills. Get yourself professional qualified and get an additional postgrad degree. I find good spoken and written English is definitely an advantage. You also need to be confident in yourself.

Hi,

You are working in O&G firm now? Does it require you to travel around etc? Is the salary good?

Yes I am in the O+G industry. I am actually based outside M'sia. Salary is relative.....I do not check around if I am paid well compared to others. I can say that I am contended with what I am getting.

IMO a good career path would be from project engineer to become consultant

I could not decide for you which path is better. I never join manufacturing factory. So, I cannot comment on this. But some of my friends from factory are doing routine work in the same place everyday. They started to feel boring and not challenging. Just my opinion, most probably your job scope would be very specific in factory. The competitor companies know each other in whatever aspect (salary, benefit, culture and working environment). It will be a disadvantage for you as a employee. A few years down the road, you will find that your field is narrow and couldn't shift to other field to start all over again.

For consultancy firm, your future will be much more depends on your luck, personality and your "sifu". Just talk about your "sifu". Normally he is the Ir or the director of the firm. If he is nicely and sincerely treating you, you will learn a lot and have a better prospect. You don't mind to work for him during weekend without pay. If your "sifu" is a bustard, your future will be doomed. Going to office is just like going to hell everyday. no joke.

This post has been edited by josephlau7966: May 15 2012, 10:11 PM

Thanks alot for the honest opinion... :-)