My first day at Stroud, Pence, & Associates was today. I can say whole-heartedly, I have begun all over again. It’s certainly humbling, but a good experience. I’m with a much smaller outfit now, and everyone comes across as being good natured and supportive (not that they weren’t at URS).
I got an e‑mail from a friend today who, upon reading this blog, was worried that things might not be going so well. I hadn’t thought about the tone that previous post might have had until that. So, the story thus far (skip to next paragraph if you’ve heard this one): after some soul-searching, I decided that the time in my life to try the other branch of structural engineering was now. The other branch being building design, as I was formerly working in the design of bridges. I took a job offer with a engineering firm based out of Virginia Beach, VA (see above) in mid-December, and left my job at URS Corporation on the 7th of this month.
That gets us to my first day. I’m very fortunate to be a company with plenty of work. I was added as a structural engineer to a building design first thing this morning (apparently, my boss thought this would be a good learning project). Of course, what most people wouldn’t know that aren’t in the structural business, the pace of building design is a great deal faster than that of bridges (months, as opposed to years). So, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed, but not surprised. I’ve a great deal to learn, but that was the very idea behind taking the job. I’ve also had a month to psyche myself up for the process.
I suppose, I should feel pretty good about the first day. As it turns out, the hardest part was filling out all those tax and benefit forms. The structures part, what little there was of it today, came easy. I’m sure that will change soon enough, but I’m not going to rush it.