I work in IT. I like computers, I’m good at them and I earn good money. No complaints there.

However, the business I work in does some amazing civil engineering work. Proper massive projects involving building huge square mile plants or incredibly clever underground workings or repairing massive 90km long victorian underground aqueducts which I find incredibly interesting. Way more interesting that the work I do.

If I’m in a meeting room discussing IT stuff and there’s diagrams of pipework on the walls, that’s it, I’m a waste of space. I’ll stand there pointing at it saying ‘look! They’re building a site that turns twenty tons of shit into electricity every day!’ then all the other geeks finger their pencils nervously and avoid eye contact (although since I’m now so far removed from actual IT, it’s usually some of the directors who think I’m going mad).

So, civil engineers. Tell me your life is hell and it’s the worst trade ever, or at least tell me of some amazing engineering projects you’re involved in that will get me all hot and excited.

They dream of rolling out Windows 8 to a multi-site organisation.

You’re in the wrong part of IT. I work on creating stuff like that, just not physically tangible.

However, because it’s not tangible and normal people don’t understand it we can **** it up completely and no-one really knows until it’s too late.

Everyone else thinks they know about IT – in that they are ‘experts’, proven by their ability to set up their home wireless…

“The system should.. handle our business process. It’s simple, isn’t it? Now crack on!”

The IT people I work with build virtual worlds that show you how the future will be

they play Sim City?

Try and move into a more engineering focused IT role. Building management systems, control systems e.t.c. I’m trying to move in that direction. More tangible.

Recently Ive got involved in a number of power projects. As many will know, my day job when Im not fettling a landrover is building financial models, usually property, but I can do most capital projects.

My latest project is modelling a biomass conversion of a coal fire electricity generation plant. I. Am. In. HEAVEN!

I get to calculate burning wood on a MASSIVE scale! And even better, spend time around really bright people who make it happen and understand moving wood from a ship to a train and then to a store and then to a bunker and then up some travelators and then into drying thingies, and turning thingies and the burning thingies and then lots of steam and Siemens and GE F class turbines and into district heating systems and ash and SO2 and NOx and …I think I just spaffed. 😳

The grass is always greener isnt it?

Ironically, the position I’m at actually facilitates a sideways move. My business actively encourages senior managers to try different fields.

I can just see how well an IT manager will be received by a plumber with gnarled hands the size of dinner plates and 30 years of oil under his fingernails.

Aye stoner, you’re probably right. But I still find it massively interesting. Some of the guys I rub shoulders with are out of this world intelligent and capable. They can envisage working on things on a scale which is hard for me to grasp.

If it a plumber it will be 30 years of shit under his nails.:)

Seriously if you like the more particle side look into PLC / control systems. I’m trying to head that way now myself but I’ve got a engineering background so am finding most of it straight forward. Just need to find the job.

Stoner.. I like the idea of financial modelling. Or generally modelling.. my offical job is supposed to involve business process modelling but it doesn’t.

I used to be in senior management. Now I write complex mapping algorithms in my shed and occassionally they work and even more occassionally someone buys them. There’s loads of ace engineering to be done in IT. Get down the ladder and get the compiler out.

why not get a job on an F1 team they have lots of computers to do stuff

I’m currently sat in the US office of a major power plant epc, as I’m in the process of standing up our companies software onto their systems, after which I’ll be doing the corporate set-up of our software, training their process and mechanical engineers to use it, and then rolling it out onto the projects.

Currently I love my job.

I’m not a software engineer though, our software engineers aren’t allowed to leave the office. 😉

I’ve been working with engineers who design SCL tunnels, diaphragm walls and talk about injection grouting or freezing ground before thrust boring 6x3m boxes 10m below streets with people walking along them.
It can be quite interesting, but to them I just choose the colour of the wallpaper, which can be quite annoying.

The only bit I don’t like about my job is the wages. Been like that for 15 years and a series of jobs mind.

All of you will almost certainly be using the system I’m working on now, thousands of times, but you wonm’t even know it. This is kind of cool.

TheBrick – Member

Seriously if you like the more particle side look into PLC / control systems.
I presume you mean practical (unless your looking into CERN stuff)
I work a fair bit in PLC control systems and as you say as long as you have a good grasp of the plant operating principles its a logical progression.

The biggest hurdle is understanding the operating parameters and how much scope there is for working around these without causing a “problem”*

* this can ramp up very quickly in a continuous process environment

I just spent two days driving a robot around a substation remotely. That was quite fun.

[/quote]My latest project is modelling a biomass conversion of a coal fire electricity generation plant. I. Am. In. HEAVEN!

I’ve done a number of energy projects in europe, and while the tech is definitely interesting, it’s just the same old shit from a commercial/finance perspective at the end of the day after you’ve been at it for 12 months. Some waste deals are pretty cool, lots of interesting calculations around calorific values and windy days 🙂

I’m currently trying to resolve some stuff on a power plant for a hospital. What started out as something really interesting has now seen me in the office from 7am until after midnight for a week. Tonight will be no different.

Everything loses it’s shine after you get into the reality of its application in business/real life. Even the coolest stuff seems quite mundane after you throw in a demanding client, unrealistic deadline and a whole raft of hoops and obstacles.

I make important titanium thingy m’jiggs for Boeing and Aerospace. Shame I work with a load of c*ckends.

our software engineers aren’t allowed to leave the office

Ours aren’t allowed into the office.

I am often envious of people that build big things but software does get interesting too. At the moment I am building totally native browser based clients for a distributed video conferencing system. It is really interesting and gives a flavour of how the world will be soon. If you are bored with configuring stuff, build something.

I get to calculate burning wood on a MASSIVE scale!

Boo.

OP – is there any creativity you could put into your work? I used to do fairly routine stuff but managed to get involved in the R&D of ‘the future’ of that stuff. That made all the dogmatic routine stuff so worthwhile because I could use that knowledge and make things better for the next generation.

Everything loses it’s shine after you get into the reality of its application in business/real life.

You mean unpicking the documents on an off-balance sheet financing has lost its shine? 😉

Yeah. I’m with you on that one – it’s taken 8 weeks for a key component of the deal i spent 7 months on to pull the thing down around everyone’s ears #sheesh

Currently sat at home waiting for some e-mails to come through…

You could class what I do as IT – a good solid IT background would get you in.

Currently on the list/pipeline
Modelling 2 Hospitals for layout and staff process
Providing a modelling/simulation capability with associated data handling and integration solutions to a very big arm of a very big company looking at moving big piles of stuff very long distances
Selling software
Training people

Some of the past stuff has been
optimising food production lines
more hospital planning
production line stuff
working on some major civil projects back in the UK

entry level is crap though, worked to the bone until you either give up or burn out really as a consultant some internal jobs still going in it though. I made the move out of the UK and not get to sit at the pointy end in a company of 2 1/2 people so close to the action.

The biggest hurdle is understanding the operating parameters and how much scope there is for working around these without causing a “problem”*

* this can ramp up very quickly in a continuous process environment

Ahhh, step changes, the design of PLC logic control is mathstastic, which is why I actively avoided it after uni!

Nice username by the way!

We have plenty of plc’s and a huge process control environment, that might be a happy compromise. Good suggestion.

I know where you’re on about Samuri, I worked there for years before coming out here. It is all clever stuff, the only depressing thing about working on most of it is that when it’s finished and the gates are shut, no one can tell anything new happened.
I’m not sure I’d want the responsibility of making sure it works though – it’s hard enough arguing about the money side of things when it doesn’t, let alone answering the “well what now?” question!

This is making me think there might be a future beyond enterprise Java?

😯