Tyler Porter Highschool Student

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Tyler Porter

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Hello my name is Tyler, I am a sophomore in Highschool and I need to answer a few interview questions for my Principles of Engineering class. If you are not comfortable with the first question please do not answer it. 

  1. [SIZE=11pt]Name, title, contact info (work phone & email, company name, location, job title)[/SIZE]
  2. [SIZE=11pt]What are your duties and responsibilities as a _________ engineer?[/SIZE]
  3. [SIZE=11pt]How many employees in your company? How many work under you?[/SIZE]
  4. [SIZE=11pt]What is your specialty in _________ engineering?[/SIZE]
  5. [SIZE=11pt]How many hours is a typical work day?[/SIZE]
  6. [SIZE=11pt]Can you do any telecommuting?[/SIZE]
  7. [SIZE=11pt]What % of your workday is spent at a computer? Office? Worksite? Other?[/SIZE]
  8. [SIZE=11pt]What type of math is used in your job?[/SIZE]
  9. [SIZE=11pt]In your opinion, what are some advantages & disadvantages of your job?[/SIZE]
  10. [SIZE=11pt]What is your salary range? Benefits? Are you paid over time?[/SIZE]
  11. [SIZE=11pt]How much vacation time per year?[/SIZE]
  12. [SIZE=11pt]Are promotions possible, and how long before promotion can be expected[/SIZE]
  13. [SIZE=11pt]Are you required to travel on the job?[/SIZE]
  14. [SIZE=11pt]Are there any physical requirements?[/SIZE]
  15. [SIZE=11pt]What type of high school courses would be helpful for this career?[/SIZE]
  16. [SIZE=11pt]What university did you get your degree from? How long did it take?[/SIZE]
  17. [SIZE=11pt]Why did you choose _________ engineering?[/SIZE]
  18. [SIZE=11pt]Do you enjoy your career?[/SIZE]
  19. [SIZE=11pt]Does where you live affect this career?[/SIZE]
  20. [SIZE=11pt]Any advice for a high school student thinking about pursuing this career?[/SIZE]
 
Hello my name is Tyler, I am a sophomore in Highschool and I need to answer a few interview questions for my Principles of Engineering class. If you are not comfortable with the first question please do not answer it. 

  1. [SIZE=11pt]Name, title, contact info (work phone & email, company name, location, job title) - [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]Everyone calls me Dex. I work for a large international consulting firm in Auckland New Zealand.[/SIZE]
  2. [SIZE=11pt]What are your duties and responsibilities as a _________ engineer? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- On paper, I'm a Senior Civil Engineer, but primarily act as Project and Construction management for civil infrastructure projects. I do everything from answering contractor questions about design drawings to staffing to financial tracking to minor design.[/SIZE]
  3. [SIZE=11pt]How many employees in your company? How many work under you? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- We have over 50k employees across the globe. I am part of a team, no one really works for anyone, we all work together.[/SIZE]
  4. [SIZE=11pt]What is your specialty in _________ engineering? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- My degree is in Civil engineering, but my work-based specialty is construction management.[/SIZE]
  5. [SIZE=11pt]How many hours is a typical work day? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]8-9 hrs per day[/SIZE]
  6. [SIZE=11pt]Can you do any telecommuting? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- Nope. Construction means I go where the work is. Most of my time is spent at my desk doing email though...[/SIZE]
  7. [SIZE=11pt]What % of your workday is spent at a computer? Office? Worksite? Other?[/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt] - 90% at my desk, 10% in the field. Used to be the opposite when I started, but management means more time in the office.[/SIZE]
  8. [SIZE=11pt]What type of math is used in your job? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- Simple algebra for most of it. Some of the design team members use some quite elaborate equations, but I let them play with that stuff.[/SIZE]
  9. [SIZE=11pt]In your opinion, what are some advantages & disadvantages of your job? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- Advantages: constantly changing projects and each project presents new challenges. Disadvantages: we're at the mercy of the market which fluctuates quite a bit. If there's no money, then there's nothing to work on and people lose their jobs. If there's a boom, then there aren't enough around. [/SIZE]
  10. [SIZE=11pt]What is your salary range? Benefits? Are you paid over time? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- $90-130k NZD per year depending on work experience and specific role. I can't answer benefits because the package is completely different than the US (i.e. socialist healthcare), straight salary (no overtime).[/SIZE]
  11. [SIZE=11pt]How much vacation time per year?[/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt] - 4 weeks per year and 2 guaranteed weeks off for Xmas standard (NZ thing). We can earn more time with years of service.[/SIZE]
  12. [SIZE=11pt]Are promotions possible, and how long before promotion can be expected? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- Promotions are always available, but are typically tied to what you are/aren't willing to do from a job responsibility and project standpoint[/SIZE]
  13. [SIZE=11pt]Are you required to travel on the job? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- I volunteer to travel, and have been on a couple really awesome work assignments because of it (Africa & Caribbean).[/SIZE]
  14. [SIZE=11pt]Are there any physical requirements? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- Because I spend time on construction sites, I do need to maintain a certain baseline ability to navigate non-handicapped accessible areas (uneven surfaces, steep slopes, climb ladders, work at elevated platforms, etc).[/SIZE]
  15. [SIZE=11pt]What type of high school courses would be helpful for this career? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- For civil engineering: as much math as possible (statistics, algebra, trig, etc.) and Physics.[/SIZE] 
  16. [SIZE=11pt]What university did you get your degree from? How long did it take?[/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt] - Colorado School of Mines, I was in college for 5 years but I changed degrees my sophomore year (started as ChemE).[/SIZE]
  17. [SIZE=11pt]Why did you choose _________ engineering? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- Like I said above, I changed degrees in college. I originally wanted to be a doctor and use a ChemE as pre-med, but that was too confusing for me. I like building things, so Civil became my next option.[/SIZE]
  18. [SIZE=11pt]Do you enjoy your career?[/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt] - Love it.[/SIZE]
  19. [SIZE=11pt]Does where you live affect this career? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- Definitely. As I said above, the market fluctuates from boom or bust so you have to be willing to either adjust what you work on or where you work.[/SIZE]
  20. [SIZE=11pt]Any advice for a high school student thinking about pursuing this career? [/SIZE][SIZE= 11pt]- We're all nerds or geeks in one way or another, just be prepared for varying levels of each and willing to endlessly debate Star Wars vs Star Trek vs Lord of the Rings vs Comics (even Marvel vs DC). Also, we tend to marry nurses or teachers. We can't take care of ourselves and need someone with social/caring skills to help keep us "normal".[/SIZE]
Answers above in Red.

 
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