THE COST OF HAVING IT BUILT!

[cocoloco]

Ok, so check this post out...

I work for the government, so I'm never swamped with work
The consultants do okay...they struggle sometimes, because a lot of out-of-state firms compete and win big contracts. The amount of work is also limited by the budgets out here. A lot of civils are headed to the mines to work...driving a truck all day pays $40/hr. Hard to compete.

That's messed up. Specially after going through the lengthy and arduous process of getting a PE. Seems to me like the Engineering Design/Build Business should get organized and we should start restructuring the costs of Designing and Building for the General Public as well as Government. Why in the world does my brother in law have such an easy life and makes a whole lot more money than me just because his license is in medicine and mine is Engineering? Its because the public HAS to put up with the cost of healthcare. So let them PUT UP WITH THE COST OF ENGINEERING!!

 

[NCcarguy]

Don't get SO down.....This is a FREE MARKET. It will work itself out. Think about it, if we all made 300,000 per year EVERYONE would be going to school to be an Engineer, then that would drive the price down, but since we're NOT making that much, many kids are chosing other degrees, and so there is a lack of engineer's which is driving the price UP....it's slow, but we'll get there.

and BTW.....this MAY need to be in the Shoot the Breeze section.

 

[Road Guy]

also most states dont have a statue on limitations on anything you put your stamp on, while they guy who operates on your eye can forget about anything after about 6 years, plus ever ask your doctor to give you something for free when they mis-diagnos something? I have 3 young kids, they get sick, lots of time one trip to the doc doesnt cover it, I have usally asked why do I have to pay to come back a second time when you failed to identify the problem the first time?

that usually generates a stare when I ask the "bill lady" after the visit (but its worth a laugh)

But I think there is $$ to be made, you just have to seperate yourself from the other 30,000 PE's in the state

 

[Dleg]

^^Yeah, the unfair statute of limitations thing. I have heard that from a few engineers, and to be honest I don't know if it is true. It always goes something like this: "My friend's uncle is an engineer and he is already 68 years od, but he can't afford to retire because he has to keep up his liability insurance in case something he stamped 40 years ago collapses."

Is there really any truth to that? If so, then that's something the big engineering societies should be trying to address right now.

 

[cocoloco]

^^Yeah, the unfair statute of limitations thing. I have heard that from a few engineers, and to be honest I don't know if it is true. It always goes something like this: "My friend's uncle is an engineer and he is already 68 years od, but he can't afford to retire because he has to keep up his liability insurance in case something he stamped 40 years ago collapses."
Is there really any truth to that? If so, then that's something the big engineering societies should be trying to address right now.

Good point but most Engineers are dealing with items that have a given useful life. Say for example Mechanical Engineers would not have such problem in the HVAC industry because most issues come to surface withing the warranty periods. After that, blame it on hard water or lack of maintenance! J/K... I guess Design Projects such as the Petronas Towers bid would not be won by Johny Two time and Associates (owned by Johny and Vinny), Structural Engineers and instead to big Firms that could take on a litigation by the horns. But thats just my 2 cents.

 

[Dark Knight]

After reading this thread I am convinced that I picked the wrong career. Dang it. And I gave up a promising career on (can't tell) for this sh-eat.

 

[cocoloco]

No kidding, most of us are working for something like 40 to 50 dollars an hour while my bro-in-law breaks out 116 an hour plus he bills for procedures at the ER EXTRA!

NCcarguy if just that Avatar of yours had a Coconut head I'd have to steal it! LOL!

 

[flguy]

Yeah..........i know exactly what you feel after 4 years of BS and another 2 years of MS and somone whith 2 year nursing makes same amoutn of money!!!!! thats just f up!

Thats why, I am going to START MY MBA NEXT MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BluSkyy]

And then the response to high engineering costs is to outsource for cheaper labor. Was the old team of designers/engineer model more efficient from a cost perspective?

 

[mudpuppy]

No kidding, most of us are working for something like 40 to 50 dollars an hour while my bro-in-law breaks out 116 an hour plus he bills for procedures at the ER EXTRA!

I've heard this kind of complaint several times on this board. I really don't think you can compare engineers to doctors. Engineers go to school for 4 years, maybe 6 with an MS. Doctors go to school for six years, and then have six years of intership/residency, for a total of twelve years. By this time they're probably $100k+ in debt. Then they get to work 12-18 hour days and be on call 24/7, 365. And pay anywhere from $17,000 to as much as $250,000/year in malpractice insurance premiums (see this article). I don't think doctors are overly compensated for the most part. CEO's and politicans, OTOH, get paid (money and/or benefits) a huge amount for doing basically nothing.

 

[Road Guy]

i still like what I do for the most part, I dont think I would enjoy day after day of rooms filled with patients with problems and those angry staff folks they hire.

my bro in law and his wife are doctors, they do make more than me but how many strep throats can you look at before it gets old?

 

[achristie]

I have just teamed up with 2 other structural engineers (two SE and me PE) and I became a partner in a company ( for now 3 engineers + 1 part time drafter + 1 secretary/accountant)....Between three of us we have 75 years of structural engineering experience. None of us has any kind of malpractice or negligence record. Our annual professional liability insurance is around 25K a year. Everyone seals his/her own drawings.

For the business expenses such as office rent (24K/year), drafters (part time around 20-30K), secretary (25K/year), software licenses (around 8K to start up), professional, business licenses and other expenses (10K/year) one would spend at least 100K in a year...We tried to keep our cost minimum so we are sharing a big office with another accounting company. Thank God we didn't have to pay for copiers, printers...etc. Engineers have a lot of expenses too!!

We have been pulling 14 to 16 hr days for the last 3-4 months. Since most of our contracts are lump sum (it's the only choice if you wanna beat the competition) and we are trying to finish our existing projects to get new ones our work load is ridiculous. No weekends , no family time. I averaged 100 hrs a week during this period. The other engineers are working more than me...

After all expenses we really don't make much...I should have stayed in my old company and kept my stress free 9 to 5 job....Especially if you are working for the government keep your job!!

The cost of having it built is very high....

Christie

 

[Dleg]

^^I dipped my toe into the waters of business ownership this summer, and quickly realized that I was better off where I am, working for government, at least in terms of my free time and responsibilities, and probably even in terms of money. I feel lucky almost every day that the RFP for the work my potential partners and I were bidding on was canceled.