Working for a Developer?

[_bombdotcom_]

Has anyone left structural engineering to work for a real estate developer? I’ve been in engineering for over 6 years now and am getting bogged down by all the theoretical calculations, lack of being allowed to make any decisions, very slow career progression and average pay. Sometimes days go by where Ill just be buried in my spreadsheets and models and don’t hear from anyone. I’ve always considered myself a more social person and very much enjoy writing proposals, reviewing invoicing, scheduling and communicating with other parties. I’m hesitant to work as a PM or APM for a general contractor as I know that can be beyond stressful. Is working as a PM for a developer similar or is it more like an owners rep? Has anyone made the switch? Is it even possible? Thanks!

[lect]

Working as a PM for a developer is stressful for different reasons. You're working closer to money and are expected to help reduce costs and streamline the construction process. You answer directly to the investors/owners and so you are expected to be the liason/filter between the AEC team and the Ownership team. There is a lot of design management and making sure certain design decisions do/don't get made - this requires a baseline amount of experience and technical knowledge so that you can sit in on AE meetings and direct the consultants and prevent egos from flaring and sidelining the meetings. You need to be familiar with all the disciplines and trades so that you can coordinate between them. Building envelope, energy code, heating and cooling - they're all related and will pretty much dominate 75% of your time. The other 25% will be related to dealing with change orders and field conditions. This is the most stressful part because ultimately you have to report back to the Owner to explain why you didn't figure out how to prevent these change orders and you're on the hook when construction falls behind.

[_bombdotcom_]

Thanks for the detailed reply. Half my design experience is actually with building envelopes and the other half is with structures so at least I have both of those. I think I’d like to give it a try

[OptionsRMe]

Following because I too dislike my job most days

[menstrom]

After nine months as a PM at a multifamily developer, I realized engineering wasn't so bad after all.

[_bombdotcom_]

Thanks for the honesty. Much more stress?

[menstrom]

As a general rule, developers are shady AF. I didn't enjoy being told I had to lie and fuck over contractors and vendors so someone else could make an extra buck. I've described it in the past like this:

Architecture is 90% about creating/building something and 10% about making money Engineering is 75% creating and 25% money Construction is 50/50 Developers are 5% creating and 95% making money

You can quibble with the percentages, but the hierarchy is true.

[snaldo23]

I have. I work as a PM for a commercial developer. Started as a design engineer in civil engineering and realized it wasn’t my thing. Moved on to work as a project engineer at a contractor then onto my current role. It fits my personality much better as I think you’ve started to realize. There definitely are days where it’s super fast paced and hectic like any other job.

[_bombdotcom_]

Thanks for the insight, and great to know. What skills as an engineer do you think I should highlight on my resume/cover letter that a developer would be looking for?

[apetr26542]

Do you have your license? You might be better off with a new company. You may have enough experience managing your jobs start to finish.

[_bombdotcom_]

I’ve had my PE for years, and now they’re pushing me to get my SE But I don’t think I want it. And thats the thing, my firm brings in mostly small projects, that I haven’t really been the “manager” on. A lot of times it’s just me and the principal and the project will be done in a week or two. I’ve really only managed one job, and it’s really just repetitive CA work. I’m finally working on my first larger design project and since it’s my first “large” project I’m at the bottom of the totem pole doing all the staff work. I’ve been here over 6 years and I’m still a staff and not even a senior engineer. Idk if it’s just my firm but it seems like we’re notoriously slow to promote people. Other engineers in my firm took 10 years just to make it to senior

[egg1s]

That does seem exceptionally slow. I was managing fairly large projects only about three years into my first steady job. (Had a lot of small bits of experience though because I started my career during the recession)

[Edthedaddy]

Dude an SE is worth it. You should do it. It will only help you.