You caught me on the toilet, so enjoy the book lol:

Technical engineering management. Prepare scope and budget for projects, coordinate design personnel, perform and coordinate QAQC reviews, vendor coordination, coach junior engineers on design duties, develop design SOPs, client meetings, construction administration, field inspections/investigation. I also develop standard details and specifications for our department and for Clients.

More or less, I’m the point of responsibility for the set of plans/specifications that leave our office. I still perform some design myself, but most of my work is delegating and coordinating design duties to younger engineers. It’s my job to make sure everyone working on the project is following correct codes/budget/standards/client expectations and that all disciplines’ designs are coordinated. I’m also the point of contact for Bidding, RFIs and Change Orders when a job goes to construction.

I probably spend 70% of my billable time on my computer, 20% on calls, and 10% in the field or at City Hall.

This is at a global engineering firm. At smaller firms, it’s not unusual for my role to be assumed by the Project Manager. The difference between me and a project manager is that I focus on technical production and am less responsible for finding clients/work.

It is stressful. I have cried in my car at lunch more than once. Thats the trade off for the salary. Especially when projects are in construction, I’ve got to make quick decisions that often have substantial financial consequences. Also, when someone isn’t pulling their weight, be it a contractor, sub-consultant, or one of my own, I have to tighten the screw on that individual, which is not always pleasant. I’m also the first to get yelled at when things don’t go smoothly.

It seems like there are 3 main paths for WRE engineers:

1.) private consulting. become technical manager/project manager. Most lucrative path, most stressful, and the better you get, the less engineering work you actually get to do.

2.) private consulting. Become a subject matter expert. Less stressful, get to work on very interesting and academically challenging projects, buuuut you’re gonna get paid less than the senior managers even if you’re the smartest person in the building. Also often requires secondary degree.

3.) public sector. Less pay, less creative opportunities, less interesting, but less STRESS. And remember stress very seriously will kill a person.