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Consejos: Civil Engineering by Jazlyn Carvajal

9/29/2020

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What has been your experience as a female in Civil Engineering? Have you ever struggled in the workforce with a male majority? 
My experience has been both rewarding and challenging. I have worked on projects in Boston, New York City, New Jersey and will soon be able to add Silicon Valley to the list. It is rewarding to be able to see my projects when I visit Boston, New York City and New Jersey.
I have faced many challenges in my career. As a woman, I am challenged and questioned at every turn. I have to earn respect. Every. Single. Day.  Yet, there is no project I oversaw that didn’t end with me earning my colleagues’ respect.
Years ago, I was reviewing my subcontractors’ labor rates and had asked several of these subcontractors to revise their rates according to the established contractual requirements. One subcontractor, Mr. X, felt I had unreasonably reduced his rate, and wasted no time going for the obligatory threatening to sue jargon.  When this tactic didn’t work, he gave me the old “do you know who I am missy?” speech. As if his political clout would faze me. It did not. I knew what the contract stated, and when the facts are on your side, you don’t argue semantics.

Mr. X subsequently revised his rates.  No lawsuit was ever filed. 

 So here I was, 26 years old and managing a $176 million construction project. This was one of many daily interactions with subcontractors, clients, colleagues and employees. My authority was challenged daily. My knowledge was questioned daily. I had to prove myself every single day.  

My first supervisor’s teachings resonated with me. He taught me to take the time to study the entire job, and know it better than anyone else. He told me, “Jaz, your preparation must be impeccable. You have no room for error.”  As such, the first thing I did whenever I was brought on board a project was to review all the contract documents: plans, specifications, the contract and all subcontracts. In the case of the $176 million project, I spent nearly 2 weeks working late nights to absorb all the information.

I never did lose an argument or negotiation. 
 

Preparation and mental toughness were instilled to me by my mentors. In business, I made it the central nervous system from which everything flows from.  

 My business partner and I call this: N.B.C.
 Never Be Cold

Mr. X is an inevitability for anyone, but especially women. NBC was the key ingredient to confronting the bullies I encountered, and it guided me when others made me want to second guess my decision-making.  


You will be second-guessed, when you speak up many will roll their eyes and others will look right past you as if you and the wall behind you were one and the same. Being a leader and a trailblazer means you work past that, and outwork everyone else.


Strive to be great. Listen. Speak-up. Be confident, outwork and outperform your peers and NEVER BE COLD.



What are your thoughts around “imposter syndrome”, and what are some barriers that you face when trying to build credibility in a male dominated field? 

On Saturday, March 10, 2018, I gave an 8-minute lightning talk on how my professional efforts helped other women and myself overcome challenges. 


The venue: MIT lecture hall. 

The audience: MIT alumna (CEOs, doctors, professors and producers).


I frequently speak in front of audiences. I have done interviews on Fox, ABC and Univision. In fact, when you hand me a microphone, I ham it up. The week leading up to the 2018 MIT Women’s unConference was different. I was overcome with nerves. As I was preparing to share how, “Preparation and mental toughness were instilled to me by my mentors...”, my mental toughness was not there.


I focused my talk on the concept N.B.C.: Never Be Cold. The central thesis being, how preparation is critical to success on all levels. I was preparing to tell the audience to, “Be strong, speak up and be the smartest person in the room when it comes to your area of expertise.”


As I practiced my talk over and over, the nerves became greater. Why?


These were the smartest women on the planet.

At dinner the night before my talk, I was catching up with an old, brilliant friend.  She reminded me, “And you’re one of them, Jaz.” I am an MIT alum. I have the resume, but I was still rattled. It wasn’t until I was standing at the podium that I felt my confidence come back. I believed in the purpose of my words, the advice, the experiences and what I had accomplished. It was in reciting those words that I realized that I was akin to the women that were now before me, intently listening to my every word. 


The trending phrase for what I felt is called, imposter syndrome. Both men and women feel it, but it is more prevalent in women and people of color. 
How do you overcome Imposter Syndrome? Remind yourself, “YOU belong here.”


I sometimes meet students who are thinking about a career in Civil engineering, and I sometimes meet young Latinx who have doubts about whether it is the right career for them. What would you tell a young latinx who is having doubts about starting their career in civil engineering?

I tell every student I meet to explore the careers they are interested in via internships, externship or shadowing experiences. Take advantage of the summers in high school and college to explore careers. In high school, find a local civil engineering firm and ask if you can meet with a civil engineer to learn about their career. Ask lots of questions. In college, you should do an internship every summer in the field(s) you are interested. 


Exploring careers is the only way you will learn whether or not a career is the right choice for you.



What advice do you have for young professionals who have no idea what area of civil engineering they want to subject area to concentrate on?  

See previous response. Explore the different fields of civil engineering via work experiences.



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Careers in Civil Engineering

9/14/2020

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The career opportunities for a civil engineer are nearly endless! 

As we noted in our September 1 post, civil engineering is the design, construction, maintenance, and inspection of the physical and naturally built environment. While one can argue that the civil engineering profession has existed since humans began to build shelter, it only became recognized as a profession in the 18th century. It became the second recognized engineering discipline after military engineering. As such, many of the engineering disciplines branched from civil engineering. 

A degree in civil engineering provides many career options. Civil engineering majors at many universities have the option to concentrate their civil engineering studies to a discipline that aligns with their career goals.  While concentrations vary by school, a few options that many offer include:
  • General
    • Civil engineers do not have to choose a subdiscipline and can instead choose to become generalists. As a generalist, a civil engineer can choose a career designing or managing projects within any of the subdisciplines.  
  • Structural
    • Structural engineers are involved in the design, analysis, construction oversight, inspection and maintenance of buildings, bridges, tunnels, and other structures. 
  • Construction
    • Civil engineers can work in construction management overseeing every aspect of construction from start to finish.
  • Geotechnical
    • Geotechnical engineers evaluate the behavior of the earth’s materials. Geotechnical engineers can work in industries that require building on top or below ground. 
  • Environmental
    • Environmental engineers focus on the conservation and improvement of the environment and public health. Environmental engineers work with water/waste-water systems, waste/recycling methods and facilities and developing methods to clean/restore the environment.
  • Transportation
    • Transportation engineers plan, design, build and maintain transportation infrastructure. 
Each concentration offers several career options with job functions that range from design, construction management, inspection, maintenance and research. 
Civil Engineers can begin their careers with just a Bachelors’ degree. Some civil engineers choose to continue their education by obtaining Masters and PhDs.  Many civil engineers obtain their Engineering in Training (EIT) their final year in college or shortly thereafter. This professional designation signifies that the civil engineer has a fundamental understanding of engineering. After at least four years of career experience, passing the licensure exam and meeting the requirements set-forth by the state  engineering licensing board, an engineer may obtain a Professional Engineering (P.E.) license. The P.E. license is a credential that holds a civil engineer to a higher degree of responsibility and high ethical standards of practice. A P.E. is responsible not only for their work but also for the lives affected by their work. 
Civil engineers can choose to work for the government, academia or private firms or they can choose the entrepreneurial route. Government roles include designers, project managers, inspectors, maintenance, research and policy makers. In academia, civil engineers can teach and conduct research in civil engineering practices, technologies, and materials. Civil engineers can work in private firms as consultants, designers, project managers and inspectors. As entrepreneurs, civil engineers establish companies as consultants, designers, inspectors, construction managers and contractors. 
There are many careers, job functions and industries to choose from with a degree in civil engineering. The choice is yours!

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Marisol Cira: My STEM Journey

9/4/2020

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​For as long as I could remember, I enjoyed going to school because I could access books, ask questions, and challenge myself. I performed well in all subjects throughout my education, but I lacked guidance. The schools I attended often did not have counselors and my mother had only attained a primary education. As a result, by my junior year, I still did not know what college was, whether I could afford it, how’d I get there, and what I’d do there. Slowly, I began to find the answers to these questions by looking up different career paths, colleges, scholarships, and entrance requirements. While I still did not have it all figured out or fully understood the rigor of my career choice, I applied to college. Soon after, I was starting my first day at UCLA as a civil engineering student!

At UCLA, I joined the Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity (CEED), which helped me transition into college, provided me with resources, and partnered me with a lab where I studied the properties of construction materials for a quarter. I was fascinated by research and when the quarter was over I found a lab that conducted community-engaged research on a wide array of environmental topics that interested me. In addition to research, I also explored working in the government sector by interning at LA Sanitation where I assessed four wastewater treatment plants and reviewed industrial wastewater discharges. While both were invaluable experiences to me, I decided to pursue a PhD.
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I am currently a 2nd year civil engineering PhD student at UCLA specializing in environmental engineering and water resources engineering. I still love to read, ask a lot of questions, and challenge myself daily. When I graduate, I hope to become a professor and help other Latinas obtain a STEM degree by mentoring and partnering with organizations to teach girls how to code.
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What is Civil Engineering?

9/1/2020

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Engineering is the application of mathematic and scientific principles to find practical solutions to complex problems. Civil engineering is the design, construction, maintenance, and inspection of the physical and naturally built environment. Civil engineering is made up of several subdisciplines: environmental engineering, hydrology and water resources engineering, transportation engineering, construction engineering, geotechnical engineering, and structural engineering among others. For example,
·       Environmental engineers prevent, detect, reduce, and eliminate pollutants in water, soil, and air.
·       Hydrology and water resources engineers manage and transport water.
·       Transportation engineers design, construct, and maintain transportation infrastructure.
·       Construction engineers plan and manage the construction process.
·       Geotechnical engineers study the soil properties of a construction site and secure the foundation of structures.
·       Structural engineers design structural systems.
Civil engineers may work in the academic sector as professors and researchers or in the government and private sectors as designers, managers, directors, and policy makers. Within these sectors civil engineers oversee dams, stormwater collection systems, wastewater treatment plants, remediation sites, roads, bridges, airports, and other systems.
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