The book is still coming along! It will likely be closer to mid-next year when it is published and available. I am intentionally not rushing it. I want to make sure it is quality, for all our sake. This means while I am still working on it, I find myself writing, then rewriting, then adjusting the sequence in which the writing is written, etc. Thank you all for following along! I hope you have a fantastic holiday!
While the content below is not directly from the book, it was content that has surfaced from writing the book. I hope it is equally enjoyable and helpful:
To all you PEs and interns out there, I know it is hard to see now, and you may feel like you get told this a lot, but soak it in! It's such a cool experience to see everyone in their element. With less responsibility and risk than the PM, you can know more about that project than anyone else. Soak in and enjoy the freedoms and learning opportunities. Get on-site as frequently as you can, ask questions, talk-shop with all the experts at your fingertips, and observe behaviors, processes, and discussions.
It's ironic. As a Project engineer, I was tired of being handed what I saw as 'grunt' and 'busy' work. Once I was promoted to Project Manager, buried with contracts, schedules, budgets, and 'team member management' tasks, I missed and envied all my Project Engineer tasks (I still do). I realized this while recounting some experiences and interviewing industry members for the book.
Once you become a manager, you need to manage. Manage budgets, schedules, contracts, disputes, unreasonable clients, and unruly team members. It seems glamorous because of the title and authority, but with that comes much more responsibility. Explaining, debating, CYA'ing, documenting, and meditating. You have more time in the office, in front of a computer, managing things; you have a lot less time to get out to the field to talk shop, observe craftspeople in their element, and ask questions to gain perspectives, skills, and awareness. Don't get me wrong, you can absolutely still do this as a PM, and I encourage you to do so as a PM, but you won't have as many opportunities to do so as you will as a PE.
As a Project Engineer, you can be on-site more, asking questions, chatting with the experts, and learning and translating construction jargon to the office, client, and designers.
And that busy work? It is far from it. These PE tasks are critical to the smoother operation of the project and are also some of the richest learning opportunities. Submittals allow you to dig into every detail and crevasse of the drawings to be the go-to resource for questions. The RFIs allow you to gain perspectives and language from trade partners to translate between designers, clients, and trades. Meeting minutes are phenomenal translations of the team's interactions, commitments, and challenges, as well as a historical story and document of the entire project and project team. These continually build skills and habits to be one heck of a construction leader now and in the future.
You have plentiful growth opportunities available daily. Don't miss the journey because you are focused only on the destination of the next title and promotion. You become a much more robust and respected PM when you soak in these opportunities rather than squander them.
I miss project engineering. That may just be my retirement plan. That or a temp laborer to sweep the job sites.
Remember to live in the moment and enjoy the journey.
You Got This!
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