Starting a New Chapter
After six years at a large engineering, procurement, and construction company (EPC), I’ve decide to make a move a join an architectural and engineering (AE) company.
I want to start out this post by saying that the last six years have been an amazing experience and I couldn’t have asked for a better team of people to work with during my time at my first employer out of college.
I’m pleased to announce that I have joined the Fairfax office of Whitman, Requardt & Associates (WRA) as of mid-January. I’ll be working as a structural engineer on new and existing building structures primarily in the Northern Virginia area. WRA is an architectural/engineering firm based in Baltimore, MD with approximately 700 employees located across multiple offices mainly around the mid-atlantic area. They have projects in the building, utility, and transportation sectors.
Transitioning from a large Engineer, Procurement, and Construction company to a mid-size Architectural Engineering firm has some noticeable differences. A large company can provide great benefits that a smaller company typically can’t, but a smaller company can offer opportunities for growth that can be hard to find at a larger company. I’ve listed some of the differences below. Although WRA isn’t considered a small company due to the many small firms, it is much smaller than my former company.
Very Large Company
- Global Projects and Teams
- Opportunities to Work in Multiple Locations
- Many Benefits and Employee Resources
- Large Teams
Mid-Size Company
- Local and Regional Projects
- Greater Ownership of Smaller Projects
- Simple Management Structure
- High Client Interaction
Smaller companies generally need the employee to take greater ownership in their work. As some project simply can not support too many engineers, the ability of an individual to manage and execute is critical to success. Larger companies typically have layers of management with points of contact for each particular department on a project. With smaller projects, the ability communicate clearly with clients and other stakeholders is paramount. The employee may be the single point of contact for some projects and may be responsible for all aspects of the project scope. I’m looking forward to such opportunities to grow while taking on increased responsibility.
I’m eager to start my next chapter in my career and can’t wait to further my career. Although I left a comfortable spot at my past company, I’m confident I’ll grow into my new role.