<p>I'm a rising senior civil engineering major interning at a construction firm this summer. This is my first construction engineering internship and I feel like an idiot. There is definitely a discrepancy between what I learned in school and what is going on in the real world. I'm given projects to work that include things from doing design to formulating cost estimates and I seem to get a lot of things wrong and have to run to my supervisor for help. I have trouble even reading drawings of buildings because there is so much information and sometimes I don't even know what I'm looking at. There are hundreds of drawings in one packet and there are so many symbols and everything. In school, the drawings are so simple to read. </p>
<p>Is this stuff that every intern goes through or am I just really stupid? I have a 3.3 GPA so I'm not that bright but I'm supposedly not that stupid. I have gotten all A's and B's in my civil engineering classes, it's just that working makes me think that my GPA is just a random fluke now and I'm not cut out for engineering at all. I feel really depressed and anxious everyday that I'm going to get fired for being an idiot and the managers are going to regret hiring me. What can I do to get better?</p>
<p>Don’t beat yourself up. You posted a thread not too long ago asking for advice and I replied to it saying you’re not expected to know everything. Don’t forget that! I’ve been out of school for over 3 years now and am still learning new things everyday on the job.</p>
<p>Any decent company, especially in the construction field, plans on training new employees; everyone knows that engineering school is quite different than working on a construction project. Don’t get so anxious and worried that you don’t know as much as your colleagues who have been doing this years or even decades. </p>
<p>They’re not going to fire you. Remember the other thing I said in my earlier post - a good work ethic will be noticed and will pay off at the end. Don’t give up on anything; show them you’re willing to learn and do what it takes to get the job done.</p>
<p>Relax. Breathe. Save the stress for next semesters finals.</p>
<p>Don’t come in late. There are few things that give off a worse impression than coming in late. Some industries tolerate it more, but based on my experience, construction is not one of them. Conversely, don’t rush at the end of the day to be the first one out the door.</p>
<p>Don’t be a know-it-all. Companies hire interns with the expectation that they have to spend time training them. If you don’t know something, don’t be afraid to ask. At the same time, don’t be too clingy. Try to bunch your questions together so you don’t interrupt him or her every five minutes. Also, it’s not the end of the world if you make a mistake; just be sure to learn from it and don’t repeat it.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if this applies to you or not, but if asked to take on an assignment with bad hours, try to take it unless you absolutely can’t. When I worked in transportation engineering, there were frequently field assignments at all times of the day (or rather night) and I almost always took them. Managers don’t overlook things like that. There was also a summer when we were working on a project that required numerous hours of OT daily. I always stayed untl the end with the project managers and engineers. There was another intern who never stayed. Guess who wasn’t asked to stay on as a full-time employee.</p>
<p>What kind of things is your company asking you to design? Perhaps some of the structural engineers here can comment, but I thought designs done by interns are usually pretty repetitive and don’t require much innovation.</p>
<p>In order to do cost estimates, it’s important to understand the drawings first. I know I was overwhelmed when I first worked in construction. There were a thousand pages of contract drawings, 2 huge racks of shop drawings, and a set of specifications heavy enough to hurt someone if dropped on them. Don’t even attempt to try to understand all of it in one sitting. Take it one drawing at a time. There’s typically a sheet towards the front that explains the symbols used in the drawings. If you see a symbol that’s not there, then it’s probably because it’s one that’s common across the industry.</p>
<p>Another thing you should know about cost estimates is that different companies probably have different standards. Some require more details than others. </p>
<p>By the way, I couldn’t help but notice you used the word “supervisor” instead of “mentor.” I’m not sure if I’m reading too much into this, but you should see him or her as someone who is willing to help you. Companies take on interns not because they plan on making huge profits off of them; rather, they are training their future full-time employees.</p>
<p>Coolio, what you are feeling is very normal and typical! I felt exactly the same way when I started working, even though I had a master’s degree! I asked an older engineer how long it took until he felt like he knew what he was doing. He thought about it seriously, and said, “Oh, about five years.”</p>
<p>I think most engineers remember well what it’s like to be in your shoes. Ken285’s post is excellent - I think you should print it out and tape it to your wall!</p>
<p>Ha, I’m kind of in the same boat myself right now. I take on drafting/designing jobs because I enjoy them, usually. This time, though, I’m using Revit, a BIM program. I did one job with it about three years ago, and now a local company is contracting with me to help them all summer on a big project. Good grief, I’m bad at it! It’s like playing a complicated video game and not knowing any of the rules or cheats. Two days ago, I almost moved the entire project by half an inch! I clicked on a random-looking line and moved it, but it turns out it was an important reference line. Oops. People would have been pretty upset with me. I also managed to delete a couple of columns, and it took me ages to get just a few channel girts inserted correctly.</p>
<p>BUT I’m working as hard as I possibly can, and on Thursday I worked from 7 am to 10 pm, with an hour off for lunch and 30 minutes for supper. I can’t believe it, but the company is happy enough with me that they’re talking about hiring me full-time.</p>
<p>My heart goes out to you, Coolio! YOU’RE NORMAL!! Please hang in there. You’re fortunate to be getting this experience while you’re still in school and people will cut you more slack.</p>
<p>Actually, I don’t only remember what it’s like to be in your shoes… I’m still living it! I’m always learning new things, because there’s always something you don’t know. Civil engineering / construction is such an enormous field; you can’t expect to know everything by the time you get your degree, never mind while you’re still only half way through your major.</p>
<p>I actually came across this website that’s kind of like a wikipedia for engineering, with the main differences being its editors are screened beforehand and it’s goal is simplification of engineering topics. The first thing I thought of was this thread. I’m going to be writing about construction-related items, so if there’s anything in particular you’re confused about, I’d be happy to try to explain it, if I’m familiar with it.</p>
<p>Thanks ken285 and mainelonghorn. I mean everyday my boss throws something new at me that I never really encountered at school. My only other engineering job never dealt with construction stuff. Like right now my boss wants me to design a project using AutoCad. I never used AutoCad until this internship. Ironically, we were never taught it in school. I’m just sort of expected to start using it but I have to spend time getting acquainted with it so there’s a steep learning curve. It makes me get nervous really fast. What did you guys do when you encountered something you didn’t know about? How did you handle it?</p>
<p>I feel the exact way sometimes at my internship with a medical institution. I’m doing hardware work as a EE major. I think the best way to not get over the nervousness is even though you might look stupid, ask questions any time you do not understand anything. Hopefully the boss is receptive to those questions.</p>
<p>Wow, that’s a lot to throw at you, if you haven’t used AutoCAD before. Have you found any good online tutorials? I taught myself in th days before the internet, but it took a couple of years before I was competent with it. Is there someone else at your job who can help you with it?</p>
<p>I just always ask tons of questions. I do try to group them so I’m not bugging somebody every five minutes. Just keep reminding yourself that you’re an INTERN! You’re supposed to be learning.</p>
<p>It reminds me of when my middle son came to me when he was five and said, “Mom, I’m scared to go to school! I don’t know how to read!” We assured him he would do fine!</p>
<p>Yeah, cost estimates. but i finished those. im really, really depressed though. i was supposed to take GPS coordinates of a certain site but i screwed up doing them and the technician got really ****ed off at me. i feel like a total failure. i think im going to get fired. i feel like dying. im so hopeless i feel like i can never do another assignment every again. i just want to cry. have any of you ever been in a situation like this?</p>
<p>Yes, repeatedly! You just have to brush yourself off and try again. I got chewed out more than once, when I was trying my hardest. Technicians tend to be the harshest critics - they’re usually good at what they do even though not as “educated,” and they know the young engineers are “dumber” and make a higher starting salary. One draftsman (in the days before AutoCAD!) used to give me grief regularly, and it was NOT good natured. I swear, I thought I was going to be let go any day. I was quite surprised when ANOTHER engineer, older than I, was laid off!</p>
<p>I wish I could make you believe that what you’re feeling is not unusual. Hang in there!!</p>
<p>I don’t know how to take GPS coordinates of a site. Actually, I don’t know anything about GPS, so I’m sure I would’ve done a lot worse. Did you figure out what you did wrong? Are you going to repeat that mistake again? That is what’s most important.</p>
<p>I’ve been in plenty of situations like that and I’m sure I’ll be in a lot more throughout my career. And you know what? The same goes for you. That won’t be the last time you make a mistake or **** someone off. Just learn how to bounce back from it. Personally, when I’ve been in situations like that, I take my mind off of anything work-related as soon as I’m done for the day. I don’t think about, I don’t wonder what I could have done better; essentially, until I get back to work the next day, I pretend it never happened. That’s for my own health and sanity so I don’t stress 24/7 over it.</p>
<p>Good advice from ken285. I just realized I already blocked out something that happened yesterday. I was asked to look at the Revit model of the hospital complex I’ve been helping to draw. I was supposed to figure out the geometry of the facade in plan view so that the foundation aligned with it properly. My heart dropped when I started looking at different sections. It was just a mass of lines. I could tell it made sense to the other CAD technicians, but they’ve been working on this for months, and yesterday was the first time I looked at this particular building. </p>
<p>So I took a deep breath and tried to formulate some intelligent questions for the lead engineer. When I showed him different sections, he said things like, “Hmm, I’m not sure what they’re doing there…” and “Oh, well, they’re showing the studs being 1’-2” from the column centerline in this location, but they’re actually 1’-1" - I’m not sure why it’s not showing up on the model…" Ack! The GOOD thing about getting older is that I speak my mind. I said, “I think it makes more sense for one of the other guys to figure out the perimeter since they’re more familiar with it. Why don’t I work on all the spread footings and pile caps that need to be inserted into the model?” I may have “lost some points” for abdicating the job, but I knew I would be spinning my wheels all day, wasting their money and my time. Instead, I got a LOT done and went home happy.</p>
<p>Be sure to ask questions if you don’t understand an assignment. If they ask, “So do you understand what you need to do?” answer honestly. Take notes if you need to. If someone gets annoyed, don’t take it personally. They may be having a crappy day and are taking it out on you. It’s all part of working in a stressful environment.</p>
<p>"I never used AutoCad until this internship. Ironically, we were never taught it in school. "</p>
<p>YIKES! Most school have their civil engineers spend hours on AutoCad drafting group projects. I don’t think your stupid…to be honest with you, your school did not do a good job of training you for a position as civil engineer. </p>
<p>1)You just have to learn it on your own…AutoCad is fairly easy and will come to you with more practice. Get the book AutoCad for dummies and a version of the software from your company or school for pratice.</p>
<p>2)Ask questions rather than produce inaccurate documents. I strongly advice you find a mentor (someone you have a connection with) within the company that will help you. This does not have to be your supervisor…in fact the younger the person the better (supervisors tend to be busy). He or she can give you a crash course on AutoCad and the GPS thing you mentioned. You just have to play it nice with everybody and come clean with them. Let the technicians know you’re new to this and ask for help. In my experience they are willing to go the extra mile if they like you. </p>
<p>You cannot get depressed because you will have to learn these things as a civil engineer. It is unfortunate your school did not do a good job but look at the bright side. You found the problem early. STOP BEING ANXIOUS !! This rough patch is not gonna kill you. It will only make you better.</p>
<p>You remind me of me exactly ONE year ago. I was also doing CM-work (abroad) and hated the stacks of complex drawings and legal documentation and the endless phone hours that I observed my superiors going through.</p>
<p>I was so distressed that I googled it myself - apparently, internships with construction management are notorious for being pointless, as they don’t have you do anything serious, etc… so, that boosted my mood a lil. Although since I still had 1 year left, I managed to switch to Environmental So in fact reading your topic made me feel a lil better about my experience too.</p>
<p>If you don’t have a chance to switch out of CM, if I were you I’d make sure to work in a region where managers are NOT stressed out. I was in Dubai/Muscat and they looked like they were having the time of their lives - USA, seems a lil more stressful.</p>
<p>If you can’t handle stress, CM is not for you. There’s so much money on the line, with some projects being on the order of billions of dollars being managed by a few dozen people. It’s a lot of responsibility and something one person does can significantly impact the schedule and/or cost, whether good or bad.</p>
<p>Construction is not for everybody. If you’re easily frazzled, overly sensitive, or can’t work under pressure with constant scrutiny, it may not be the best field for you to enter. I thrive off of pressure and stress; I like it when the adrenaline’s running through my veins, working on tight deadlines, etc. The payoff is at the end when you accomplish something significant; I think it’s one of the best feelings in the world.</p>
<p>EDIT: This is my point of view, which is limited to my experiences as a construction superintendent in NYC. As Cyrone noted, it may be different in other part of the world (or even other parts of the country?). Also note I’m not very familiar with the construction engineering environment and there’s a good chance this doesn’t apply.</p>
<p>Did you guys ever make mistakes while at your internship/jobs? Was it a big mistake where you would have to do an assignment/project over again? What happened? Were you punished?</p>
<p>ken, I think NYC is in its own class for stress! My husband did the precast concrete design for a building in Yonkers. What a nightmare! He hopes he never gets another job there again!</p>
<p>Construction IS high pressure, though. You have to realize that you WILL make mistakes. There are just so many details to handle.</p>
<p>When I’ve made mistakes, my supervisors have talked to me about it but not come down too hard. My worst mistake happened when I detailed a huge precast concrete segment for a bridge wrong. In plan view, it had a skewed end. I was supposed to draw the view looking at the BOTTOM, because that’s what the carpenters needed to build the form. I knew that and had done it many times before. Well, this time I forgot, because I drew the top view. My supervisor checked my work but didn’t catch the error. No one noticed until they were trying to place the piece in the field and it wouldn’t fit. It ended up costing the fabricator $10,000 or so to remake the piece. He was not a happy camper, but he didn’t ask my boss to pay for my mistake.</p>
<p>I thought the mistake was in my past, but then at a later job, a friend told me that a guy in the plant was telling people about the terrible error I’d made! Somehow, I survived and am still working today. </p>
<p>My favorite boss was a guy who would say, “Don’t worry about your mistake! Let me tell you about some of the doozies I’ve made!” and then describe them in great detail.</p>
So in fact reading your topic made me feel a lil better about my experience too.</p>