5 Major Differences between Industry and Academia Job

After all you can see easily how much I like being in academia and industry and do not like feeling stuck in both time to time. In previous posts, I always tried to mention my point of view on this. As being super close to both, I felt like this had to be said;

- Yes it is rude, however, in academia you are surrounded by co-workers who have similar academic level of education which makes it a little easier to communicate with them. However, in an industry job you could be working with an engineer who graduated 30 years ago and doesn't care about today's technology. This will definitely something to remember.

- In research your main goal is to develop something that hasn't been done/published before, however in industry it all comes down to cost. And guess what, repeated solutions are appreciated because they are cheap and fat.

- In industry it is very rare to be able to measure your success level in terms of numbers however, in academia scientists found many ways of measuring their outcomes in numbers.

- In an industry job, you have to have an outcome at the end of the day, in academia finding out a way doesn't work sometimes counts as an outcome.

- Repeating and mastering some habits are key to fast and reliable success in an industry job, in academia you constantly have to renew your skills depending on your project or trend.

4 Reasons why we need a side job?

As you know I am currently working as a structural engineer in a design firm. It is my full time job and I make a good enough salary. Besides this, I am conducting research as time allows. There are a few things I wish I could do on daily basis and sometimes it is not possible.

I describe a side job as an ending project that increases excitement. If it is boring and "I have to do it", it is more of an assigned job. A side project should add something to both your social and professional career in my opinion.

The idea of a side job might mean;

1. An extra earning

Why not earn a little extra cash and save it for summer vacation? Or even something smaller like a present for yourself. Yes, but buying yourself that go-pro you always wanted.

2. Useful hobby

If you describe a side project like me, it will eventually increase your creavity.

3. Time management

By doing a side job, you can find a better work-life balance to increase your productivity.

4. A back-up plan

You never know what happens in life. You may have saving and plan B or even C but once shit hits the fan, it at least psychologically takes some time. Once you have something you can rely on financially and as a habby, this will make the situation easier until you make a realistic plan and take action.

Even though currently my only financial income is through my full time job, I am trying to add something to myself everyday that I can start using as a side job.

2017 PCMA Best of Precast Concrete Awards

I like to check Linkedin on regular basis. Walter P Moore had an intresting content when I was looking through my home page. Before I read the title, I saw the picture attached, which was a picture of Kyle Field. In case you didn't know, it is located in College Station. Let me add the description here.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6374318535962873856/

Ofcourse, it is a big honor to receive such a price for the stadium I would see on daily basis. Another intresting point was, the precast designer team, Consulting Engineers Group was a company I worked for through my old employer. And another exciting point was, the Professional Engineer who worked on the project was supervising one of the projects I worked on, and  had chance to work with him.

Once again I congratulate anyone who got involved in this great project!  Let me share my picture in this amazing stadium once again and here is a youtube video. 

People do not quit companies, they quit bosses

"People do not quit companies, they quit bosses" is one of my favourite quotes since I started working in industry job last year. I have many things I can say on this topic. Recently, I came across an article by Oleg Vishnepolsky (yes, you should follow him if you like to have quality content on your Linkedin home page) and he explained my tens of reason in just 3 sentences. The article is called "how to treat your loyal employess determines your future" and you can access the article here.

1. They think everyone is replaceable like gloves.

2. They see best people as a threat to their own position. Insecurity is as bad as ignorance.

3. They are arrogant and look down on everyone else. No matter what you do is never enough.

I do not prefer to share my experience or my thoughts on this for now. 1 year of experience in same country might not be a very right judgement point to start with.

Designing 14 Story Precast Parking Garage

When I started in Feb 2017, I had some general knowledge from school and a bag full of dreams. Eventually it was worth going through the hard work. Even though because of external reasons I have to leave the company before the project was completed, I probably made great friends there.

I like being challenged and eventually become competitive in whatever I am doing. At my very first industry job, I got involved in a 14 story parking garage project. I was responsible for coordination, partial structural calculations and manufacturing ticket control.

I recently received a message from one of my co-workers about a link that directly takes me to the camera which is monitoring the construction 24/7 and daily photos are added. I am sharing the link here if you’d like to take a look at it.

Here are 5 things I learned from this project;

1. Precast

It was my first project working with precast concrete. I was involved in structural design, structural calculations, drawing coordination and ticket controlling and external communication phases.

2. Tall structure design

Most of the assumptions for low-rise and mid-rise structures cannot be used for a 14 story structure.

3. Internal and external communication

If you ask me what is most important factor for successful project, I would say it is communication. If you do not have solid proof of information you passed forward, you’ll end up being blamed. Timings on projects fail due to miscommunication.

4. Importance of codes

You have to use specific codes for every single line of calculation. My gain from this was learning to use PCI design and connection manual.

5. The confidence

After designing 14 story parking garage, I will never be afraid of any tall structure. Even though I couldn’t find a solid information, number of parking garages such high are very limited.

Why would be industry be VS academia

Even though I have been using the term industry vs academia in my daily life before blogging, lately I started thinking that I may be overlooking at something. Seriously, why would be industry be against academia? If there was no success in academia once upon a time (maybe it wasn't called academia or research and it was just essential for life) there would be no technology. Even today, almost every single successful research invention is converted into an industry business.

I graduated from my masters degree exactly a year ago and because of unexpected situations I went to an industry job. Not only I got the job because I had research experience, also the skills from academia helped me successfully complete my day to day tasks which most of the time included finding 1 sentence of information in a 500+ page codes.

For sometime now I am looking how the PhD hiring process is going in Europe. Speaking for civil engineering, I am very disappointed to see there are almost no fully-paid positions. This makes me think of 3 things:

1. Do we know everything we need to know?

I am not a professor or an expert but I can speak about a few very important gaps in civil engineering. In 21st century we should be putting more effort into development of technology than being satisfied with what we have.

2. Do we have too many PhDs that are unemployed?

PhDs who graduated sometime between 2000-2006 have good academic positions. Assuming someone gets their PhD at 30, this scholar might work in same institute for almost 30 years until retirement. So what is seriously happening to all PhDs that are graduating now?

3. Why does industry companies think PhDs are expensive?

This also includes the idea that PhDs are overqualified for industry jobs. Ofcourse someone straight out from bachelors will be a lot cheaper to hire if you are only looking into industry experience. However, a candidate with masters and PhD has developed many skills overtime that most of the industry worker will not be able to develop in 5-6 years.

So I am sitting here, having an industry job with the dream of getting into a PhD and applying all I know into civil industry.

Let me know what you think of such situation? Is it worth going to research based degrees? Or shall we just be satisfied with what we have?

10 Things to Avoid at Your Very First Job

10 THINGS TO AVOID AT YOUR VERY FIRST JOB

I manage to stay in my first industry job only 8 months. Don't get me wrong, I didn't get fired or had a very bad experience, instead I made all the mistakes below and my colleagues with no self-respect used each one of those against me. I quit my job for good, I learned very valuable practice lessons as well. I promised myself not to make the below mistakes. If you're getting ready for your first job, here are a few advise learned the hard way.

1. Don't be afraid to ask

The question can be as simple as "can you help me connect to the printer" or as something more complicated as "how can I access previous reports for such client". It doesn't feel good when you have to ask 10 questions a day to one specific person because you might feel like you're interrupting them, however, that is the only way you'll overcome those problems.

2. There is no such thing as it is a "false" because you are not experienced. Everyone was at that point once in time

I mentioned "I have no experience" every time I didn't know an answer to a specific question. A few months later when I was able to give right answers, colleagues working under my authority questioned it. The right answer for something you don't know could be "let me look it up to be sure" and if you need go speak about it with someone who can potentially answer or guide you to find an answer.

3. Feel free to speak with your manager / boss on positive and negative things

I was pretty unlucky on this one because my boss was my manager and my senior engineer. I had to be very careful what I tell him because I wasn't sure if the answer would come from my boss, manager or senior engineer. However, I do regret not letting him know how I feel.

4. If you're assigned a work that you cannot over come, try to take it as far as possible and let your senior know what knowledge you need to move forward

When I look back now, I know they were not expecting my to do everything that I eventually figured out how to do. I would stress myself over something that sometimes I didn't even think if I had all the data necessary to move forward. Best way to overcome this is by using previous projects, it can at least give you an idea of where to loop up.

5. Reflect your personality - directly

You're older than 21 years old by the time graduate from basic university degree. We all have positive and negative properties and no one will and no right to judge you over it. If you have that one skill that will move the project forward, don't wait and just take action. It might feel like it will look bad since you are there for a limited time but at the end of the day what matters is if the work is done.

6. Know exactly what they are expecting from you

Yes, you'll read the job description and have an overall idea of what they can expect from you. On the other side you might have to do things that are not directly related to your qualifications. This can be as simple as putting files from all departments together. Make sure to know as much as details as possible.

7. There will be longer days, don't let stress take over your life quality and your health

I am a daughter of a workaholic - who would work 24 hours straight if needed. One piece of advise from him was to work until your job for the day is done. One thing he never told me, maybe he doesn't know, was to know your limits. If you need to work late, of course do. But if you are working late because someone cannot do their job right make it very clear that it is not your job scope.

8. If you really need to take a few days off, don't wait until you are sick. Speak with whoever is in charge, there should be ways around it

This is not something I can do until I feel comfortable with the company and people around. However there are days you just don't want to leave the bed. Sometimes even a couple of hours off on a work day can help you re-fuel and feel a lot better. Make sure to let someone know.

9. Don't get into any agreement that will limit your freedom to leave the company

I always prefer unlimited time agreements. You never know what will bring. You may not like the company, job or simply the people around you. Or all of a sudden something great happens in your personal life and you have to leave the city or country for something better for you. It is also very common for a company to ask you to sign a contract because they paid for you business trip or funded your certification. At this point it is up to you to decide. Even though I didn't have to make a decision on such a topic I would probably prefer "to pay back for X work Y years or pay Z amount". It still limits the freedom up to some extend but still gives you a chance in case things don't work out.

10. Don't take it emotional - Almost no one retires from the company they first worked for

It is your very first job. I was so damn excited because this company invested time and money into me. My first few months I couldn't even think about I can quit this company because I believed they put so much faith me. Yes, they hired you because they thought your skills would help however, every single person in industry can be replaced. Don't think about this the bad way. If you're not happy or satisfied with the conditions you have the right to move on. Like you can find a new job, they can find a new employer.

Enjoy the city you lived in before you move out

I quit my very first job last month which one located in Istanbul. I've been to Istanbul a couple of times but you can never get enough of a modern metropol city with very old historical sites. Along with working in an international firm, this was one of the reasons that helped me to move out of my comfort zone.

I lived in this city 8 months. If you work 9am-7pm and getting from on place to another takes min 1hour (assuming it is holiday season so not students, no rain and if you're lucky of course) it can be challenging to leave the comfort of a couch on the weekend to adventure the city. Even though I stayed many weekends at home, I was lucky enough to have my mum and fiance over a couple of times with the excitement to visit all those historical places. Luckily, I had chance to visit every single place twice before I left.

After resigning I took an 4 complete days to pack-up and visit all those places I haven't had time to visit. My mum was kind enough to join me.  My point of this post is, you never know when you'll be back to same city again and no one knows if you'll have the time and money to do what you missed out. My advise would be to enjoy it as much as possible while you are there like a local until that place is a nice memory for you.

Below are a few pictures of beautiful Istanbul, until we meet again.

Leave good from your job

I've been working in my first industry job after my masters for 8 months. I was earning a lot more than an entry level engineer due to my masters from United States and my fluent English. I had to relocate to Istanbul which wasn't a problem for me at all! I always wanted live there since it is one of the adventures to try in my opinion. Relocating meant renting a place and increase in expenses. Those of you living in big cities know that socializing actually means kind of breaking the bank account spending a few hours on the traffic.Long story short, I was excited to start in Istanbul in a firm that works for Texas (where I studies the past 2 years).

After 2 months of training period I decided that I could work in this company at least a year and get some hands on experience. Another reason to stay there min a year was to show consistency on my resume. While I have all this big plans, life kept on happening and I was no longer satisfied with my job. The time I spent there and the quality I tried to bring to the company was not appreciated by my co-workers, boss or paycheck. I guess being a new graduate gives you the hope of changing everything for great but when it comes to reality it doesn't work out.

On my 7th month, I was very clear that time I spend at that company to get my paycheck was no longer worth it. I didn't want to waste my time or occupy a seat someone else might really be interested in. I was working in a small firm and I wasn't very sure how to quit. That one day I went up to my boss telling him a few things which lead me to quit the job. I had all my big words planned but my voice trilling when I was looking at his eyes. Thankfully the conversation went a lot better than I would even expect it to be. My boss said I could always come back and start were I left off and he made sure to mention it very clearly that we will meet again in future. and he can always be a reference for me. What else could I expect? He is one of the leads in Precast industry in Turkey. Keeping the doors and leaving in peace did help me get through leaving the job part easy for me. Lesson learned: No matter what your reason/ excuse is try to turn it into an opportunity, you never know when you'll have to face those people/ conditions again.

What kind of engineer you shouldn't be

https://www.acfe.com/ethics-and-compliance.aspx

I have been in industrial full time job for the past 8 months. I may not be the right person to speak about this topic, but one thing I have realized is when you smell shit, walk away as soon as you before get used to the smell. None of us are robots who work 8-9 hours a day without any mental crush down or any interruption. Most of us have to work full time for a living and a very few of us work for the enjoyment of working. Whatever your case is please do not do the things listed below for the ethics of work.

1. Do not pretend like you know everything - None of us do, it is pointless to show your knowledge "just" in front of your boss. He may be paying your salary but you will get fired first when shit hits the fan.
2. Do not recommend your friends to your boss - If you want peace and success at work the worse thing you can do is hire your "friends". Your work place is not your backyard.
3. Do not waste others time by giving wrong information just because you don't know and you want to look professional.
4. Do not spend 30-60 minutes on your make up, gossip or on the phone. 
5. If you don't like your job, boss, the project or the environment - leave and do not waste anyone else's money and time.
6. If you do not know how to calculate a volume of a cubic member just change your field - Just because you had 4 years of engineering education doesn't mean you have to have a career.
7. Do not stay late just for the extra money or the food.
8. If you start doing bad work, speak with your boss for a week off or leave. You never know what life brings and you don't want to leave a bad reputation.
9. Last but not least, do not ever gossip about your boss. Would you shit on the plate you are eating from?

These are some reasons that caused me to resign from my current job. Don't get me wrong, I did give it time and tried to fix things there are just things you cannot control. Eventually I realized that this is my life and wasting an extra month here could lead to loss of a great opportunity in my career. Let me know if there are other factors that an engineer shouldn't have that you had to learn the hard way.