Professional Interview

The following is my review and reaction to an interview that I had with a professional in my field. This was an assignment for my technical communication class.

I interviewed Eugene Shawcroft, Assistant General Manager of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District. He was also my mission president for 2 years in Brazil, so I will refer to him in this text as President Shawcroft. His job now includes a lot of office work and administration. The majority of what he does is coordination with consultants and engineers in his office. He oversees various water projects from more of an administration standpoint as opposed to detail work. He deals with water-rights issues, bonding, finances, and budgets. He is also in charge of asset management where he helps determine the maximum economic life of certain facilities.

Previously President Shawcroft has worked for 6 years at the Division of Water Resources for the State of Utah as a project manager. There he had the opportunity to manage many important projects such as dam and reservoir design and pressure irrigation systems.

I really appreciated the advice President Shawcroft gave me as I am just beginning my career as an engineer. It is important to get a good education as well as good work experience. The reason for this is that in school a lot of theory is learned, but in the actual work force that theory must be combined with other variables such as timing, expense, and social factors. Not everyone thinks like an engineer and in the professional field I will be working with a lot of people from other disciplines such as attorneys, environmentalists, biologists etc. as well as clients, owners, and the public.

According to President Shawcroft, the most valuable thing I can do right now is to stay in school and pursue a Master’s degree. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is getting to the point where they will require a Master’s degree in order to become a licensed engineer. Although I could probably learn what I need to on the job, I will be behind other new engineers because I will not have received that extra technical training. With that training I will be able to advance and progress more quickly.

President Shawcroft also suggested that I don’t focus so much on one area that I don’t see what else is out there. I should also look into taking classes that deal with financing, administration, economics, and accounting. Also, Geotechnical Engineering classes and GIS (Global Information Systems) classes will help regardless of what engineering focus I pursue.

This was very informative. I plan on looking into what I need to do to continue my education in the Master’s program as well as looking for opportunities to acquire administrative skills. I will also allow for variety in my coursework so as to be able to see which areas of Civil Engineering interest me most as well as to be able to have a better communicate and interact more proficiently within my profession.