Two Tips for New Professional Engineers

It's PE season so, first I want to congratulate all the Professionals who recently received their licenses.

One day you’ll put your first stamp on a set of engineering drawings. Then, the stress will kick in.

Taking full responsibility for an engineering design is a big deal. Let me give you two quick tips on how to approach this very serious task of being an Engineer of Record.

1. Don’t feel pressure to sign and seal. Consultants take on financial and reputational risk of a project. But, never forget your real duty is to the public good.
2. Manage risk by managing your exposure. No matter how good an engineer is, mistakes will happen. Probability of error increases with n. The more designs you take responsibility for, the more exposed you are. Therefore, managing risk is managing exposure.

The world needs engineers. Our work seems to be the last bastion of growth. Much of the future economic development in this Country will be dependent on better infrastructure development.