Have you ever wondered how you managed to get were you are now? I for one can honestly say you never know where you will end up. I graduated with an engineering degree summer of 2007. I thought having a college degree was supposed put you a little higher on the career chain, and keep you from having to do the dirty work. I’ve only found that to be only a myth to behold.
Growing up I remember being lectured to get that college degree. “Get that college degree and you won’t be doing the dirty work.” I was told. I managed to get a start in the engineering world dealing with solid waste. The last thing I thought I would ever be doing with a college degree was working at the “dump”. The first thing I learned in my first career was these places are not called dumps they are landfills. “The landfill owners get pretty upset when they are called dumps.” Now don’t get me wrong about landfills. I’m actually finding them to be a very interesting process and I’m getting good experiece in the engineering world from them. I’ve learned that these sites are a geotechnical engineers dream.
The experience I’m getting from the geotechnical side of the landfill design process is very extensive. “It beat watching piles being driven”. I love going on the hunt for clay. Its like hunting for gold. Going into places that haven’t been developed and getting your company truck nice and muddy is a highlight of the day. I look at it like I’m a kid in a “ginormous” sandbox.
My latest adventure though has taken me to the dirty side of the landfill. Were the waste is. Thats right all the stuff you put in the trash, I had to see. So make sure your skid mark stained underwear doen’t have your name on it. I’m talking to you David Mathews whoever you are. Back to why I had to get in the waste. My firm is doing some testing on the waste material to check the stability of the waste itself. After loosing a coin toss I was the chosen one to go out and sample the waste. It was a dirty job and I smelled it for a day or two after. If you ever worked in a restuarant and walked into the freezer after your buddy just came out with a smile on his face you know what I’m talking about.
Here are some pictures of my exciting day.
0 Responses to “How did I get here???”