Day 9: Site & Facilities/Land Development/Wireless Telecom/Landscape Architecture

Today I am back to interviewing in the Sparks office. I have a busy schedule and a lot of different people to meet!

 It's hard to keep focused though because this weekend I got ENGAGED! What an exciting summer this has been! 

This externship has meant so much to me because I get to show my students what careers are out there but also because I get to a little taste of what my Dad does in Construction Project Management, my uncle does in Civil Engineering, and what my fiancé does in Mechanical Engineering, which I will be learning more about later in the week. 

Below is a picture of me and my fiancé after the proposal on Saturday- we are so excited!!

Back to my externship and an exciting day of meeting more amazing KCI leaders...

Counselor Connections

• Land Surveyors map out the boundary lines for a construction project and make sure things are being constructed in the right locations.
• Surveying is an entry level job and you don't need a college degree to get into it- it's all about getting the experience.
• Surveying involves a lot of technology, including drones, 3D laser scanners, and robotic equipment, so if you like technology, you might like this job!
• Historians are also important when surveying to preserve the land and artifacts found. Historians and Archeologists are other careers that may interest students who like the Social Sciences in addition to Engineering!
• Civil Engineers essentially do everything outside a building, and Mechanical Engineers do everything inside a building.
• Structual Engineers are like the skeleton of a body, Architects are like the face, ears, and eyes of a body, and Mechanical Engineers are like the organs and guts of the body.
• Wireless Telecom is another booming industry and many positions, including drafters and designers, do not require a college degree!
  
• Landscape Architecture is another great career to go into, which combines math, science, nature, and art! If you are a creative person, you may like this industry! You do need a college degree!
• Getting a Professional Engineering (PE) license will give you a lot more opportunities. You don't have to go to college to get a PE, but you do need to have 12 years of experience and must pass 2 tests.
• Engineers put together instructions, just like you get from IKEA when you build IKEA furniture!

Meeting with Chuck Phillips, Site Market Leader
Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from University of Maryland
MBA from Johns Hopkins University

39 years at KCI

Chuck is a great person to start the day with! He is the most tenured employee with 39 years at KCI! He also started his education at CCBC but ended up going to get a Bachelor's and an MBA and is now one of the top leaders in the company. Chuck is also very involved in the community and a part of numerous boards and committees. I am now transitioning into the site and facilities part of KCI. Basically this involves everything from the building itself to the parking lots, landscaping, roads, and sidewalks arond the building. This everything outside of the transportation sector, although sometimes they do interact and overlap. For example, there was a facility at the Nice Bridge that KCI worked on. While transportation mainly works in the public sector, site and facilities mainly work in the private sector. They work with commerical development and office buildings. Some of their big clients are Amazon, Dollar Tree, and Royal Farms. Amazon has gotten to be an ever bigger client as they have grown throughout the pandemic, which I found interesting.

Chuck spoke with me about land surveying, which I know I will learn more of when I go on a field visit tomorrow. Surveyors map out the boundary lines for a project and make sure things are being constructed in the right locations. Without surveyors, the job could not even begin! There is also a lot involved with researching old land records and deeds. He says it's like putting a jigsaw puzzle together! Overall, a large number of KCI employees are surveyors. Furthermore, surveying is an entry-level position that students can do right out of high school and they can be trained on the job through mentoring and learning how to work with the tools. Interestingly, surveying has become a lot more technology-driven over the years with drones, 3D laser scanners, and other robotics instruments. So if you like technology, you may like surveying! However, there is still a lot of manual labor, such as cutting through the woods to open up the lines, and climbing up to the top of buildings to take measurements and mark limits. 

In addition to land surveying, site and facilities includes land development, wireless telecom, mechanical engineering, fire protection, landscape architecture, and building structures. I have so much more to learn!

How would you describe your job to a high school student in a few sentences?

“I am the face of our business out in the community." I need to be visible to other contractors and businesses in order to be successful. 

What advice do you have for a high school student?

“Continue to get an education." Learn daily because if you stop it's hard to keep going.

Meeting with Nick Barrick, Regional Practice Leader, Land Development
Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland
18 years at KCI

Next I meet with Nick, who is a young guy but he has been at KCI for a long time-ever since he interned in college! Nick explains that land development involves creating a layout for a construction project. They interface with everyone in the company from surveyors to environmental groups, and geotechnicians who work with soil. They work with power/utilities and even historians and archeologists. Interestingly, KCI used to have historians on their team! I also found it interesting that Nick said that they often communicate with Indian tribes in terms of preserving ritual grounds and arrowheads and sometimes have to work with archeologists. How neat! Even people interested in history and culture can get involved in this career! 

Nick says that once land development plans are created, sites are vetted, and the work is sent to the architect, who designs the building itself. Often the work is design-bid-build, while other work is design-build, in which the work is done directly with the contractors (although this is becoming more popular). The most important thing is that permits need to be obtained before construction begins. I hear about permits a lot in this industry! The land developers will help to coordinate the project from start to finish as the contractors build. Nick says they inteface with the public a lot and they often have to attend meetings to communicate with citizens about potential projects and to answer any questions and listen to any concerns of the community. Nick says that the best way to start in land development is as a surveyor.

I also appreciate Nick explaining to me the difference between Civil Engineers and Mechanical Engineers. Nick said Civil Engineers essentially do anything outside of the building. He said they "play in the dirt." There are many subsets of Civil Engineering: Geotechnical, Structural (bridges and buildings), Transportation, Project Management, and Construction Management. Mechanical Engineers, on the other hand, are anything on the intererior of a building- including electrical, HVAC, plumbing, etc. Nick did a great answering my many questions I had and I appreciate the time he took with me today!

I was unable to meet with Gus Truedson, Practice Leader of Wireless Telecom, so Nick gave me a brief overview of his practice. Who knew that KCI worked with wireless networks too! Nick talked about how 10 years ago we were building towers (macro) everywhere with the growth of cell phones. Now that towers have been built, now the focus is on 4G and 5G service (micro) in order to speed up our cell service and allow for more bandwidth for data streaming. These micro projects are much smaller and can take hours to days to complete but there are many of them to do. To put in in perspective, 5G may only cover up to 2 city blocks. The denser the population, the more you need. I was surprised to hear that designers and drafters are needed in the cell service industry and these are entry-level jobs. Also, the process, including permitting, for wireless telecommunication is the same as land development. It's like a whole different world but the process is the same! I hope to learn more about this when I learn about Communications Infrastructure next week.

I also enjoyed listening to Nick talk about some of the really exciting projects they are working on. One of them is building sites and facilities for medicinal marijuana plants in Colorado. Some other projects include race car tracks, Starbucks, residential facilites, schools, police stations, fire stations, outdoor firearm facilities, and beautifying towns and cities. Nick said Project Engineers typically have 10 projects at any one time and each build from start to finish usually takes 2 to 3 years. Pretty cool that they get to see it from start to finish!

How would you describe your job to a high school student in a few sentences?

“We do it all!" You look outside of a building and everything from the grading to the roads to the landscape is what we do.

What advice do you have for a high school student?

“Get an internship. Say yes to the job even if it's not your ultimate job." Get your foot in the door. Everything you learn is applicable. Your first 2 to 3 years you are are going to be learning."

Meeting with Phil Beardsley, Senior Project Engineer, Structural
Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech
15 years at KCI

I got the opportunity to meet briefly with Phil. Phil seems like a very intellectual guy with a lot of experience. Phil deals with anything structurally. One role he has is to observe existing conditions and structural damage before the client makes the purchase. He makes sure a structure is safe to move into and he makes the client aware of the cost to renovate and repair it.

Phil explained his job using the best metaphor- a human body. He said that Structural Engineers work on the skelton- walls, columns, foundation, roof. Architects work on the skin, eyes, ears- all the aesthetically pleasing parts. Mechanical Engineers/Electrical/Plumbing work on the organs and guts. What a perfect way to look at it! And without all of these parts, a building/structure/and surrounding area wouln't work properly just like a human body wouldn't work properly. They are all important and must work together!

How would you describe your job to a high school student in a few sentences?

"I am like the skeleton of the body."

What advice do you have for a high school student?

"Always keep learning." It might seem boring at first but there's a world of creativity and excitement out there. Open up your world with education. Don't be complacent. There is so much information out there to learn and explore

Meeting with Rick Hoehn, Practice Leader, Planning/Landscape Architecture
Bachelor's Degree in Landscape Architecture from University of Wisconsin
3 years at KCI

After I grab some lunch, I meet with Rick in a Conference Room where he has his laptop set up to project some images and videos on the big screen. Rick is on the creative side of things at KCI and he will be showing me the work he has done and is in the process of doing. Rick was the owner of a 3 person landscape architecture company which was acquired by KCI in 2019. Rick said he chose to join KCI for more opportunities, which I came to find there are many! I always thought landscaping was just plants and trees but it's actually so much more than that! Landscaping also involves placement of buildings, hardscapes, and amenities. Basically all of the fancy design work which surrounds buildings and other structures! Meanwhile, architects design the exterior and interior of a building. Once all of the architectual designs are done, the civil and mechanical engineers design the actual structural elements, pipes, sewers, stormwater drainage, etc.- everything that makes the project functional and come to life!

Rick showed me a bunch of projects that he has designed that I was familiar with, including the Hunt Valley Town Centre and the University Village at Towson University, which is where I lived during my Senior year of college! So cool to know that he designed one of the places I have lived! The 3D images that Rick showed me were phenomenal. It really reminds me of the computer game, "The Sims," that I would play as a kid, where you could build your own houses and communities- except there is actually a career you can make out of it! He even showed me some sketches that his colleague, Lisa, had done by hand. She is so incredibly talented!

Rick talked about some mining projects he has been involved in which involves repurposing quarries and sandmines to create livable communities. One of which is right down the road- Quarry Lake at Greenspring. This was a 12 year project but once it came to life it looked beautiful!  Through some connections, Rick was recently contacted to create designs for a mining project in North Andros Island in the Bahamas! How cool! He showed me a video that he and the KCI marketing team had created to showcase what the community would look like and how it would allow the local people to have ownership in the project. It would also provide jobs, housing, and sustainability. If this comes to life, I think it would be so neat to see it in person. It looks like a dream!

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with Rick and I appreciated him taking the time to show me so many different designs and projects he has worked on. This is a very unique area of KCI that I found very interesting and I know my students would find interesting as well. If you like math, science, math, and art, architecture may be the career for you!

How would you describe your job to a high school student in a few sentences?

"I create visions for new developments and new construction projects."

What advice do you have for a high school student?

"Follow your dreams and work hard." Nothing comes easy. If you want to be good at something, you have to work hard.

Meeting with Brian Collins, Senior Project Planner
Bachelor's Degree in Landscape Architecture from Penn State University

5 years at KCI

Next I meet with Brian, who also has a degree in landscape architecture. Brian, however, works more with the engineers to excecute the vision. He actually gets to follow as the project is being built. Brian's team includes Engineers-in-Training, Engineers, and Designers. Brian was the first person to show me a whole bunch of construction plans on what I want to call his "planning desk." It's incredible how many different layers there are to the plans- from site plans, to grade plans, to stormwater, and landscape plans...it's a lot! Brian said that contractors will look at these as they are doing the project to make sure everything is placed correctly. He said sometimes spec books will be created as well. As I've mentioned before, a lot of this work involves processing code and obtaining permits before construction begins. Therefore, a lot of the work is done at the beginning but they do follow it through to the end.

I saw on the plans that there is a stamp/seal and signature on each one of them by a Professional Engineer. He explains that each plan has to be approved by a Professional Engineer (PE). That is why it is so important for engineers in their field to work toward getting a PE license. In fact, you techinically can't be called a PE until you get your license so that is why employees right out of college are called Engineers-in-Training. 

Here is what I have gathered are the requirements for getting your PE:

-must have a 4-year degree from an accredited university and 4 years of work experience (or 8 years of work experience if not from an accredited university)

OR

-must have 12 years of approved experience 

AND

-must pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam AND the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Exam

There seems to be so many more opportunities if you can get your PE and I can see by the certificates in all of the PE's offices, how big of an accomplishment it is to get it! Also, how cool that even if you don't have a 4-year degree, if you have 12 years of experience in the field, you can still get your PE. So essentially, you could start in an entry-level position right out of high school as an inspector, surveyor, or designer and work your way up to eventually become a Professional Engineer without even going to college!

How would you describe your job to a high school student in a few sentences?

"As a group, we design and prepare plans for contractors to build. My role is to oversee the land developing group."

What advice do you have for a high school student?

"If you're interested in engineering or architecture, get involved in technical drawing or CADD classes." The biggest deficiency I see is with 3D grading. The sooner you can understand who that works, the better.

Meeting with Mehmet Boz, Texas Market Leader & Water Discipline Manager
Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from the Air Force Academy

Master's Degree in Civil Engineering from Norwich University

Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Mississippi State University
MBA from Loyola University Maryland

7.5 years at KCI

I'm so glad my last meeting today was with Mehmet. I was supposed to meet with Mehmet last week when we were talking about water but we had to reschedule. Mehmet is a busy guy but I was so excited to meet him because I keep hearing his name! I enjoyed hearing about Mehmet's life story and what got him here today to KCI. One of the more interesting facts I learned is that Mehmet is from Turkey and came to the U.S. for an exchange program at the Air Force Academy. Very neat! Mehmet decided to stay in the U.S. and pursue his passion in Civil Engineering. I am so impressed by Mehmet's resume and all of his education he has earned. Mehmet is the first KCI employee with their Ph.D. that I have met! I want to call him Dr. Boz! 

Mehmet was such a pleasure to talk with. He really tries to put what he does in to words that are easy for me to understand. He said that he explains to his young kids that what he does is help you to get clean water in the tap and help you get rid of waste from your toilet. Mehmet said that he talks to kids in schools about his work and I can see how great he would be with this and I think it would be awesome to have him talk with our students at Dundalk!

Mehmet also had 2 great analogies that he shared with me. His first analogy is that what he does is put together instructions like you get from IKEA when you are buidling IKEA furniture, except this is for building bridges, roads, etc.  Mehmet's second analogy was to think of the city as a living thing. When something breaks, they call a civil engineer to figure it out.

Mehmet lived in Texas when he started with KCI and he helped open the San Antonio office there. Now KCI business is booming in Texas and he serves as the Texas Market Leader, which includes many disciplines in addition to water, including utilities, surveying, transportation, and land development. Mehmet is an important guy and such an asset to KCI! I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to meet with him.

How would you describe your job to a high school student in a few sentences?

"Engineers solve problems and as a civil engineer focused on water, I solve water problems- both with clean water and wastewater. "

What advice do you have for a high school student?

"You might feel like high school is never going to end but there is more to life after high school. Put your mind to it and you can do it!"

Wow- this might have been my busiest day yet interviewing KCI employees! So many smart and interesting people I have had the pleasure to meet.

I am excited to spend the day in the field tomorrow learning more about surveying!