Day 14: More Communications Infrastructure, Utilites, and Power

Today I'm back in the Sparks office to learn more about CI, Utilities, and Power. I'm taking in as much as I can because tomorrow is my last day. I can't believe it!

Counselor Connections:

• There are a lot of entry-level positions out there in the Communications Design field and it's a growing profession!
• There are also a lot of entry-level positions out there in Utility Design! In this career you would research GIS maps and go to the field to investigate existing systems. You do a lot of work on the computer.
• In these careers you will start out in the field and be very hands-on but you can work your way up to management level and work in the office if you work hard and put your mind to it!
• These are rewarding professions because you are helping people get the services they need to function in society!

Meeting with Mike Ebner- Regional Practice Leader, Communication Design

Associate's Degree

14 years at KCI

I start my day with Mike Ebner, a really neat guy with a lot of experience in the telecom industry. I met him in a conference room so he could show me some photos of some work they are doing. His colleague joined us today which was really nice! I found it interesting that Mike doesn't have a 4 year degree but he is in a leadership role and is responsbile for 40 to 45 KCI employees. This is another great example of how you can make significant advances in your career without a college degree. I think that is so awesome!

Mike explains that his team works with a lot of phone and cable companies, including AT&T and Verizon. While the CI warehouse group does the construction side and actually installs the equipment, Mike's group designs how it will be constructed and how it will get in the ground, on the light poles, etc. Mike said it does help to know drafting and CADD for designing. Mike's team also work a lot on the permitting process and provides construction cost estimates. 

Mike explained to me that there are these huge data centers in Northern Virginia which allow us to get all of the data on our phones today. He showed me pictures of these centers and they are massive! And the more technology expands, the more data centers we will need to build. 

Mike also showed me what fiber optics are (see photo above). He explained that there is glass in the middle and light shoots through it and then data travels through the colorful fibers and that is how we are able to use telecommunication devices! So amazing how such tiny fibers (the size of a grain of hair), can transit so much data! He said in this bundle there are 6,912 fibers! And Mike says these are not cheap at all. He showed me pictures on the screen of thousands of feet of this fiber optic cable being put in the ground at one of their construction sites. It's really wild to think about how this all works. Whoever came up with this process is a pure genius! We would never have the access to data on wifi devices that we have today without this invention.

Microsoft Teams Meeting with Bryan Lawson, Communications Infrastructure Market Leader

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering from Loyola University Maryland

20 years at KCI

Next I do a Teams with Bryan, who was in the Ozarks for vacation! It was so nice of him to meet with me while he was out of town. He was so kind, easy to talk with, and really took his time with me, which I appreciated. 

Now Bryan is unique because he has a background in Engineering and Construction Management. Therefore, he gets to be the hands and feet of engineering. He gets to see things get built! Bryan actually worked at KCI in Construction Management for several years and then he had an opportunity to work as a contractor in Tampa, Florida to build high rise buildings and condominiums. I mean who can say no to sunny Florida? After 10 years, Chris Griffith, KCI President, reached out to Bryan and asked him to rejoin KCI and help with building the Construction Management market down in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, which is pretty awesome!

Bryan explains that a lot of people have moved South over the years, which provides more opportunities for construction, especially for roads and highways, so this was a perfect opportunity. Now with the growth of Communications Infrastucture and Bryan's background with KCI and working as a contractor, another opportunity arose which led him to become the Communications Infrastructure (CI) Market Leader. In this role, Bryan says that he is a bridge between designers and contactors in this field. What an important position Bryan has!

I especially enjoyed learning about the CI project in Harford County, which I previously learned about through John Furman in Construction Management/Business Development. This is a 5 year effort to bring high speed internet/wifi access to unserved and underserved communities in Harford County. Bryan said that this project involves installing a fiber ring to connect to all of the public facilities in the area which will then branch out to individual homes at little to no cost to the families. This is all orchestrated through an internet provider called ThinkBig. What a rewarding project to work on! This is especially interesting to me too because I used to work as a School Counselor at Havre de Grace High School in Harford County and I know that many of the rural areas, such as Darlington, have little to no internet service so I see how valuable this effort is!

I really enjoyed talking with Bryan today and I'm looking forward to seeing more of the work Bryan and his team do in our area!

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

"Although I am an engineer, my career focus has been on the construction management side of the design and construction industry. This has allowed me to use my knowledge and experience of how projects are planned and designed to help bring them to life. I get to solve issues that inevitably occur during the construction process and help convert two dimensional design drawings into 3 dimensional buildings, roads, bridges, and a wide variety of other facilities to improve our community. The results of our efforts are tangible and will serve their communities for decades."

 

What advice do you have for high school students?  

"At 18 or 19 years old you do not have to have your career path figured out. College is an important decision and earning a degree may be able to open certain doors and provide certain options, but it may not be a perfect fit for everyone. Know that the world also needs skilled trades people and they can have very successful and lucrative careers. There really is no one correct path forward from high school. If you know what you are passionate about and are ready to invest in yourself and put in the work to pursue it, you should do that. If you need to take a little time (maybe at a community college, or a gap year, or checking out various trades and career paths) to try and find your passion, do that. It may be the best investment of your time and resources to identify a career path that you enjoy and find your definition of success."

Meeting with Scott Riddle, Utilities Market Leader

Associate's Degree in Civil Engineering from Catonsville Community College

20+ years at KCI

I really enjoyed meeting with Scott next. Another really nice guy! These employees at KCI are just amazing! Scott and I have quite a few things in common that I enjoyed talking with him about. For one, we are both Hereford High School graduates. Scott actually grew up in Southern California, however, where is were my sister lives now. Scott also has a child that attends the same private school that my Mom currently works at. What a small world!

Scott is another unique employee in that he is a Market Leader but does not have a four-year college degree. Scott started working for an Engineering firm right out of high school and he worked during the day and  then went to Catonsville Community College (now CCBC) at night to get his Associate's degree. He worked hard and learned a lot to get to where he is today. Scott explained that even though he is in the engineering profession, it's really all about having a technical mind and having the ability to understand how things go together.

Scott went through a PowerPoint presentation on the Utilities Market that he presented at the KCI Training Center in Prince George's County. This is a program that my supervisor, Melissa Wilcox, has played a huge role in to get more entry-level workers out in the field. I really appreciated seeing this presentation since I am definitely a more visual person and it helps me understand the market better. Scott explained that a lot of their work involves mapping existing utilities using GIS maps and by going out in the field to investigate in person. A lot of this work is underground and is called Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE). Think about all of the pipes and wires that are underground for electricity, telecommunication, water, etc.! For me in Baltimore it would be BGE that provides power to my house, but for other areas it might be another provider.

I also learned about Miss Utility. I had heard about Miss Utility because we actually have a scholarship every year with Miss Utility but I had no idea what it was! Miss Utility is an organization that all utilities have to join. It is a one-call notification center for Maryland that, by law, utilities have to join and homeowners have to contact before any excavation or digging takes place. I had no idea this existed! This is implemented in order to prevent damage to underground infrastructure. This also protects the safety of the excavators and residents in the area. Scott says that KCI will map out everything before Miss Utility comes out to ensure a smooth process and no issues down the road. Definitely an important service for homeowners to be aware of!

I thoroughly enjoyed talking with Scott and I look forward to learning more about the Power side of things next!

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

"Unplanned and rewarding! I figured out what I was good at and kept doing it!"

 

What advice do you have for high school students?  

"Don't be afraid to work. It's worth it!"

Meeting with Rob Macoy, Power Regional Practice Leader

Associate's Degree in Engineering Technology from Pennsylvania Institute of Technology

15 years at KCI

Rob works on the Power side of things, which involves things like gas and electric- what BGE in Baltimore does! KCI's biggest client is Duke Energy, who mainly services the Carolinas, but goes all the way down to Florida, and to Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. It is huge and I learned that it is by far the biggest revenue producer right now for KCI. So Rob has a big job!

Rob says that there are 18 Power offices and over 300 employees in Power- wow! Rob says he travels a lot to all of the different offices. They have even expanded as far West as Nevada! Furthermore, Rob says that he commutes to the Sparks office from Bear, DE! What a long commute and such a dedicated employee!

Rob's team works on the design and drafting side of things as I described above in my interview with Scott. He also talked about assessing damage after storms happen, which especially occurs during hurricane season in the Carolinas. This was something that I didn't even think about as an important job that they do!

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

It was very technical and hands-on early in my career. I had to be a sponge and learn a lot. Now I'm in management and help run things. It's a very rewarding job. I get to be in both the office and the field and I get to see what I built, updated, or replaced.

 

What advice do you have for high school students?  

"Go to school for something you want to do!"

Tomorrow I meet with a few more KCI employees and then I present to the CEO and some other leaders in the Board Room. I am both excited and nervous for the presentation and the end of my journey...