Engineering

I recently migrated to New Zealand with my family and have been actively applying for roles for the past 3–4 months. I have 15 years of experience in industrial, petrochemical, and mining projects, mostly in structural engin… more

Working in a high profile company with regional offices and lots of engineering teams. Pay is good almost market value but bureaucracy is obvious. Love what i do but sometimes feel i don't get vis… more

What’s something that seemed critically important early in your career but matters much less to you now? For me, being the smartest person in the room has become a lot less important than being part o… more

It took me a long time to say it out loud, but I regret choosing this path. The pay is stable, but the constant pressure and lack of fulfillment are leaving me feeling like I'm ready to exit. I’m … more

What’s one workplace trend that you think will become much more common over the next five years? I suspect AI-assisted work will become as normal as using spreadsheets or email. What trend do you thin… more

Do you think engineers are too quick to add things and too slow to remove them? It feels like systems naturally accumulate complexity unless someone actively pushes back.

💭 If you were let go from your job tomorrow, what's the first thing you'd do?

What’s a problem your team keeps solving over and over again? I’ve noticed recurring problems are often a sign that the root cause isn’t where we think it is.

What’s something your company spends money on that employees consistently say isn’t worth it? I’ve worked places where expensive software tools were purchased but barely used, while much smaller impro… more

Curious for different industries/projects, when pricing out a project how much contingency are you usually including?

What’s a common misconception people outside your field have about what you actually do all day? Many people assume engineers spend most of their time designing solutions, but a surprising amount of t… more

What technical skill has provided the highest return on investment in your career? For me, learning how to communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders has been just as valuable as any… more

Was there ever an engineering concept in school or at work that you could never get comfortable with understanding?

If you could permanently eliminate one workplace meeting from your calendar, which type would it be and why? I’d probably choose status meetings where everyone simply reads updates that could have bee… more

What’s one thing that gets easier with experience but nobody talks about? For me, it’s becoming comfortable saying, “I don’t know yet,” without feeling the need to immediately have an answer.

Lately, I've noticed it's been difficult to find work for someone who knows everything about construction and uses CAD systems. Is this true? Or am I doing something wrong?

What was the biggest mistake you made early in your career that ended up teaching you a valuable lesson? One of mine was assuming everyone interpreted requirements the same way I did. Learning to ask … more

Do you think engineering teams learn more from near-misses than actual failures? I think near-misses are underrated because they expose weaknesses without the full cost of an outage.

Obviously, no one expects a newly graduated hire to know everything during their first week, but early impressions stick. Question for the managers and senior engineers on here: What can a new grad do… more

What’s a sign that a project is healthier than it appears? For me, it’s when tough issues are discussed openly instead of quietly avoided.

Is it normal for workplaces to discourage lunch breaks? Nobody at my job takes one, even on slow days. I try to force myself to step away because it gives me a second wind. Also, when I skip lunch, I … more

Do you think engineers spend enough time thinking about the user experience of internal tools?
I’ve seen teams tolerate painful internal systems that they’d never ship to customers.

need help going for a assistant project engineering job with NRS can you help with some interview questions and how to answer and prepare

What is the transition like from being a utility engineer (mid-level) to working on the consulting side? My understanding is that the pay is good, the pace is fast, and there might be little time to e… more

Excited to share that I have successfully completed my Ph.D. defense in Environmental Engineering in South Korea. My degree will be officially awarded in August.
I am now actively looking for job oppor… more

💸 If you found out a coworker made significantly more than you for the same role, what would you do about it (if anything)?

What’s something you’ve changed your mind about in the last year? I’ve realized that getting alignment early is usually more valuable than finding the perfect solution.

I'm a junior engineer, but I inherited a project mid-construction because the designer left. I wasn't around for the early phases, but now I’m running the site meetings. I'm stressed about… more

I've been stuck in a pure maintenance cycle for six months, and I'm starting to feel like a script-runner instead of an engineer. I'm trying to move into a senior-level job, and I worry ab… more

Do you have something at your company that you feel is a waste of money or desperately in need of improvement?

What’s one engineering “best practice” that you think is actually overused or applied in situations where it doesn’t add much value?
For me, it’s excessive documentation on very small, low-risk changes… more

What’s one thing you wish you’d known before moving into a senior engineering role?
That the job becomes way more about communication than code. Nobody warned me how much time I’d spend writing docs, a… more

Where do you find your engineering knowledge comes in handy most outside of the office?

What’s something your team does today that future-you will probably question? I suspect every team has at least one process that only exists because nobody has challenged it recently.

A senior engineer on my team is leaving, and our manager sent a link for a farewell gift card. She mentored me when I was a junior, so I want to chip in, but I can't see what others are giving and… more

Do you think experience makes engineers more open-minded or more set in their ways? I’ve seen examples of both, but the best engineers seem to get more curious over time, not less.

Is a lack of company growth a warning sign? Nobody at my current workplace, where I just started, has been promoted in ages. It seems like the only way to get a title change is to hand in your two wee… more

What’s the biggest misconception people have about high-performing engineering teams? I think people assume they move faster, when often they just spend less time recovering from mistakes.

Got a apprenticeship at a 'great' company which has high job security. However the job is nothing like the description, the work is very boring, and their have been many broken promises (offered deg… more