When beginning a new job in civil engineering, a strong start is essential. At PND Engineers, Inc. we work towards helping new hires feel supported, engaged, and ready to tackle a wide variety of projects. From fresh college grads to those in a mid-career change, a first day at PND is one step toward an exciting future. It’s possible that you’re wondering what to expect in your first year in civil engineering. If you’re coming to PND, we’ve outlined exactly that.
The First Day in Civil Engineering at PND
Your first day at PND functions as an introduction to the world of civil engineering, and PND’s dynamic and supportive environment.
Orientation and Onboarding
New hires start with initial training. You’ll also be introduced to team members and ongoing projects, little by little. As you grow and learn, your assignments will grow with you. You may start out being asked to size a beam or come up with loads, whereas later down the road you’ll be asked to design an entire building. As you hone your civil engineering skills at PND, you’ll discover the areas you’re most passionate about, becoming more and more integrated into the team along the way.
Because PND Engineers offers a wide set of services, our employees are exposed to unique and challenging projects that not all firms can or will take on. You’ll get the chance to work one-on-one with managers and senior engineers, with our open-door policy allowing you to walk into anyone’s office to ask for help.
Our newer hires are often surprised by the wide variety of projects they’re part of—each day is consistently interesting, challenging, and dynamic. One day may be working on a pier, the next day a bridge, and the next day spent on a project using OPEN CELL™. Thanks to PND’s size, you’ll have a steady stream of opportunities to branch out and explore different facets of the field. . With proper training and time, each of our civil engineers will be able to handle any portion of the project they’re assigned.
Meeting the Team
On your first day as a civil engineer at PND, you’ll be introduced to everyone at the office, and learn who to ask for specific needs, from HR to accounting to other civil engineers. You’ll also be walked through the quality control guidelines for projects. Our culture of helpfulness and trust sets the stage for employee growth, sharing what’s needed, and allowing our employees to thrive under guidance.
Learning the Ropes
Training
Much of the training at PND is built into every project. By getting hands-on experience and real in-field training, each project will help you gain a little more knowledge. Your professional growth is helpful both to you and to our firm as we take on challenging projects of all kinds.
Mentorship and Support
As a first-year civil engineer, your mentors will be your project managers. This could include two or three different principal engineers at one time. Depending on which projects are in progress and which roles need to be filled, you’ll be able to see management of all kinds as you work with senior leadership. Each project has different mentorship aspects to it—your growth is vital to PND’s overall broadening of experience and expertise. By learning from seasoned professionals on actual projects, you’ll see how every piece and every person works together.
Daily Responsibilities
Tasks and Projects
As a new engineer, you can expect to take on a variety of tasks. Many of our new civil engineer hires are encouraged to take on every new project possible, getting exposure to many different industries and challenges. Once you become familiar with each type of project, you’ll increase your ability to contribute to it, and your added knowledge will make each project thereafter more efficient. Whether you’re designing a handrail or an entire building, every project has a valuable lesson to offer.
PND specializes in a wide range of civil engineering projects, including transportation and geotechnical engineering, surveying, permitting, and hydraulics/hydrology.
Our civil design services include planning, PS&E design, administration, inspection, and construction management. We also provide civil design and inspection for dam and watershed facilities. These services help us bring vast experience to our engineers from the start.
Tools and Technologies
Accurate data and testing are the keys to success. We use relatively well-known tools and technologies, along with a few exclusive softwares available to us through our university connections.
- AutoCAD
- Revit
- Modeling Software: RAM, RESA
- AutoCAD
- Revit
- Modeling Software: RAM, RESA
- AutoCAD
- Revit
- Modeling Software: RAM, RESA
Teamwork
Collaboration is a huge part of the way we work at PND—it’s how innovation happens. We tend to work in-person, and our open door policy creates great opportunities for brainstorming. This open-door policy simply means that you can walk into anyone’s office (granted the door is not shut and they’re not in a meeting) and ask questions. Everyone is happy to help, and relying on one another helps build a much stronger team.
Professional Development
Ongoing Education
Learning is our way at PND. Providing for continuous learning is part of our culture. To that end, we provide stipends for education related to work and we encourage conference attendance to keep up with new technologies and methods.
Certifications and Licenses
We support our engineers in obtaining professional licenses, such as the PE (Professional Engineer) and SE (Structural Engineer) certifications. We cover the costs of the exams and also provide additional incentives for advanced certifications.
Inspection certifications are also covered through PND—including HCI field test 1 concrete for sampling and the CWI test.
Career Pathways
There is plenty of room to move and grow within PND, both laterally and vertically in the firm. We take enormous pride in helping our employees develop into seasoned professionals. We also offer shareholding opportunities, which is up to the board of directors’ discretion. Over the years we’ve seen many roles change in the company. Management is always encouraging employees to continue learning and growing their individual career in the way they envision.
Culture and Environment
Workplace Culture
PND is guided by our firm’s core values:
- Provide clients the best possible engineering and planning services
- Take time for family, colleagues, and friends
- Maintain respect, openness, honesty, and good humor—at home and work
Every day is different enough to bring variety, and PND takes on unique projects that not all firms will say “yes” to. Because of our values, our culture, and our projects, people love working here.
Every day is different enough to bring variety, and PND takes on unique projects that not all firms will say “yes” to. Because of our values, our culture, and our projects, people love working here.
The people at PND are smart and innovative. Projects are dynamic and our people enjoy that.
Work-Life Balance
Each of our policies and benefits support employees’ work-life balance. Because we know your time is valuable, we compensate time-and-a-half for overtime rather than overworking our salaried employees. Any time over 40 hours a week will be rewarded. Additionally, you can flex your time, as long as you’re getting your work done. We have core hours, but we don’t expect an 8-5 punch-in, punch-out exact time frame unless it works better for you. Some of our team takes a shorter lunch so they can leave earlier at the end of the day. Or, some of our team will work the weekend instead of mid-week so they can catch the weather outside while the sun is shining.
Networking and Social Opportunities
Our offices get work done—but that’s not all they do. We have a variety of team-building events. In Anchorage there’s an annual creek cleanup; in Juneau, the team went on a whale-watching tour; and with other offices, barbecues, sponsored happy hours, and holiday parties are part and parcel of PND. Some offices have adopted parks and public waterways to keep areas cleaned up and tidy for visitors. We also have several company-sponsored sports teams.
If you’re interested in learning more about civil engineering jobs at PND, check out our job openings. We look forward to welcoming you to our team.