It may not be sexy and it may not be glamorous, but a degree in engineering is one of the most sought after entries into today’s job market. With fewer university students graduating in the engineering disciplines, engineering firms are scrambling to fill their ranks with qualified personnel. “Our biggest issue is a shortage of talent,” explained Jeff Codega, president and CEO of Jeff Codega Planning & Design Incorporated in Reno.
Engineers from Las Vegas and Reno expressed their concerns about the manpower shortage more than a year ago during an Industry Focus Roundtable sponsored by Nevada Business Journal. “Everyone is struggling across this industry to find qualified staff because we have a shrinking supply of new talent,” said Dennis Walbel, while attending the gathering. Walbel is the managing principal of the Las Vegas office of Carter & Burgess.
Now, more than a year later, engineering firms continue to struggle with employment issues. While most engineers acknowledge that computer science degrees and MBAs attract many of the best and brightest engineering prospects, they admit that their profession can do a lot more to compete with the glitzy dotcom job market. Most firms aggressively recruit not only at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), which both offer degrees in a variety of engineering disciplines, but at campuses all over the country. Nevada may be an attractive place to live for new graduates, but the rising cost of housing coupled with moderate starting salaries makes it increasingly tough to sell. “It’s complicated in Las Vegas because of the cost of living,” said Wayne
Horlacher, vice-president of PBS&J in Las Vegas. “It’s a lot more difficult to recruit entry-level engineers.” One obvious solution to this particular issue would be to raise salaries, but with overall construction costs already on the rise, increasing employee compensation is not easily accomplished.
Engineers also confess that their somewhat geeky reputation doesn’t help to attract bright young people to the profession. To polish the engineer’s image, industry leaders are taking advantage of outreach programs, such as Clark County School District’s Payback Program, to talk to young people about the attractiveness of a career in engineering. Most students are unaware, for example, of the diverse and immense impact that engineers have on our everyday lives. “Everybody knows what architects do, but nobody knows what engineers do,” said Brent Wright, CEO of Wright Engineers. “Engineers are responsible for the buildings where we live and work, the transportation systems on which we travel and the delivery systems for the utilities we usually take for granted.” The profession offers a wide variety of specialties to choose from, such as architectural, chemical, civil, electrical, environmental, mining and transportation, to mention a few. With its profound influence on all levels of society, a career in engineering presents a stable and rewarding choice for today’s students.
Attracting new talent is just part of the problem, however, according to Horlacher, whose firm was ranked as the second best U.S. engineering company to work for by CE News magazine a few years ago. Equally important is retaining employees after they are hired. PBS&J builds worker morale with monthly luncheons and social activities. “We’re a very closely-knit office,” Horlacher explained. The company also prides itself on being completely employee-owned. “We’ve created opportunities for all employees to purchase stock,” he adds. Codega builds cohesiveness in his 45-person company by developing partners from within, similar to the method used by most legal firms. He also believes that an integrated, but efficient work environment helps employee morale. The company is soon moving to a 14,000-square-foot office facility in South Reno which will allow for expansion as well as improved functionality. “If you’ve earned a degree you merit an office,” he said. Toss That Slide Rule
Aside from employment woes, like many other professionals, engineers have learned to embrace the whirlwind of new technologies which has substantially changed the ways they perform their work over the past decade or so. “The biggest challenge has been updating and integrating the sophisticated technological advances in the equipment now used to create our designs,” said Michael Holloway, Las Vegas-based managing principal of the western region for Poggemeyer Design Group. “We used to use ink on linen, but now, the industry utilizes CAD (Computer Aided Design).” Considering that technology enables engineers to produce a more accurate design with fewer man hours, the advance is especially valuable in today’s tight employment market. “Each project is designed and drafted simultaneously which results in a better product,” Horlacher said. Young people entering the profession have little or no use for a slide rule now, but they must be comfortable with technology. “Employees must continually increase their technological savvy,” Horlacher said. “They have to design rather than just be drafters.”
While the tools of the engineering trade have changed with the advent of computer technology, the overall view of projects in Nevada may also be shifting, according to Codega. As the price of buildable land increases and the availability of it decreases in the state’s most populated areas, developers may turn to new urbanism as an efficient way to utilize premium space. “It’s from the turn-of-the-century where you lived on your front porch with the car parked in back and focus on the front,” Codega explained. Used for urban infill as well as the creation of new neighborhoods and villages, new urbanism emphasized walkability, connectivity and mixed-use applications. It promotes the use of trains and light-rail transportation rather than building more roads. With housing, shops, entertainment and essential services in close proximity, a sense of community is created rather than suburban sprawl.
Rules, Rules, Rules
Other challenges facing engineers include additional regulations that have piled up over the years, creating review processes that can take months, depending upon the project. Getting approval, however, requires more than just jumping through all the appropriate design hoops. “We spend less time designing and more time dealing with process issues, such as meeting with neighborhood groups,” Codega said. “It’s a lot more work, and you have to be very politically aware.” Engineers, along with architects and developers, must be much more sensitive with regard to how a project will fit into a master plan and whether it will be accepted by the neighborhood. Everyone knows of controversial projects, such as the Lazy 8 Casino in Sparks, that have caused vitriolic public meetings and threats of litigation. Codega agrees that for the most part, the review processes are valuable, but laments the fact that they don’t always operate efficiently. “The processes are designed to make sure bad things don’t happen, but they should be designed to make sure good things happen, as well,” he explained. To better educate the public about current projects many design firms maintain websites with updated information on them.
As a specialist in water treatment and storage, Holloway has had to adapt to new regulations imposed since 9/11. “Homeland Security has new rules on protecting water and wastewater treatment plants,” he said. To prevent unauthorized access to facilities, security gates have been changed from those that swing to those that slide. Security fencing and cameras are also standard. Poggemeyer recently completed work on the Water Pollution Control Facility in Las Vegas, a $100-million project that included expansion of the sludge dewatering building, filtration, digesters, laboratory and chlorination/dechlorination facilities.
Other regulations come into play as engineers design sustainable projects. “The big thing now is green,” Holloway said. Green or sustainable projects are designed to reduce the consumption of resources and/or to provide healthier more comfortable spaces where people can live, work and play. Resource conscious designs use native landscaping, reduce waste products, employ storm water filtration, optimize the use land, and promote the efficient consumption of renewable energy sources. Healthy design enhances indoor air quality, improves acoustics and utilizes natural light. Most leading design firms are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified or have people on staff who are. Certification is promoted by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
The Las Vegas Springs Preserve, a 180-acre parkland owned by the Las Vegas Valley Water District, is a quintessential example of environmentally sensitive development. Perpetuating and enhancing the native desert environs, visitors to the preserve will enjoy gardens, museums and trails through the wetland habitat when it opens in June. The development also showcases sustainable design with photovoltaic cells that generate power for the preserve while also functioning as shade structures. The Clark County Sport Shooting Park, now under construction north of Las Vegas, is another development planned around environmental impact concerns. The 2,900-acre park will be the largest of its kind in the country, providing a safe place for the public to practice the sport, as well as a world-class site for international gun shows. “Safety is a major concern,” said Holloway whose firm is working on the project. “All the ranges will face north into the mountains and be away from houses.” Great care is being taken to protect archeological sites that are on the property.
Although some new regulations frequently give engineers headaches, the lack of others can also be a source of extreme angst. “The increased requirements are a concern particularly in the patterns of litigation,” Horlacher said. Engineers can be dragged into what many consider frivolous lawsuits when attorneys for homeowner associations cast a wide net to find fault for design and construction mistakes, for example. Engineers say it’s become a particularly thorny issue with the proliferation of high-rise condominiums in Las Vegas. Large settlements have been awarded when defects in a single unit are multiplied by all the units in a project. “What’s needed is residential defect legislation,” Horlacher said. Engineers support legislation that would reduce the likelihood of baseless lawsuits, and thus, decrease the liability and risk faced in many projects.
Follow the Money
As a transportation expert, much of Horlacher’s frustration boils down to one word: money. “Our biggest challenges are working with the sharp increase in construction costs plus the funding shortfalls,” he explained. The disparity between the two has caused a reduction in the number of projects that can be developed, according to him. “The industry as a whole, and particularly transportation, is looking at different ways to finance,” he added. This is especially important in view of the fact that Gov. Gibbons has taken a strong stand against raising taxes.
As developers explore more creative ways of financing projects, some are dipping their toes into public-private partnerships (PPPs) which pave the way for various types of collaborations between public and private sectors. In some PPPs, the government provides investment capital through tax revenues, and then runs operations jointly with the private sector. In others, the private sector makes the capital investment and agrees to provide the certain services. The University of Nevada, Reno Renewable Energy Center (UNR REC) is being developed as a PPP with partners that include Truckee Meadows Community College, the Desert Research Institute, the Regional Transportation Commission, Sierra Pacific Power Company and Ormat Nevada along with UNR. When completed at the Redfield Campus near the Steamboat Springs geothermal area in South Reno, it will provide research, education and outreach for renewable energy sources in Nevada. The $650 million Las Vegas Monorail, opened in 2004, is PPP financed by bonds issued through the Nevada Department of Business and Industry. The construction, management and operation have been contracted to Transit Systems Management LLC, a private entity composed of Granite Construction Company and Bombardier Transit.
Although outsourcing work to countries such as India is a hotly debated topic, the jury is still out regarding the long-range effects it might have on U.S. engineering firms. “There’s such a shortage (of employees) that some people are resorting to outsourcing to get the work done,” Codega said. With engineers in other countries sometimes working for as little as 10 percent of the salaries that Americans earn, it’s also about the bottom line. Company managers can save as much as 70 percent in net costs by using foreign workers, which is difficult to ignore in an era of rising construction costs. Along with the economic impact of lost jobs, however, is the fear that this country will somehow lose its creative competitive edge. The reality, according to Holloway, is that most firms are sending repetitive drafting jobs overseas while the creative design work is still handled in-house. “Among the things at which Americans excel is their ability to innovate new ideas,” he said. “We’re still strong in thinking outside the box.” Although he said he’s just now considering outsourcing for repetitive kinds of work, Codega said his firm hasn’t used it in the past because their projects are so unique. He doesn’t believe that in the final analysis it’s a threat to U.S. engineers because of the global economy. “Ultimately things will even out, but it will take some time,” he said.
The Role of Education
While today’s engineers must be nimble to be successful in our rapidly changing world, the future of their profession will also depend to some degree on how educators decide students should be trained. As a former university professor, Holloway expressed concern about how some colleges have changed the number of credits required for a bachelor’s degree from as many as 165 to as few as 115. “Education has been watered down a bit over the years,” he said. Some educators reason, however, that because technology has made some college courses obsolete, perhaps the additional credits aren’t necessary in today’s world of work. On the flip side, several engineering organizations, including the American Society of Civil Engineers, are pushing for more education, specifically to require a master’s degree in order to be licensed as an engineer. Although it would add prestige to the profession, many question the wisdom of such an action considering there’s already such a shortage of qualified personnel. “The more technologically advanced we get, the higher the demand for qualified engineers is,” said Wright.
Holloway worries that students aren’t educated in the practical side of their profession, because many engineering professors lack experience in the business world. “Professors understand the academic end, but they’ve turned into scientists or equation pushers,” he explained. Holloway said one of the reasons he left academia was to experience the real world of engineering. To provide opportunities for students to get valuable on-the-job involvement before heading out to their first full-time engineering positions, most engineering firms support internship programs.
Where the rubber undoubtedly meets the road, however, is instilling an enthusiasm and respect for the engineering profession. It’s hard to be creative and difficult to respond to the ever-changing challenges if you don’t love what you do. After 30 years in the profession (which he said must add up to 60 because of all his 80-hour weeks), Codega said he still loves his work. “I enjoy 99 percent of what I do,” he said. In the hopes that everyone else in his firm will be just as enthusiastic, he said he’s very selective in trying to recruit the best of the best. The most important quality is a devotion to the profession. “We’re looking for people who have a passion for what we do,” he emphasized.
