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Originally Posted by MS Fowler
OTOH, I work for a REALLY cheap engineer. I am afraid that once I get them trained and capable, they will be off for better pay. I will not blame them. Management usually gets the quality they demand. Don't expect much, don't train, don't pay,.....it all evens out in the end.
Stony--You in soils inspections? I once was checking on a job where my employer had a "graduate Engineer from India working as a soils inspector. He was doing his one-points on a pile of 3 rocks he placed on the ground. I told him he needed a mass of at least 200 pounds, He replied he was graduate engineer. All this while he was within 10 feet of a say, 10 ton boulder with a flat top! Observe, document, report.
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I did 2 years on a Water Main replacement Project and a MTA Ventilation Plant job doing GeoTech (Drilling, Rock Cores, Stabilization, Controlled Fill), so yeas I have done my time in the dirt.
1 Point Proctor is a piece of cake, used to do them on the tailgate of my F150 everyday to establish the Max DD for compaction. Hell I can even do the Troxler Moisture trick when you don't have time for a 1 Pt test and I'm usually within 1lb of Max DD.
I know what you are saying about too much education! The difference between us and the rest is we offer a full package and the Health Plan is way better than the other guys (seriously when I show the guys exactly what the competition gives them vs us its a game changer). Plus we guarantee 40 hrs a week, if the weather sucks then you do your time in house fling paperwork or cleaning gear but we don't just tell the guys "Sorry No Work this Week"!
A friend just became EVP of a mid sized Testing Lab in the area and asked me for some advice. Their rep is "cheapest guys in town" and I quite frankly tole him he has an uphill battle because they pay ****e and their crew is mostly weed heads and lamers. I pointed out we tossed them off 2 jobs for not understanding how to test/sample SCC and not being lab certified to test high strength concrete and his eyes rolled.
I'm quite blunt with the guys I hire and ask if they want a career or just a job. Their answer tells me if they really want to take a step up.
Hire guys with a wife and kids and give them a good medical plan and treat them right is the key to loyalty in my shop.