Welcome to another interview with an engineer that you can find on LinkedIn that posts regularly, Stefanie Reichman a Civil engineer who pivoted into Construction technology.

Stefanie kindly agreed to answer my questions which you’ll find below, take your time to read through all these insights and advise, and afterwards check her out on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanie-reichman/

Interview with Civil engineer

1. Can you briefly describe your career path and what led you to choose your specific field of engineering?

I’m a professional civil engineer that hasn’t done a day of engineering! I started off being a PM for an engineering firm, then worked for a construction company as a virtual design and construction manager, until I was as ready for a change, and pivoted to construction tech!

I’m currently a customer success manager for a construction technology company. Where I’m able to use industry knowledge to strengthen customers use of the tool!

2. What key skills do you believe are essential for success in your engineering discipline, and how did you develop these skills?

Key skills that have served me well are communication skills! These were hardly mentioned in school, but have been a tremendous difference in my career. I’ve been able to work on these skills by doing MANY presentations as part of my masters, and then would volunteer for them often in my career! The ability to learn how to present information, so that regardless of the recipient, the points come across, is an incredible skill!

3. What are some common challenges you face in your industry, and how do you approach solving them?

Construction as a woman certainly brings a lot of its own challenges, but by advocating for myself, speaking up when something happens, I’ve been able to find my way!

Staying current on industry news and trends has helped me build the communication tools around these challenges as well!

4. What practical experiences or internships were most beneficial to you during your studies or early career?

As a student I had internships throughout my educational career- 4 total! They were most beneficial because of the diversity of experience. I always made sure to pick companies/opportunities that offered rotations, exposure in the field and office, and would give me the opportunity to explore something new!

5. How important are soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and leadership in your role, and how do you cultivate them?

Soft skills are the difference between career growth and stagnation. At a certain point, your technical abilities don’t matter as much as your ability to communicate. Working on these skills early and often therefore is imperative.

Some great ways to cultivate soft skills is to volunteer for speaking, presenting, and writing opportunities. You can get this exposure both at work but also at networking opportunities.

In these situations, you want to make sure your message is coming across clearly. That you can maintain the listeners attention, and make them care.

6. What advice would you give to young engineers or engineering students who are just starting their careers?

Once you graduate, make professional goals for yourself. Don’t tie your self worth to what you do at work, and instead encourage and motivate yourself to achieve specific goals outside of work. Review your goals every 6 months to ensure you’re making progress towards them!

Thank you so much to Stefanie for doing this interview! again you can find her on LinkedIn posting her daily thought provoking posts and helping Civil engineers make a pivot into other industries, and on top of all that there are plenty of video interviews with her talking to other LinkedIn members that you can also watch.

You can also sign up for her newsletter here.

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