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Thanks for all the info everyone, I really appreciate the feedback. It helps to get outside thoughts and perspectives when thinking about major decisions like career planning!
Mr. Wainner, thanks so much for the response in the other post I had regarding Dallas as well as the responses here. I sent you a “friend request so I could send a message…[Read more]

Are you applying for an entry-level la position or planning position in this company?
If you can tell them how your advance degree is a benefit and how it applies to the position you’re applying for, then you can ask for more than someone who just holds a bachelors.

There are a number of LARE review sessions offered around the country and several individuals on this web site (Including myself) have advertised their courses or expressed opinions herein.
These classes are mainly in the classroom, other than Cheryl Corson’s webinar series. Let’s take a brief objective look at some of the offerings…..
Corson:…[Read more]

As long as the pump can kick the system on and off w/o the controller you are ok. The downside of not having it tied to a controller is that if does not turn on there will be no alarm to communicate there is an issue. 

Yeah, I agree – thanks for the fittings tip.  Rainbird and another booster pump designer are telling me we can use a variable speed/ freq. drive pump with a pressure switch and this won’t require a controller to fire the pump…  Hope that is true.

Yes you would think that but a main line break at 1 in the morning may not get noticed until 7. 6 hours of a mainline break running is a lot of water at 4 inches. Plus 4″ mains are notorious for popping of using PVC connection. Steel fittings are highly recommended as are saddles at your valves. 
Whether or not you have tried it the city’s…[Read more]

Hi Tyson,
Thanks for the reply and info.  Yes, 2-wire or central control would be great and solve a lot of issues.  Just can’t get the old timers in this city on board with newer technology… Basically I have come to the same conclusion as you.  Have to design the system for worse case all (5) controllers running at the same time.  Need a dum…[Read more]

I never meant to imply that I would be the person doing all of the work. I meant to say I would have the background and skillset to be part of each stage of the project. That means I could work with a team and give input on the environmental chemistry as well as the master planning. Does that make sense?
I want to be on the more technical side of…[Read more]

… The PE is a PE and NOT in any specific field.  Professional ethics (and your liability insurance, marketability) assumes you will practice in an area of your expertise.  I find it a bit over-confident to believe one individual can be a great PLA and PE; even with your SE/Arch analogy, most greatly engineered projects are a result of teams (…[Read more]

I know someone started at close to 50k. Dallas is booming atm

I should mention that one of the CE/LS firms that I worked for was owned by a Licensed Surveyor who also had a MLA from Harvard GSD, but never got licensed simply because he did not have any compelling need to.
He is a perfect example of crossover both in education and profession. His first degree was in forestry. He may be the reason why I feel…[Read more]

Very true. I worked in a civil office that did a lot of work for two separate LA firms that were offspring of the civil office that no longer had any LAs on staff. When I got licensed, the two LA firms stopped using the office that I worked in even though I was an absolute rookie and in no position to take work from them  – both ASLA national…[Read more]

True. Here were the specs 
Core I7
8 GB RAM
512 GB SSD
1 gb or 2gb video card
27″ display
I was off by my numbers. The difference was 20% mac higher than a PC but I added 8 more gb of ram and got a laptop verse desktop. 

“…our job is to synthesize information into a well orchestrated, beautiful symphony of disciplines and specialties.”
I think that was beautifully put. That really makes sense. I’m still doing plenty of exploring on my end to figure out what my own strengths are and which field I may be more drawn to. But I’ll hold that statement in my mind as I…[Read more]

To add to my earlier comment–
There is also professional/business consequence to being  one stop shop. If you area a practicing la/civil, other civils are going to be reluctant to float you work as opportunity arises, same with architects, structurals, ee’s whatever. Youre potentially limiting your market share. I can tell you a large portion of…[Read more]

You had me up until the structural-architect comment. My experience with dual professionals is that one is far and away subordinate to the other. One usually dominates. Architects are generalists..our job is to synthesize information into a well orchestrated, beautiful symphony of disciplines and specialties. There s people like calatrava, but one…[Read more]

Money well spent! Thank you for your input! I’m sure the bond I am trying to forge does develop over years of experience, but having it in mind from the beginning is a start.

As a recent graduate of a 2 year Masters program, construction and technical documents were not something my program focused on. Does anyone have any suggestions, advice, or resources I should look at to become familiar with industry standards?

Eh. I can’t offer a response without seeing a source chart for that spec comparison 🙂 (but you could say the same about me as well). I came to design from an IT background and that’s where my knowledge is sourced from. You have to take into account other things as well, such as available upgrades and life cycles etc.