Back to Work

Well, now that I've passed 6 months, I'm ready to return to work! Yippee!

Some of you may not know what I do. Well I'm a Civil Engineer. No, I do not drive trains. Ha!

I went to the University of Waterloo for 5 years in the co-op engineering program. I graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering. Yes, I'm a geek. And proud! I decided to specialize in transportation. After graduation, I got a job right away for McCormick Rankin Corporation. What a great place to work! The people are wonderful and I enjoy what I do. I worked for just barely over 1 year before I was diagnosed with heart disease. You wouldn't believe the support I received from from everyone.

So you are probably wondering, what the heck to you do? Well, I design roads and highways. To put it in simple terms. We will design and administer the reconstruction of old roads/highways as well as the design and administration of new roads/highways. It may sound a little boring to you, but it is quite involved. There is a lot of project management and hands-on design. When I first started I spent most of my time in AutoCAD doing Civil 3D design. Since returning I have spent much of my time assisting in project management. It's great getting a taste of everything.

Here's a pic of MRC's big project in the Region of Waterloo. It is an extension of Fairway Road in Kitchener over the Grand River to Kossuth Road in Cambridge. There is a long-span girder bridge and two roundabouts. I don't do bridges though, just road design. Check out the concept pics here.

I am working towards my PEO license, Professional Engineers of Ontario. With this license I will be able to stamp drawings and take legal responsibility of my designs. To achieve this license I need four years of experience. It's a little frustrating because I lost three years.... but I'm back on track. I have one year of undergrad experience and one year before I went on disability. So I have two years left. I will get there!

I went back to work on June 20, 2011 on a gradual basis. I started with about 6-8 hours per week and then increased about 2 hours per week every two weeks. It's pretty slow but I have been through quite a lot and adjusting to the schedule has been a little challenging. When I hit about 20 hours or so, I got a little pooped out and it caught up with me. I just slowed it down a little and worked through it. I am just so happy to have structure and purpose in my life again! I worked so hard to earn my degree and get where I am, it's nice to put it all to use again.