Geotechnical Research Career Training Guide

Question: Structural Engineering Consulting Firm in New England? I am Canadian completing my final year of a Bachelors in Civil Engineering at a Canadian University approved by ABET. I am seeking Structural Engineering Consulting Firms in Rhode Island, or Southern Mass. as far North as Boston. I have some co-op experience in structural engineering of buildings, but may also be interested in bridges or geotechnical. I have done some research on local companies, but I am still looking for more prospective employers. I prefer smaller companies. Any suggestions? Also, would being Canadian really hurt my chances of being hired? My fiance is from this area and after school I will permanently settle there, but I would require the company to apply for the proffessional visa since we dont plan on marrying right away. Any other advice?

Answer: No. Being Canadian will not hurt you, although there are differences between the CSC and the AISC steel construction codes, they are probably not major and if anything, Canadian is more current than AISC. Try yellowpages for the areas you are looking at interviewing. I don't know how H1-B visas work but Canadians might not even need them. I worked with a fellow from Canada in Columbus, Ohio, so the obstacles aren't insurmountable.

Question: How can a detailed research on the geotchnical properties of river sediments be carried out? I'm a final year marine geology student writing a project on the geotechnical properties of Calabar River. I need professional advice on how to go about this project.

Answer: right now we are using different types of radar to determine sediment thickness, tpye and faults. This is backed up with core samples... the link below is USGS and is very good... have fun!

Question: Biomedical Engineering? so i am going to be a senior in high school this year. I decided that i want to go into Biomedical Engineering in college . I was doing more research and im quite confused about the Fundamentals of Engineering and Principles of Engineering exam . On Ehow.com it says i have to take both of these exams. Although i read all the types of tests that are offered and they Agricultural Architectural Chemical Civil: Construction Civil: Geotechnical Civil: Structural Civil: Transportation Civil: Water Resources and Environmental Control Systems Electrical and Computer: Computer Engineering Electrical and Computer: Electrical and Electronics Electrical and Computer: Power Environmental Fire Protection Industrial Mechanical: HVAC and Refrigeration Mechanical: Mechanical Systems and Materials Mechanical: Thermal and Fluids Systems Metallurgical and Materials Mining and Mineral Processing Naval Architecture and Marine Nuclear Petroleum Structural I (through October 2010) Structural II (through October 2010) which one would i take or is it even necessary to take the PE exam. If i want to pursue a career as a Biomedical Engineer. I would appreciate your answers

Answer: You are looking at the PE - Professional Engineer - exams and you won't be allowed to take any of those until you have your undergraduate degree. (Yay!) You can be an engineer without becoming a Licensed Professional Engineer. The PE designation is merely a designation given to engineers (and in some cases mathematicians, etc.) which indicates that they are proficient in their field. This license allows engineers to consult independently and offer professional opinions regarding their field of expertise. The biomedical field is relatively new and so your focus might be either biomechanical, biochemical, biophysical, etc. and if you wish to become licensed, you would test under mechanical, chemical, etc. Don't worry, you will study for your PE after graduation. No need to think about it now. (The chances are good that you won't need it, but if you decide to take it, I'll suggest that you take it right after graduation as that is when the math and physics will be freshest in your mind.) The requirements for admission to an engineering school are pretty much the same at different schools because admission is generally competitive. You will need to demonstrate through SAT (or similar) scores an aptitude for mathematics and science as well as good grades on your high school transcript. If you start at a smaller college and then transfer your English, History, Government, etc. you'll want to have good grades there too - for two reasons. First is that your engineering advisor will expect to see it and second, you may need good grades in those courses to offset lower grades in your more difficult courses later on. (Trust me...I did.) Schools are just now starting to develop biomedical engineering programs at the undergraduate level and many schools teach this almost like a double major. You will probably want to narrow your interest before you get too far along in your school search. Naturally you will focus on biology, anatomy and human physiology, but from the engineering side you might want to consider whether you are interested in the chemical processes (drug manufacture), the mechanical processes (sports and prosthetic development), nuclear medicine (Computerized Tomography, radiation treatments, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, etc.) It is just a very broad field and you'll be ahead of others if you have considered early where you'd like to end up. One of the most interesting jobs I've encountered was a friend who was a mechanical engineer who went back to school for a law degree and worked for a law firm, reconstructing accidents for injury cases. Not exactly biomedical, but the mechanics of injury and accident are fascinating. Definitely look at schools that you think offer a degree program that interests you and ask lots of questions and take notes. The more you find out about the field, the more focused you can be in your career path. For now, just study hard and don't worry about the PE exam. You can decide later if you think you'll need it.