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Chrissie Davis
Construction Engineer

What a construction engineer does

Chrissie works for Pankow Construction. In the morning, she talks to different groups on the construction site to see what they need. Throughout the day, she makes sure the construction crew receives all the necessary information and materials they need to do their job. She also checks on the progress of the work to make sure projects are completed on time. Chrissie uses her creative problem-solving skills daily in order to get things done quickly and efficiently.

Current project

Chrissie is currently working on the construction site of the future Whole Foods Market in Oakland. This particular project has had its difficulties because it is considered a historical landmark. The site used to be the former Cox Cadillac dealership and the building must preserve two brick walls from the old structure. Prior to that, it was the Oakland Cable Company which they ran an electric hub for cable cars. Because of the lack of environmental regulations and documentation in the past, Chrissie’s team is encountering unanticipated problems as they excavate, such as the discovery of cable car tracks, bricks, hidden buildings, concrete, and contaminated soil. They must find solutions to those unexpected problems as they move forward with the construction.

Why construction engineering?

Engineering is all about problem solving. Chrissie applies the problem solving techniques she learned from her college education every day at work. Chrissie chose construction engineering because she enjoys being outdoors in the great California weather and getting her hands dirty. As opposed to doing engineering design, she did not want to work at a computer all day long. Instead, she wants to be outside and interact with other people.

A day in the life of a construction engineer

Chrissie arrives at work, the future site of the Whole Foods Market, at approximately 6:15 a.m. every day. She gets there before the construction crew so that she can get an idea of how the day will be. She anticipates questions and tries to have answer for them. Chrissie’s day can sometimes be extremely long. During some phases of the project, usually at the beginning and end, she may be at work as late as 8 o’clock in the evening depending on how chaotic things are. At other times, she has a more manageable workload and leaves at 3 p.m.

The best part of construction engineering

Chrissie enjoys working with a group of people who are passionate about what they do. She also enjoys working outside at the construction site and watching a building be built from scratch. It never gets boring and something new is always going on. For example, Chrissie’s group encountered a water problem, while they were excavating. Her team discovered that there was a stream running under the site. Therefore, they have to constantly pump out the water into a large tank. The water has to be purified before it could be disposed of properly.

Challenges along the way

Chrissie devotes a major part of her day to work so she sacrifices a lot of free time. She doesn’t have a lot of time outside of work, but she is learning a lot quicker because of it. Chrissie feels that the sacrifice of time is worth it because she is gaining knowledge as she continues to work more. As a young woman, Chrissie has come across workers who have not taken her seriously or have not listened to her instructions. She feels that she initially had to prove herself. With time, she has gained the respect of others as she goes to work with an open mind and is always willing to learn and cooperate with others.

Life outside work

It’s sometimes hard for Chrissie to balance work and her social life because of her busy schedule. Her schedule is somewhat fixed in that she has to be at work whenever the crews are there, but it’s not a typical 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule. Chrissie is able to schedule plans with family and friends as long as she knows well in advance. She is always able to put things into her schedule if she feels that it is important. Her company is flexible with her schedule and they will allow her to move things around.

How Chrissie got to be a construction engineer

During a career fair in high school, Chrissie was exposed to engineering and was automatically captivated. In college, she was sure that she wanted to be an engineer but was unsure of what specific field in engineering, so she studied civil engineering as an undergraduate student. Then, a friend suggested she try out construction engineering, and she has stayed with that suggestion ever since. There weren’t many classes at her college that focused on or even exposed students to construction engineering. Fortunately, Chrissie found a construction engineering program at Stanford, so she chose to get a Master's degree there. Although graduate school is unnecessary for construction engineering, Chrissie went anyways because she wasn’t ready to work full time.

Advice to young women

Chrissie suggests girls try to get internships during the summer to get exposure to the real world. She recommends for girls to try anything, even if it’s something they aren’t really sure that they would like. Chrissie thought she wouldn’t like engineering design, but she tried it anyways. From that experience, she knew for sure that engineering design was not something she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

If girls are unable to get an internship, Chrissie suggests volunteering in order to gain some experience. For opportunities in construction engineering, Chrissie recommends girls volunteer for Habitat for Humanity so that they can get an idea of what it is like to build and construct buildings.

Women and technology

Chrissie advises girls to be knowledgeable about different kinds of technology. She says knowledge of specific programs might not be required by a company, but girls could shine by introducing a new program that will help the company become more efficient. Also, Chrissie suggests girls have good technical skills. While interacting with architects, designers, and even other engineers, it’s good to know programs like AutoCAD because it helps in communications with other team members.

Being a good writer

Although engineers are not freelance writers who have majored in English, Chrissie stresses the importance of writing. Writing and communication skills are extremely important because engineers need to be able to communicate with others. Chrissie has had to communicate with people in very formal and technical terms as well as with people who do not even speak the same language.

Being a professional engineer

Many engineers are registered Professional Engineers (PE). After going through the tests, they have their PE certifications and are paid more because of their title. Being a PE is more prestigious and is sought after, but Chrissie says that it is not necessary to be one. You can still be an engineer even though you are not a registered professional engineer. As a PE there is more leverage and flexibility in the range of work. Having the PE title opens doors, because if the company ever needs things stamped or approved, the professional engineer can do so. However, the stamp does come with some liability issues.