I work for an engineering firm out of north raleigh and we got some of that Obama money and some contracts with several different states for about 3 or 4 different projects. i asked if we were hiring and they said they would definitely take resumes. i feel like we are in a position to hire if they found the right candidates. I'M NOT PROMISING ANYTHING I JUST WANT TO HELP AND WE SEEM LIKE WE COULD USE A FEW MORE GOOD MEN. I DONT HAVE ANY PULL IN THE HIRING DEPARTMENT OTHER THAN BEING A HIGH LEVEL FIELD LEADER WHO THEY LIKE.

some caveats:
job is 100% travel, you will be out of town for weeks at a time, mostly 2 but sometimes as much as 3
you'll work with one other person doing pretty much manual work and some fairly basic computer work
hope you like holiday inns, best westerns, and la quintas
in addition to the travel, expect to work 7 days a week/70hrs - pretty much noone takes a day off away from home without getting paid

some basic requirements:
should have a basic knowledge of excel and windows in general
please please please be able to read a map, we use Streets and Trips but it's not the end all/be all
the better your education the better your chances, although a degree isnt required. it doesnt need to be engineering though (we have a few math, computer science, had an english, i'm CJ, one or two GEDs)
if you have a work history, i hope it reflects that you are dependable/trustworthy. you're pretty much left on your own to complete your work on the road and in the beginning you're pretty much a workmule taking orders
excellent driving history - no DUIs, excessive amounts of speeding tickets/accidents

don't take the job if you're just gonna leave in a few months. the work is pretty easy and monotonous but it takes ALOT of training and it really screws us when we are a crew/man short.

i will not list pay because it really varies between what they see in you and how much you work. you could potentially work 100 hrs/week or you can slack off and work 40 (lol @ 40 being slacking). lets just say overtime is your friend.

PM me any questions or email an updated resume to twwjobhelp@gmail.com

6/20/2009 10:42:16 PM

what kind of engineering?

6/20/2009 10:44:20 PM

civil infrastructure

6/20/2009 10:44:43 PM

stormwater?

6/20/2009 10:44:54 PM

bridges (structure, erosion, stream profile, geology)
cell phone/tv towers (foundation/tower inspection/geology)
concrete and rebar reinforcement

we use autocad and matlab but thats not my dept so i really can't say what youd need for a desk job or if they are hiring but id still pass it along

6/20/2009 10:48:18 PM

i guess i should have just mentioned its in the realm of NDT (non-destructive testing) so we use radar/x-ray/other forms of structure analysis mainly

6/20/2009 11:17:52 PM

FDH Engineering?

6/20/2009 11:56:50 PM

that would be the one

6/21/2009 9:21:38 AM

an engineering firm hiring people to work on

Quote :

"bridges (structure, erosion, stream profile, geology) cell phone/tv towers (foundation/tower inspection/geology) concrete and rebar reinforcement"

that doesn't require a degree? or any specialized knowledge at all - i feel safe already

6/21/2009 9:22:05 AM

^he also said:

Quote :

"the work is pretty easy and monotonous but it takes ALOT of training"

if the job entails "pretty much manual work and some fairly basic computer work," i see no problem with just getting on-the-job training.

6/21/2009 9:42:40 AM

he didn't say that non-degree positions would be designing them

6/21/2009 9:43:49 AM

Technicians take the field measurements, get the data to the engineers who figure out what's up.

6/21/2009 10:47:05 AM

Yeah, FDH already has plenty of degree-holding engineers working on projects. I only know this because I applied there.

NDT requires that you have a pulse, some common sense, and the ability to make basic observations and operate equipment.

6/21/2009 11:44:36 AM

I think this is a perfect job for dnl.......

6/21/2009 3:08:15 PM

i didnt notice that the company actually put out a post on the website, but i still think if you emailed it through me it would get looked at alot faster than if you just submitted it to HR

Quote :

" Non-Destructive Field Testing Technician - June 1, 2009 (Raleigh, NC) We are recruiting for a person who enjoys working outdoors, traveling, and learning new technology. The individual will perform non-destructive testing, ground penetration radar inspections and related functions on civil infrastructure projects. Travel is over 95% out of state with all expenses paid. Travel durations typically last for 7 to 12 days with occasional trips of 20+ days). Work is performed outdoors in all weather conditions. In addition to work pay and travel pay, we pay for individual hotel rooms and provide incidental pay for meals. No experience necessary. We will train the right candidate. Immediate Openings. Good analytical and computer skills preferred. Good driving record required. Great pay and benefits. Some knowledge of concrete construction practices or foundation installation a plus. Please send your resume to hr@fdh-inc.com. No phone calls please. "

to respond to a bit of the above, yes an idiot could do this job BUT i've worked with idiots at this job and it makes my job 10x harder so for the sake of me helping someone out i'd prefer they not be one

6/21/2009 4:32:58 PM

- what does a typical workday include?
- is this job gonna be here when the stimulus money is gone?
- do they do milage based on IRS rates, or some lower amount and expect you to itemize the difference?
- OR do they pay some set amount on car allowance, and pay for gas, repairs etc?
- OR do they provide a vehicle?
- do they have a corporate deal with the hotels, or would the employee take care of their own arrangements every day?
- are expenses paid directly by company credit card or reimbursed?
- incidental pay for meals, thats very vague, what does that mean?
- does driving record include improper equipment?

6/21/2009 6:47:24 PM

^what he asked

6/21/2009 6:58:13 PM

most likely once the Obama money dries up, this job will also....the gov is also hiring a good amount of term positions due to the Obama money.

[Edited on June 21, 2009 at 7:11 PM. Reason : w]

6/21/2009 7:10:49 PM

i personally think they will keep whoever they hire, we've grown so much over the years as a company and the only people ive seen fired are for incompetence. we have most of the original 10 or so employees from whenever it was started.

to answer the questions:
1) typical workday includes getting up at 8ish, driving out to the site(s) and doing a few hours of work. some work takes all day, some only takes 2 hrs. you fill the day with the work though so if you finish early drive to the next one or do as many as you can. then you pick a hotel thats fairly cheap and head there and do some paperwork in your room for maybe another hour. you can do the paperwork when you're at the site but as its 99 degrees right now in houston, id rather be in the comfort of my room. so we're talking maybe 8am-6pm. thats 70 hrs right there.
2) what i said above
3) X
4) X
5) Vehicles provided. F-150 thru F-350 depending what project. today i worked half the day and then got an oil change and ran through blue beacon and made a home depot run. now im doing expense/timesheet work.
6) Corporate deal but only certain hotels. You're gonna mostly want Holiday Inns, Best Westerns, and La Quintas but every now and then if the places you see are absolute crap or just not a great deal they will let the crew leader Priceline something. right now i'm at the Inn at the Ballpark in Houston. a super luxury place across from Minute Maid field. $55. we have a limit of $75/night/person. you make the arrangements that make the most sense.
7) crew leaders have Amex, Mastercards, Gas Cards, and the Corporate Hotel Card. Nothing out of pocket for you unless its not job related.
8) you get a per diem of $40/day for food. I use less than half and consider the rest a pay raise . you get it all no matter if you use it or not and its all on the same paycheck.
9) i doubt it. they really just dont want excessive speeders or any DUIs. a few speeding tickets is ok id think, seeing as we usually rack some up out in the field. I got my first for 8 over (super pissed btw). you might drive for 10 hrs and theres nothing i hate than being scared for my life for that period while some guys zooms through traffic like he's in a z3.

6/21/2009 7:38:54 PM

someone sent me a pm and said you dont have to be an engineer or have experience...is that true?

6/21/2009 7:45:24 PM

you didnt do any reading so youve already failed my "no idiots" clause

6/21/2009 7:52:36 PM

Quote :

"like he's in a z3."

Only women drive those. This must be a scam.

6/21/2009 7:56:28 PM

dude you've already failed my "i was not going to send you my resume anyways" clause

6/21/2009 7:57:09 PM

Quote :

"someone sent me a pm and said you dont have to be an engineer or have experience...is that true? "

our loss i guess, lol

6/21/2009 8:48:41 PM

someone PMed me and asked where the travel would be so i wanted to clarify:

you could be driving/flying anywhere in the US. I won't even say continental US because it seems like once a year some crew gets to go to Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands (as i did for new years).

it really depends where they place you. I'm on the bridge crew so I stay in my main state and then maybe do other odd jobs that are closeby. Tower crews can be on one coast one day and the other coast the next. you're really all over the place and if you're not dead tired at the end of the day you really get to experience the country. I love that aspect and even though i usually am tired on weekdays i've definitely had my fair share over the years of fun that i never would have had without the job.

6/21/2009 8:54:57 PM

how do you maintain a life outside of work while doing this job - relationship / friends / family? - what about vacation?

6/21/2009 8:57:07 PM

when you say you go away for 2 weeks at a time (and sometimes 3) what do you do between trips

and is this a salaried job?

6/21/2009 9:01:11 PM

^^ you do whatever you need to do. you talk on the phone with all your loved ones, webcam/email and you make sure to ask off/plan worktrips so that you get the time you need off to have a life. i usually give them the next 3 months of how i want to work exactly and they try and stay as close to that as possible.

ill admit only one of us is married. the rest are pretty much bachelors it seems. I'm actually going to law school next year so it'll have been a full 3 years worked for me and i definitely don't regret it. we also range in age from early 20s to mid 30s.

vacation is kind of a mixed bag. you don't get paid time off but you can pretty much ask off as much or as little as you want within reason. lets say you work two weeks straight, 14 days. you get the weekend you spent out back so 4 days off. if you want more youd just have to tell them ahead of time (id do it before i left on that trip) but they usually dont have a problem. i want to make the most money possible so what i usually do is plan my vacations around lengthy trips. ill agree to stay out for a week longer on the road to get 2-3 more days off. a week home is plenty for me, after that i'm bored.

^ whatever you want, lol. if you have a house, work on that. if you have a girlfriend, sex her up like bunnies. a week off is a week off.
not salaried, but honestly that works in your favor if you want it to.


[Edited on June 21, 2009 at 9:10 PM. Reason : d]

6/21/2009 9:08:03 PM

ah you edited in the salary part. disregard that part of my PM then

6/21/2009 9:15:45 PM

oh yea, what are some of the benefits (health insurance, etc) with this type of job?

6/21/2009 10:40:09 PM

If I wasn't going to grad school, I'd be pretty interested. Sounds like a fun way to start a career.

6/21/2009 11:17:36 PM

You've given a lot of great info and if I hadn't already been at my job in CLT i'd be all over this, too. One thing I didn't see, though, and it's probably based on experience level - was there an hourly pay range anywhere?

6/21/2009 11:44:39 PM

i'm hesitant to list a smaller scale just because it really does depend how much you choose to work and what types of jobs you get

lets say if you slack off youll still take home 30k, but if you worked hard and busted your ass you could be in the 50s (including benefits)

6/22/2009 5:18:49 AM

FDH also has semi-yearly bonuses (you have to work there for 6 months to be eligible) and a Roth 401K plan where they match up to 4 percent of your earnings (varies if you're on hourly). Their health care is through UHC and it isn't bad, visits to the doc in the box are 20 bucks I think.

6/22/2009 10:01:00 AM

Quote :

"lets say if you slack off youll still take home 30k, but if you worked hard and busted your ass you could be in the 50s (including benefits)"

70+hrs / week for 50k? that sounds like crap but i guess not bad if you don't have a college degree

6/22/2009 12:54:39 PM

dat 190% Obama money

6/22/2009 2:13:40 PM

^^ have you watched the news lately tho? people are working for free or being forced to take months off

6/22/2009 6:29:22 PM

i sent an email with my resume but havent heard anything back from them yet (sent it to the email address on their website's job listing)

7/3/2009 12:55:33 PM

^most likely over qualified...for education you should of put just a High School diploma.....

[Edited on July 3, 2009 at 8:14 PM. Reason : e]

7/3/2009 8:14:31 PM

good point

7/4/2009 10:39:21 AM

they said i was "overqualified" for my 1st job out of college

i went on for a long time about how i was in debt, needed a job, was loyal, etc

then 5 months later i jumped ship when my current job was offered

7/4/2009 10:45:53 AM