ONLY on PMEngineer.com
The Unseen Profession
by Joseph Matje P.E. , LEED
May 21, 2007
Why an industry veteran never says “engineer” when discussing his work and career.
When someone asks me “what do you do?,” I usually tell a
lie. I mumble something about working
for a construction company, which is not exactly true since I in fact work for
an engineering design firm.
But I try to avoid saying that phrase or anything involving
the word “engineer” because A) no one outside of my business knows what that
means, and B) no one cares. The ironic
part about my career is that if I could somehow get through the initial boring
introduction to engineering and into some examples of my work, people would be
interested—since I am fortunate enough to be on the design team for many
architecturally significant projects in my home town of Philadelphia, and even
a few further up and down the East Coast.
But I never bother, because I am a member of the unseen profession, and
I do not want any attention at all.
This is your attitude when you work for a profession where
attention is a bad thing. Other
professions in this category include IT personnel, Maytag repair people and
bank robbers. This attitude matures
after a few years in said professions because you quickly come to realize that
the less I myself or my work is seen, commented on or asked about, the more
successful my designs, and therefore, the structures as a whole have
become. That is why I strive to
professionally be the most invisible person as humanly possible.
A Perfect Example
I will give an example of what I mean.
A few months back a colleague and I walked to an annual display of
noteworthy architectural projects from Philadelphia called the AIA Philadelphia Awards For
Design Excellence. These projects go on visual display to the general
public in a large indoor shopping area in Center City Philadelphia before the
organization chooses the actual winners from the dozens of projects nominated.
Many of the projects on display were ones in which my firm
was on the design team. As I browsed through all of the poster boards on
display, I was surprised to discover that the name of my company actually
appeared at the bottom of one of the boards, and I quickly commented as such to
my co-worker.
Looking back on it, the fact that the dozen or so projects
we worked on received no recognition and did not arouse the slightest thought
or comment is a great example of unseen profession membership. The one project that drew attention to our
company was the one that attracted so much of our own attention. And attention is a bad thing.
The unseen profession comes about when you are in a
profession where any attention at all is going to be overwhelmingly
negative. A brand new building will
function optimally and be considered a success when the systems inside the
building are basically invisible. Just think of how many times you notice
technical things around your own workplace. Now take away the times you notice
them because you are having some sort of problem. There you have it.
Architects respect our work because we bend and form our
designs around their designs, changing nothing about what they have already
sculpted in their minds. After said
design becomes a physical reality, no one utilizing the structure will notice
anything that I have designed, except when it is not working properly or looks
out of place as a part of some aesthetic.
Any comment I receive from a client says as much, and usually involves
me having to revise some finished product, or troubleshoot a system or
construction technique.
I would rather hear nothing at all than anything, and
this is my measure of success. In the
unseen profession, “less is more”, to quote another more seen member of the
design community, and I could not agree more.
Joseph Matje P.E. , LEED
Joseph Matje, P.E. LEED, is a project engineer for Bruce E. Brooks and
Associates, located in Philadelphia, PA. He can be contacted at joseph.matje@brucebrooks.com.
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
In the AEC Store
2009 Hydronics Know How II CD
Virtual encyclopedia on modern hydronic systems.
CONNECT WITH PM ENGINEER: