Be honest. How many of you have found it easy to
explain what you do to for a living to your family and closest friends? I ask
because it’s never been that easy for me. I’m often referred to as the “writer” in the family… or the guy
who knows a fair amount about the construction industry (based on an earlier
job where I covered the asphalt, masonry and concrete industries for 12+
years)… or (for the past two years) the plumbing guy. And I regularly receive a
steady stream of related questions.
My consistent attempts to clarify that my plumbing knowledge is niche-oriented
as an editor focusing on the needs and interests of commercial plumbing
designers (no disrespect to contractors intended) somehow gets lost, a victim
of selective hearing.
Figuring that plumbing designers face the same obstacle, I posed the
opening-paragraph question to designers interviewed for last month’s cover
story (“Women in Plumbing Engineering,” Sept. 2008), but added a follow-up
question as well: Is it hard to convey to others the importance of plumbing
engineering?
Consider some of their responses…
Angela Bowman (Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc.)
“Most of my family and friends understand what I do but they do not understand
all the detailed work and calculations that go into it. Many think that you just place pipe and
valves. They have a tendency to mix up
a plumber for a plumbing engineer. Once they get the general idea as to what
needs to be accomplished for the design, they can follow
along.”
Carol Johnson, CPD (Whitaker and Rawson, Inc.)
“My family does not grasp plumbing design or what the work entails. When I try
to explain what I do I find the translation intriguing. After overhearing a
litany of questions from my sister, my eight-year-old niece explained to
her that, ‘Aunt Carol saves people’s lives.’ So yes, ‘I save lives,’ ‘I
save buildings from fire,’ ‘I make the poo-poo water clean,’ and most of all,
‘I know how things work.’”
Renae Torborg, P.E. (Target Corp.)
“My grandfather and father, having worked in construction, understood the
concept of plumbing drawings, but others felt I just ‘drew lines.’ After I
completed several major projects and my family received nightly descriptions of
my daily events and details of each building I designed, they began to
understand that these ‘lines’ actually represented something that was dictated
by codes and calculations. They now seem to understand the concept of what I
do.”
I didn’t ask them the headline question because I assume they hear it enough - particularly
someone like engineerSusan Hunter, vitreous china manager of product
development for Gerber Plumbing Fixtures LLC and Danze, Inc.
“My friends and family generally understand that I develop toilets and other
bathroom fixtures and work closely with the factories to bring a good product
to our customers. They know from
real-life experience the difference well-engineered plumbing fixtures can have
on their daily life. No one likes a plugged toilet.”
Just as I suspected: De-plugging follows design. (With a plunger nearby, just
in case.)