----
“Science is
about knowing; engineering is about doing” …. Henry Petroski
Henry
Petroski was an American engineer specializing in failure analysis. A professor
both of civil engineering and history at Duke University, he was also a
prolific author. And though I didn’t use Petroski’s above words at the sharing
about which I am writing this piece but it's these words which I elaborated in
the entire sharing, that’s why I thought of using the same here! Well, I love
(I mean it) to speak (read as lecture because officially that’s what it is
called as) with the students & of any age as one, it is a challenge to test
myself to hold those minds for an hour without them getting bored & two, it
gives me opportunity to think on the subject I am speaking from every possible
dimension which these minds can think & its fun, its like sharpening my own
mind & patience too! Though when the subject is civil engineering &
audience is second year engg students then one thing is sure that they won't
dare to hoot you out as their faculties are also sitting in first row &
submission marks matters a lot in engineering course! Yet, as a speaker the
challenge which I take with myself remains as I can feel & see the bored
faces & eagerness when the lecture will be done & they will be free, I
want to take that challenge as this must not happen & as a speaker you can
very well tell yourself whether you succeeded in it or not by looking at the
faces in front of you!
Ohk, this
is not about the art of lecturing but about civil engineering &
opportunities as well career ahead which I was supposed to share with the 2nd year
students, most of which has come from direct admission after completing their
diploma in civil engineering, a path which I myself have walked on nearly
thirty-five years back! This is one more reason I accepted the challenge of the
lecture when my friend Dr Samer Shastri invited me to deliver the lecture in
front of this lot of young to-be civil engineers. When the subject is a bit
general such as this, then it's better to make a simple PPT with topics under
the main subject you want to cover so you don’t deviate from the flow, which is
what I did & sharing the same here…
“An
Engineer is a person, who applies his/her knowledge,
to make the
world a better place” …
Though I
have used quotes of Mr Petroski for this sharing but for the lecture I started
with my own definition of an engineer as before becoming civil engineer first
you are an engineer is something many students forget! Engineering is an
approach not to your profession but to the entire life as then only you learn
to use the formulas you will be learning ahead is what I told them! Knowledge
is available on Google also but that doesn’t make you an engineer & so mere
degree won’t make you engineer but the understanding of this profession is what
will make you able & for that I share below two stories with them!...
Man in a
Balloon …
…A man is
flying in a hot air balloon and realizes that he is lost. He reduces height and
spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts,
"Excuse
me. Can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but
I don't know where I am."
The man
below says,
"Yes.
You are in a hot air balloon, hovering approximately 30 feet above this field.
You are between 40- & 42-degrees north latitude, and between 58- &
60-degrees west longitude.
"You must be an engineer" says the balloonist.
"I am", replies the man. "How did you know?"
"Well..."
says the balloonist. "Everything you told was technically correct, but I
have no idea what to make of your information and the fact is I am still
lost."
The man
below says, "You must be a Manager"
"I
am", replies the balloonist. "How did you know?"
"Well..."
says the man. "You don't know where you are, or where you are going. You
made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve
your problem. The fact is you are in the exact same position you were in before
we met but now it is somehow
my fault.
--
The Train
Story…
A company's
engg & sales team, with 4 members each, is needed to travel from Pune
to Mumbai for a seminar...
While
going to Mumbai, the sales team went & bought 4 tickets, while the
engg team bought just 1 ticket for 4 people, of Deccan Queen!
When TC
came, the sales team showed their 4 tickets, all 4 members of engg went
& hid in the toilet, TC knocked on the toilet door, one hand came out with
a ticket, TC punched & it & went away! Sales team was furious as they
had been outsmarted by the engg team...
They
decided to take revenge & way back both teams were to spend some time in
Lonavala, so the sales team bought only 1 ticket but the engg team didn't
buy any tickets! Sales team was joyous, thinking this time the engg team will
land on their face! Train started, as coon TC came, the sales team went &
hid in one toilet while the engg team hid in another end's toilet. One engg
went to the toilet where the sales team were hiding and knocked on the door,
one hand came out with the ticket the engg took that ticket, ran to the toilet
where engg team was hiding & you know what must have happened when real TC
came..
Now the
sales team was more furious, next day on the way to Pune they were determined
to take revenge on the engg team, so at the platform, they waited to see what
engg team did, but engg team bought all 4 tickets. Smilingly, the sales team
didn't buy any tickets. It was a Local train (No toilets) !!!
Morale of
these stories was not fun but application of the knowledge & understanding
the situation in totality for being able to do that, is what makes you an
engineer!
System is
for the people, people are not for the system, yet people won't survive without a
system…
Engineering
is a system, as its outcome of formulas, logic & application which isn’t
possible without a proper system in place & I told them engineers don’t
work on feelings or intuitions but on facts & figures, which is possible
only if a right system is in place! Of late I come across many youngsters
(including my sons) with a favourite line, i.e., I felt this & I didn’t
feel it & that’s why I didn’t do it! Well, the world doesn't run on our
feelings & if not anybody but an engineer must not forget this basic about
the life & that’s why from today take an oath that you won’t use this line
ever, is what I told them!
Understanding the Job at hand, is what makes you an Engineer…
Most of the
time people fail because they don’t understand the problem itself & this is
why first one must understand the problem then only you can find the solution
with the right way to do it! Job of an engineer is twofold, first, build a
system which won’t have a problem & second, be ready with solutions if
problems arise & improve the system. At the same time any problem is solved
completely only when the person who is facing that problem is satisfied with
the solution is what an engineer must learn to accept! And for a civil engineer
the entire world is his client because right from home, to railway station, to
bridge, to school, to road or a water line every living person (and other
species too) are dealing with some civil engineering job & to see their
comfort while using that service is the job of an engineer!
It’s not the post you work at but, what you give to that
post is what defines you…
And to achieve this we must forget the false or say showbiz behind the
terminology of posts, authority or respect, as real honor is in solving a
problem with your knowledge & not in tag you carry along of some position!
Money, power, position all are byproducts of knowledge & solution providing
attitude, understand this as there is no term like good or bad in engineering,
but there is right or wrong, that’s what engineering is about! Either you have
done a right job or wrong job & unless we stand or say thrive for rightness
in our work we will always end up as wrong engineer, mind it!
Accepting wrong reporting makes you a bigger lousy person than the
one who reports wrongly…
And once you make your own definition of right & wrong then you
won’t ever accept wrong reporting neither you will ever make such, that will
make you a right engineer! And that path one has to practice as failure is in
giving up in trying for rightness, is what these three years will be teaching
you! Reporting has great importance in engineering as unless you have a right
system of reporting you won't reach your goal, is what I told them. As well,
the right reporting system helps us in minimizing errors is another important
aspect of working which no syllabus will teach us directly.
There is nothing like a “Good Engineer,” or a “Bad Engineer,” you
either have it in you or you don’t…
After
passing out from here all of you will be called as an engineer but it won't
make you a right engineer as that will be just a piece of paper but how you use
what you have learned in these three years only will decide whether you are a
right engineer for the job or not & for that learn everything thrown at you
here by understanding the purpose of it than just mugging the formulas for
marks, is what I told them. Marks are important just like money but more than
that important is how you earned those marks & what will you be doing with
those marks, mind it!
A Whole New World…
About opportunities, a whole new world awaits them as civil engg is
a basic branch & ever-increasing population of humans will always be a boon
for this branch with our endless needs to live! What we need to do is look for
the opportunities & fit in as per our liking & capacity, that’s the
trick! May it be a govt job (which is actually getting most difficult to
perform than not to get in) to contracting to services such as maintenance of
the buildings, to profession to teaching to using this knowledge for other
paths of careers such as marketing or finance there are hundreds of paths which
starts from here! Key factor is, knowing what you want to be & no path will
be easy if you want to become a right engineer, hard work is your room partner
now, get used to it!
Fitness of Structure is possible only if you follow…
Fitness of Character,
Fitness of Mind,
& Fitness of the Body…
Last but most important, if you want to create strong, useful &
right structures then first you will have to mold yourself in one such or else
like a weak foundation of a building whatever you will create will remain weak
i.e. wrong! And for that you must have a strong character with clarity of right
& wrong about life & not just about your profession! You must have a
fit mind, which is possible only with knowledge & humbleness & for that
read, travel, respect wisdom, are the key factors! Last but least, hardships can be dealt only with fitness of your body ,
so be fit first to create fit structures, make yourself proud by your creations
& that will be your best Guru-Dakshina to all your teachers & parents,
adios with this note, my young civil engineer friends!
-
You can watch this sharing on YouTube links below & plz do share if feel worth…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIdxbZMSdTk
https://youtu.be/U-7Y5goFcvk?si=T-DlM3F0YBvfpOGA
-
Sanjay Deshpande
Sanjeevani Dev.
Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/
Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...
https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345
Please do visit my blog
links below to read about real estate & home buying!
https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2024/01/choosing-your-home-along-with-future-of.html
http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2023/02/blog-post.html
Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345
For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below
www.punecorporation.org
Take your issues to Hon PM at link below...
Think Green, Think Life
www.sanjeevanideve.com
/ https://junglebelles.in/
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