MRM
Geotechnical
- Jun 13, 2002
- 345
Hello Foundations by Terzaghi!!
What do I know? I’m about 4 or 5 years older. That’s good news for me because it means that I’m still alive! And life is fun; I want to be alive!![[afro2]](/data/assets/smilies/afro2.gif "[afro2] [afro2]")
Without really noticing it at the time, I realized that I’ve taken a little break from Eng-tips there, I guess, because things got pretty busy. However, I’ve completed my Ph.D. though and now I’m a real person again in the eyes of society! By the way, I’ve missed our conversations and I hope you’re all doing great these days.![[2thumbsup]](/data/assets/smilies/2thumbsup.gif "[2thumbsup] [2thumbsup]")
After thinking, at great length, about my goals, interests, etc., I chose to begin applying to primarily teaching-based universities. I've accepted a wonderful faculty position at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. I’ve been here since August 2012 and it was an amazing and successful first year for me. I’ve made a good choice. I was extremely impressed by the students I've had, and it was such a pleasure working with them. I'm excited for the next 30 or 40 years! It was also exciting being here this last year during the basketball season. We had a great year, but we really should have had a really, really great year! Even still; a great time.
I have a question for you though, if you’re still willing to give advice to someone who went missing several years ago…
I’ve posed a similar question back in 2006, probably as a result of my trying to anticipate my future. Now this question has returned to haunt me some more. I've been weighing my options and I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Here’s the original thread:
thread765-146420
While it was a great discussion, I don’t think we really got to one of my main questions…
The question has to do with risk, liability, and insurance.
I’m interested in consulting. I'm interested in this for the following reasons: 1) stay sharp, 2) bring interesting and recent stories into the classroom, and 3) potentially have the ability to write items off associated with a small business, 4) officially looked upon favorably by my department for future promotions, etc.
Question: is it a good idea for me to do engineering consulting “going naked,” as many faculty everywhere do (I'm guessing...), or should I concentrate on getting back into playing guitar and bass somewhere on the weekends during the summers??
I've recently checked with PL insurance providers, and have been told that they won't even write a policy for "part-time" engineering.
It has been suggested by some of my excellent mentors that perhaps I should find my niche in forensic engineering, where I am relatively “safe,” legally speaking. Or perhaps work as a consultant to an engineering firm with an annual retainer, maybe under that firm’s insurance policy. I'm not quite sure I can deduct items for taxes purposes if I go that route though-stil
l need to determine that. Otherwise, these options sound very promising to me.
And while I was, by most any measure, successful in navigating the legal aspects related to working as a full-time consultant/project manager under an established consulting firm over the course of eight years, I'm obviously finding I still have questions concerning hanging out a shingle for myself. I appreciate any advice you have for me.![[pipe]](/data/assets/smilies/pipe.gif "[pipe] [pipe]")
What do I know? I’m about 4 or 5 years older. That’s good news for me because it means that I’m still alive! And life is fun; I want to be alive!
Without really noticing it at the time, I realized that I’ve taken a little break from Eng-tips there, I guess, because things got pretty busy. However, I’ve completed my Ph.D. though and now I’m a real person again in the eyes of society! By the way, I’ve missed our conversations and I hope you’re all doing great these days.
After thinking, at great length, about my goals, interests, etc., I chose to begin applying to primarily teaching-based universities. I've accepted a wonderful faculty position at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. I’ve been here since August 2012 and it was an amazing and successful first year for me. I’ve made a good choice. I was extremely impressed by the students I've had, and it was such a pleasure working with them. I'm excited for the next 30 or 40 years! It was also exciting being here this last year during the basketball season. We had a great year, but we really should have had a really, really great year! Even still; a great time.
I have a question for you though, if you’re still willing to give advice to someone who went missing several years ago…
I’ve posed a similar question back in 2006, probably as a result of my trying to anticipate my future. Now this question has returned to haunt me some more. I've been weighing my options and I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Here’s the original thread:
thread765-146420
While it was a great discussion, I don’t think we really got to one of my main questions…
The question has to do with risk, liability, and insurance.
I’m interested in consulting. I'm interested in this for the following reasons: 1) stay sharp, 2) bring interesting and recent stories into the classroom, and 3) potentially have the ability to write items off associated with a small business, 4) officially looked upon favorably by my department for future promotions, etc.
Question: is it a good idea for me to do engineering consulting “going naked,” as many faculty everywhere do (I'm guessing...), or should I concentrate on getting back into playing guitar and bass somewhere on the weekends during the summers??
I've recently checked with PL insurance providers, and have been told that they won't even write a policy for "part-time" engineering.
It has been suggested by some of my excellent mentors that perhaps I should find my niche in forensic engineering, where I am relatively “safe,” legally speaking. Or perhaps work as a consultant to an engineering firm with an annual retainer, maybe under that firm’s insurance policy. I'm not quite sure I can deduct items for taxes purposes if I go that route though-stil
l need to determine that. Otherwise, these options sound very promising to me.
And while I was, by most any measure, successful in navigating the legal aspects related to working as a full-time consultant/project manager under an established consulting firm over the course of eight years, I'm obviously finding I still have questions concerning hanging out a shingle for myself. I appreciate any advice you have for me.