Michael Russell

Background

About Michael Russell

Right. Get an engineer to talk about themselves. After fifteen minutes staring at the blank "Summary" box and blinking cursor, deleting at least three openings and a dozen badly done turns of phrase they go on the other boxes: education, work history, projects - even interests and causes. Then they go back to that blank "Summary" box and blinking cursor knowing that the vainly-hoped-for inspiration didn't come - and they truly are living a Dilbert strip.What any engineer understands is that the data in the summary boxes can't really convey what gets us jazzed. So, I'll try to here; because if you're reading this, I can at least try to make it worth your while.When engineers tell people what they do, they know that they have about five seconds before the eyes glaze over. So, I usually open up with:"I'm a structural engineer. I get to play with my blocks."- which is so true.But I don't really like to play alone. What else can't really be conveyed here is how much I really enjoy multi-faceted projects. I love being at the table with stake-holders, planners, architects & landscape architects, other engineers, and construction professionals - even artists and attorneys. They all have unique talents and surprising insights that, when tapped early and effectively, always make the project delivered better, is always a learning experience, and is very often quite fun.