Life Update-My Career

I realized the other day that some of my friends may not be quite up-to-date with my life. Meaning, you don't know what I am doing now and what will I be doing after I graduate. So for those of you who already know, this could be boring, but I wanted to give everyone an update.

If everything goes well, I will be finished with all of the requirements to earn a master's degree in Civil Engineering this April (2009). The reason I'm not saying "graduating", is because I won't officially receive my diploma until August. Technically, I would have to be done with my thesis in about 3 weeks, and defend it. We haven't even finalized the research yet, but that is coming up very quickly. BYU will at least give me a "letter of completion" so that my future employer will know that I will be receiving my master's degree, and I didn't just flunk out of the graduate program.

As for my thesis (for those who really want to know), it is transportation related. I am working with the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), to help them better prioritize future construction projects based on economic factors. In other words, as UDOT looks at which jobs need to be built over the next five years, they will use criteria that I helped to develop, which will tell them which roads provide a more likely chance of economic development than another. The research has been very interesting. No other DOT in the U.S. has a program like ours that does not involve computer modeling. For Utah, computer modeling would be too expensive. Hopefully, for all of you who stay in Utah, my research will make your lives better!

I do have a future employer. Some have told me that I have sold my soul. If I did, I got a pretty good price on it:) I will be working with ExxonMobil. To be honest, I never thought that I was going to work in the energy business, but things just worked out perfectly. Ever since I started working at Geneva Rock with their construction division, I have loved being a part of the actual building and the problem solving that comes along with that. It always made me wonder if I would make a good design engineer. You know, the one that sits at a computer all day with a pocket protector. I can't see myself doing that.

With Exxon, I will be in their construction division, that oversees all the new capital improvement projects for the company. The smallest project is $500 million and the largest is near $10 billion. I can't even comprehend those amounts. When I was in Houston for my interview, I saw a scaled model of one of those massive projects. Amazed at the scope of this thing, I turned to the man who was interviewing me and asked him where I would even fit in on such a project. He pointed to a small little corner and said, "you would be in charge of this small part." In reality, that corner is probably more difficult than I can imagine right now. Needless to say, I am stoked. I will learn more about my job description later, but the sky is the limit right now.

Some of you are probably wondering where this job is taking me. Well, the official headquarters is in Houston, TX. I know it will be hot and humid, but I think that I can do this. Everyone there kept telling me that I will go from my air conditioned house to my air conditioned car and from there to my air conditioned office. So not too bad. One of the more exciting things about working with Exxon is the chance to travel the world! As the construction division is only working on one project in the U.S. right now, I will have a big opportunity to travel. Places they said that I will work in, and could possibly live in for a small amount of time were: Australia, Indonesia, Qatar, Italy, Spain, Norway, England, Canada, Nigeria, and more!

There is so much more want to tell you to update my life, but all of that will have to wait. Needless to say, I am excited that I have a job in this economic environment currently enveloping the country. Change is exciting, and it seems like I will get a healthy dose come August.