All institutions engaged in engineering consulting business in economic construction must be equipped with a certain number of registered consulting engineers (investment). So what does a consulting engineer do? Let's take a look at the understanding of netizens!
What do consulting engineers do?
When I was engaged in design before, I also came into contact with consulting. But at that time, the concept of consulting engineer was too narrow in my mind, thinking that consulting engineers were pseudo-engineers in foreign design companies who didn't draw construction drawings, but pointed to the scheme all day and inspired words, such as Arup, AECOM and so on.
They are paid much more than the design, and they don't have to work overtime every day to catch up with the drawings, but they often ask the design institute to change this and that, like the agent of Party A. But I have to admit that only the structural engineers there can be called real structural engineers, that is, to study whether the structural scheme is reasonable and optimize the scheme, which is what structural engineers should do. And our so-called structural engineers work overtime every day to draw construction drawings, and it is hardly our turn to consider whether the structural scheme is reasonable. Once, I almost went to such a Fortune 500 engineering consulting company, and later gave up because of my serious dislike of design work.
But the consulting engineer I'm going to talk about today is not like this, it's too narrow. When I say consulting engineering, I mean people engaged in engineering consulting industry. For example, the government wants Gai Lou, but it doesn't understand the construction management and the procedures of land planning in the early stage. What do we do? There is such an intermediary called a consulting company. I'll help you write the application report and help you with the project. When the project is approved, you find someone to build it, and I will help you manage the whole process, supervise the design, construction and supervision. If the government has any objection to the cost, I will help you with the cost consultation, check it for you, and see which contents should be given and which construction units should be cheated by you. The government wants to allocate funds for a public welfare project. How much is appropriate? I don't mean that my government will give me as much as the project unit wants. I have to find a third-party intermediary to help me objectively evaluate how much this project is suitable for. This third-party intermediary is a consulting company. Also, do you think the government should write a plan or conduct an economic development research or an industrial development research institute to do it by itself? Many times the government can't do it, because they are unprofessional, so they leave the job to a consulting company. You do it for me, and I'll give you money. The cost of a project ranges from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands and millions.
I think everyone who has been engaged in real estate must know the existence of such an industry, but I never knew there was such a profession as a designer before. Real estate project application report, government investment project fund application report, evaluation report, all kinds of planning, land formalities application report and implementation plan, and even the listed company's fund-raising report before listing. You can find an engineering consulting company if you need to prepare it. After all, every company and every individual is just like you and me. First, they have no qualifications in this field and their writing style is not good. What they wrote did not meet the requirements. In this way, consulting companies have a place to use.
Those who do this kind of intermediary work are called consulting engineers. That's true. I'm just giving you advice to help you realize what you want to do. To put it bluntly, it is an intermediary, but there is a better name, consulting engineer.
Alternative direction of design and career change.
Many people told me that I don't want to do design. What other direction can I turn? Generally speaking, when we say not to design, we mean not to be a draftsman in a design institute, because the main job of structural engineers in domestic design institutes is drawing. There are only a few positions suitable for our structural engineers in the construction field.
From the design institute to Party A, the most suitable thing is design management or technical work, but there is no need to draw pictures, the pressure is not so great, and the income is much stronger than that of the design institute. But now the real estate industry is depressed, even if developers recruit such positions, they all require rich experience, and it is best to have a certificate. In fact, people who want to jump ship are often newcomers with short working years and insufficient experience, so this road is getting harder and harder now.
Second, enter real estate and change careers. Engaged in project management, prophase or investment and financing. This cost is too high, basically the previous design is useless, which is equivalent to starting from scratch, suitable for one or two years, and I want to change careers completely. However, it seems that it is not easy to find at present. Because Party A prefers to recruit fresh graduates to do this kind of work, and thinks that people trained from the beginning are better than those who become monks halfway. Moreover, our structural engineers always give people the impression that they are strictly licensed and follow the rules, which makes people feel inflexible. Party A often doesn't want people like design institutes to jump ship.
Third, the small design institute should be the person in charge. The advantage is that you don't have to work by yourself, you can boss around your subordinates, you are addicted to leadership, and your income is generally better than before. However, the problems faced by the compound are: the market is depressed, the compound may at least survive, and the small courtyard may collapse, which is unsafe and not recommended.
Fourth, this is what I want to say today (finally hit the nail on the head). Let's turn to engineering consulting.
Comparison between designers and consultants
First, from a big perspective, consulting includes design. Engineering consulting is a kind of service industry and the tertiary industry, aiming at providing professional services in various engineering-related fields. In this sense, engineering consulting includes engineering design. The certificate of a registered consulting engineer is not as valuable as a registered structure or a registered building. In fact, many state-owned compounds have engineering consulting qualifications and can produce various reports. But it is not clear when it started. Many design institutes do not regard this piece as a good business development, or never pay attention to it. In fact, consulting and reporting by design institutes will definitely be better than specialized consulting companies, because they all know design. The design institute will also accept the project consultation, so it will be an advantage. Perhaps the design institute despises this business and thinks that the workload is too small and the fees are low. It is not meat at all, but vegetarian food at most, so they all give up, which just creates an unprofessional consulting company.
Second, the design fee is high and the consulting fee is low. If you compare the design fee with the consulting fee for compiling the report, there is no comparison. The design fee is several tens of millions, and the consulting fee is tens of thousands. When it reaches hundreds of thousands, it will be miserable. But all kinds of inside information, which business is more profitable, must only be known by people who really understand.
Third, the design cycle is long and the consultation cycle is short. As mentioned above, the design fee is high, but in fact there is not much money at hand, and no one knows where it has been spent. Although the consulting fee is low, the cycle is fast. Reports are in ready-made formats and can be modified slightly. A skilled worker can basically produce a report in a day or two. A report costs tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. You calculate that this month's output value may not be hundreds of thousands or even millions. As for designers, as far as I know, the annual output value is basically 600,000 to 700,000. Design income is generally about one-fifth of the output value. At this ratio, the gap comes out, the output value is low, and then according to the commission ratio, the income will naturally be less. And consulting, although the fee for each report is not high, but the business volume is large, almost any formalities need to be reported, so the income after one year is still ok. Several people I know have just graduated for a few years, and their average monthly income is between 1 10,000 and 20,000, and their annual income after tax is almost 200,000, which is much better than the design.
Fourth, the design is professional and demanding. Consulting requirements are not that high. The design institute recruits people with master's degrees, such as 985,211,and the students are very professional in architecture, structure, water, heating and electricity. Those who need to engage in engineering consulting are all kinds of talents, most of whom are general construction. Buildings, structures, water, heating and electricity are all needed. In addition, economic majors or other highly specialized industries are needed. Relatively speaking, we have some advantages in design and consultation. Whether you are engaged in design, construction, cost and project management, you need to consult. Design needs to master a lot of professional software, and consulting generally only needs to be able to use word, at least for now, and it may develop to high-end and professional in the future. The entry threshold is not too high, and it is comprehensive. As long as you have a certain understanding of the industry, you are basically qualified for this job.
Fourth, the consulting interface is wide and the design is too narrow. As all designers know, basically, they sit in front of the computer all day, burying their heads in painting and not meeting a few people, which is very unfavorable for personal development. For consultation, you can basically contact the boss of Party A's early department directly. From the perspective of network accumulation, I think it goes without saying that everyone knows which is better.
What are the requirements for switching to engineering consulting?
After boasting so much about the benefits of consulting, some people will definitely say that you are a fool and always say that the design is not good. Think about it, too. The article I wrote said little about design. As a former structural engineer, I feel guilty. Maybe the design hurts me so much that I don't like it very much.
Many new design friends who have entered the business in the past two years have been deeply touched by the articles I wrote before. The design industry has been depressed in the past two years, but everyone has to live and get married, and income is the top priority. Without economic resources, it is nonsense to talk about ideals and loyalty to the cause.
The real estate industry is not easy to find a job and needs experience. For design partners who have just entered the business for a few years, engineering consulting may be a direction with low threshold and good prospects. At least it's okay to jump into real estate in the future.
Engaged in engineering consulting, simply speaking, is to compile reports, which requires an understanding of the economy, but not deep. For those of us who are engaged in structural design, those simple economic impact analysis are all side dishes, so don't worry too much. The main thing is to be psychologically prepared, because once this step is taken, there is no turning back, and we can only go along this road, either consulting all the time or doing real estate in the future.
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