What I Do!

Today I thought it'd be fun to do a post on what I do day to day for work!  It really varies but that's the fun of it!

I graduated with a civil engineering degree and a business minor in 2005 from NC State (yup, 5 year plan with summer school - love engineering!).  The natural job after school is a civil engineering design job where I sit in the office for 10-12 hours a day and grinding out grading plans and stormwater ponds.  Yes, I did this for not even two years and was miserable.  Although I was working at a very reputable firm with fantastic benefits and great people, it just wasn't me.  I had to get out.  Sooooo before I quit, I started looking for jobs just for fun.  And through a staffing firm, my current company found me and I found them! 

Match made in heaven - in my opinion at least!

I now work (and have since April 2007) for a commercial developer.  Basically I do all of the up front site investigation work on retail deals (and some industrial and office too).  One of our brokers gives me a site to go look at and I determine if it's buildable (wetlands, traffic, grades, utilities etc).  If it is, I put together a budget and we decide if it's still a real deal financially.  If so, I go meet with the municipality to determine the permitting process.  We get the deal approved by our tenant and then we go to work. 

We hire all of the vendors - dirt and environmental guys,  surveyors, engineers etc to make it happen.  They start working on plans and then I go with them or sometimes by myself to the municipality meetings like City Council.  Sometimes I stand before the Board in my suit and have to raise my right hand and swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth; other times I get on their level in my cowboy boots and cords, just depends where I am. 

Then once we get all of our permits, we hire our general contractor and the building gets built!  We manage the construction process too.  Once the tenant opens for business, they pay us rent and we're their landlord.  Pretty cool deal right?!  Wow, that makes it sound really easy.  HA!

Where do I work?  Well we are based out of Charlotte but our folks are on the road a lot.  All of us travel from Massachusetts down to South Carolina, some across the country and we've done a project in Scotland (I didn't get to go).  We are out of the office mostly every week but it's just the right amount....only about 1-2 nights.  Honestly it's all I can take haha.  If my trips were flying to one place and driving an hour to a meeting then coming back to the hotel at 6pm and going to the airport the next morning, I'd be in heaven.  Most of the time, I roll 14-16 hour days on the road and that includes flying and then driving lots of hours.  And night meetings.  I have hardly any relaxing meals on the road - most of the time it's fast food while driving. 

I'm not complaining.  Honestly I love what I do and feel so fortunate.  I really have the best job in my opinion.  I work with awesome people that I just love and we have a nice office in a great part of Charlotte.  Just really lucky. 

I count my blessings daily.  :)

(and no they don't know about my blog!)