I had an interview today with MPE Engineering. Well. I hope I left a positive impression. We talked about courses and experience in college classes, software used, the ESL world, and others. I bombed on two questions – expected salary and knowledge of MPE.
ASET states that 1-4 years experience will yield $52,194 / year for T.T. (Technologist in Training). I said expected salary was $28- to $35,000. Of course, I’m going by Songer Architecture offering less than $18 / hour for their Revit drafter and CY starting as a T.T. converting drawings from one software to another at $20 / hour (in Calgary!). I think the ASET salary chart for 2014 is a bit off.
I know what MPE does. I just kind of drew a blank, much the same as I would do during exams in school. I know from talking with MPE representatives who visited the college during their career fairs, talking with instructors, and viewing MPE’s website what they do. I just drew a blank. Possibly this is the weakest thing a person can do during an interview – appear to know nothing about the company. I mentioned public (civil) infrastructures, commercial buildings where load-bearing calcs are done by engineers, water systems & treatment plants, and some other stuff. Unfortunately, brain-blank still happened during the interview. I did ask about the transportation engineering arm of the company. They have two road test vehicles in Alberta, and they’re starting to do more highway work. I joked about them perhaps going to Moose Jaw, SK, as their roadway and connector infrastructures is one of the worst I’ve seen.
Nonetheless, MPE Engineering seems to be a good company to work for (with!) on many levels.
1. Great reputation for the work they do.
2. Diverse variety of works – civil infrastructure, land development, transportation, water systems, building structural engineering, sustainable designs … well, lots. If a person excels in one task, they can expand into that. (In a smaller company, there’s not much room to do that.)
3. Positive work atmosphere.
4. Lots of work in Lethbridge. (While Mom is still on this Earth, my commitment is to staying in Lethbridge and helping her.)
They had other interviews after me. I’m sure I was the first. Perhaps they have ongoing interviews and have a reservoir of applicants to choose from at any given time.
I’m now at Starbucks having a cup o’ joe.