Submitted by: Justin Coons
December 06, 2004
For Civil Engineering 1317
Profile of a Civil Engineer
Profile of a Civil Engineer
Larry M. Coons, P.E, P.Hg, D.E.E
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Occupation
Lawrence Earth Engineering, principal owner
Gordon Environmental, project director
Hydrology and Geotechnical Engineering
Education
B.S. Geological Engineering, New Mexico State University
Minor in Economics
M.S. Civil Engineering, New Mexico State University
Emphasis in Hydrology and Hydraulics
Minor in Structural Geology
College Life
“It was a pain,” Larry said of his early college course load. His schedule, like
most civil engineers, was loaded with physics and math classes. His first two years, he
said, were more math than engineering classes, but by his second semester as a
sophomore, he was getting involved in more and more civil engineering classes.
Starting in classes like statics and dynamics, he eventually found himself in
classes like surfacewater hydrology, which dealt with more specific topics. They weren’t
easier, he said, but they were more interesting. As he was getting deeper into geological
engineering, he spent more and more time studying.
“Once you commit to the program, you have to say ‘I’m going to put my head
down and go and not lift it up until I’m done,’” he said. Although Larry spent much of
his time studying and working on his degree, he still had time to play intramural soccer
and play guitar in a band.
He worked during his summer and winter breaks for Geohydrology Associates, a
geotechnical engineering firm in Albuquerque. Aside from the obvious perk of not
having to live with his parents over breaks, Larry said that he enjoyed being able connect
with people who were really involved in the profession. He said he also had an edge over
his peers when he would return to school, because he spent his breaks earning money
while learning more about his major.
After receiving his B.S. in Geological Engineering, Larry applied to work for the
Federal Bureau of Investigation as a forensic engineer. He would have investigated
accident areas, where, for example, an explosion would have occurred. He also applied
to work for the Middle-Eastern nation of Oman, which was hiring engineers fresh out of
college to help design a centralized water system. Instead of going with any of those
jobs, though, he decided to pursue a Masters in civil engineering.
A Masters degree is significant, he says, because it gives students a chance to
specialize before hitting the job market. He says that the ASCE is currently pushing to
make civil engineering a 5-year degree, because, if engineers go into the job market after
only a B.S., they will have to spend at least a year training while on the job. Hiring an
engineer who has graduated with an M.S. saves the employer a lot of trouble with on-thejob training, he says.
Larry decided not to pursue a Ph.D. in civil engineering because he felt that it is
another step in education, but it is not necessary.
Career Life
Upon leaving college, he began working full-time for Geohydrology Associates,
working mostly in areas of natural water, in a time when the EPA was changing many of
its regulations. After eight years, he left to work in other fields.
Larry began working for the UMTRA program in Albuquerque. As a site
hydrologist, he was in charge of the cleanup of uranium mill tailings at three sites. In his
four-year tenure with them, he rose to Department Manager, where he was placed in
charge of 24 sites. As Department Manager, he also acted as a liaison between engineers
and hydrologists. He designed capping systems, which were used in the containment of
the mill tailings. Since the UMTRA program, those capping systems have gone into
great use, and cleaning up mill tailings has become one of his specialties.
He moved on to become the Operations Manager at Daniel B. Stephens and
Associates, an environmental systems engineering firm in Albuquerque. At Daniel B.
Stephens and Associates, he dealt more with groundwater problems, mill tailings, and
landfills. He moved up to Principal Engineer, where he primarily managed other
engineers and he was in charge of singing and sealing all drawings issued by the firm.
Eventually, though, Larry felt he needed to branch out on his own.
He started his own business, Lawrence Earth Engineering, where he says he
works as “accountant, computer support, geologist, CAD designer, and engineer.” He
has also started working part time with Gordon Environmental, a firm in Bernalillo, New
Mexico. On is own and with Gordon Environmental, he has started to work more in
forensics and he has developed an expertise with landfill gas.
“I investigate what went wrong,” he says. The majority of his clients now are
insurance companies and lawyers.
New Kids
“Credentials can fool you,” Larry says. He says that he has interviewed many
engineers who just graduated from big, reputable schools, but he says that many of them
are not employable. He says many of the young guns in the business come to employers
with incredible GPAs and degrees from big universities, but they are not good employees
because they have no communication skills, work ethic, aren’t detail oriented, or cannot
write well.
His ideal employees, he says, are ones that are intrinsically motivated and can
think on their own. Sometimes the best employees come from the smaller, less reputable
schools, he says, but because they are more humble and, because they want to learn, they
fit in better in firms. Employers are more willing to help young engineers who are
willing to learn and have good interpersonal skills.