Ten Years and a Million Lessons Keri A. Nutter, CPG-11579
For the 2014 National Conference in Prescott, Arizona, President Talkington asked me to present during the Young Professionals technical session. I wasn’t really sure what to discuss; I don’t really conduct any research, and I wasn’t really sure that I could fill 20 minutes with even one of my more exciting projects. But then I got to thinking about my audi- ence: what do I wish I had known when I started working? How did I get to where I was? How could my first 10 years of experience as a professional help others prepare for their own career?
When I graduated college in 2004, I really and truly thought I knew what I wanted to do. I had wanted to be a geolo- gist since high school, and all through college had carefully selected my courses to complement my interests. Of course, as graduation approached, I needed to find a job. With my heart set on natural hazard assessment, I quickly realized that fresh-off-the-stage graduates can’t be too picky in the job search– you kinda take what you can get and hope it some- how relates to your field.
About a week or so before graduation, I applied to an engineering firm’s ad in my hometown paper for a geologist and a geotechnical engineer. Both job descriptions required an understand- ing of geological processes: check. Both required field time– isn’t that what I had been training for? And both were in the geotechnical engineering department. At the time, I didn’t know what a geotech- nical engineer* was, but I needed a job and soon, so I applied for both positions.
I received a call back and had my interview the day after I returned home from graduating college. It was an inter- esting experience and I must have been really nervous, because I don’t remem- ber the interview. I remember stressing over how to dress for a professional job interview, but still maintain the image of a serious field geologist when wear- ing business casual attire. (I have since learned that geologists can wear wing- tips or heels in the office, but still rock steel toes in the field. We’re versatile that way.)
The interview must have gone well (enough) and I was offered the position
as DOWL’s newest geologist! My first two weeks were spent in the soils testing laboratory, shaking sieves and running Atterberg Limits tests. They had me classifying soil using the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) system (where as I was classically trained on the USDA system) and there was not a single rock to be found. Where were all the rocks?!
Two weeks later, management decid- ed I had enough lab training to start learning the fieldwork – turns out this was just more soil classification, but done outside, in smaller quantities, and with drillers yelling at me to hurry up! The work was tedious and repetitive, but at least my outdoor office had a great view. Still no rocks, though.
About a month into my new job, my manager asked me to join her on a trip for pile load-testing in Akiachak, a small village upriver from Bethel. I was going to get to go to a village and learn some- thing new with my boss, who is a pretty amazing engineer. I was thrilled! We took the jet to Bethel, and then chartered a small plane to a village with a single, 3,300-foot gravel runway. We had to walk a short distance from the airport to the school site, where hundreds of driven steel pipe piles had been installed. My boss Maria may have taught me how to do the static pile load test that day, but what I remember most is the interaction she had with the pile driving contractor, the client, and the inspector.
It was this short day trip to a small village and seemingly simple school site that made me realize just how important the work I do is. The information that I obtain in the field is the basis of the foundation design and ultimate perfor- mance of a building, or road, or tower, or whatever development I am working on. Some of the buildings, such as this school, or the airport runway, are essen- tial to a community like Akiachak and serve as more than their named purpose. A village school, for example, is the com- munity center, emergency shelter, and occasional clinic, as well as an education facility. And if their expensive new build- ing doesn’t perform the way it should, the community as a whole suffers.
And it all clicked for me. I then felt like I was part of something important and that the work I was doing meant some- thing. And even though I have (almost) always found my job fun, I like that it is relevant to our daily lives; people depend on this information, and my scientific background and understanding of geo- logical processes is crucial to assisting the engineers.
Since that moment 10 years ago, I have been to more than 60 communities (several of them multiple times for mul- tiple weeks), drilled about 300 projects across Alaska, and been to almost all four “corners” of Alaska (Ketchikan, Barrow, St. Lawrence Island and Cold Bay). And I still want to do it!
I did eventually get to practice some hard rock geology and have had the opportunities to teach engineers about glacial geology, various soil deposition environments, and the importance of geology to the engineering and design of their project. I have also assisted our materials testing laboratory to develop armor rock testing by identifying the rock samples that clients submit.
I started my career as a staff geologist, but I accepted every challenge I could and found my niche. I did my time in the villages by sleeping on an air mattress on the gym floor, pulling 14 to 16 hour days in inclement weather, and working nights and weekends to meet a deadline. I said “yes” and asked questions, and by realizing that I didn’t know everything but could try anything, I have made geo- technical engineering my career. That is all it took for me to grow personally and professionally, and to gain the experi- ence and tenure to earn a chance at working in awesome project locations.
Now, I am a professional geologist with my CPG and I am leading the geo- technical engineering department that I joined 10 years ago. I have surrounded myself with smart, positive, capable people that share the same goals for proj- ects and clients as I. I have advanced in my career, had a family, and participated in professional organizations. How did I do it? I just pressed on and accepted the projects that came to me, regardless of how pleasant or unpleasant the work or
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