Charter is excited to announce the official launch of our new Project Engineer Development Program! The program allows recent college graduates, young professions, and interns/co-ops to gain the skills they need as a project engineer and accelerate their careers. Ryan Miller, a Project Engineer who has helped shape the program, shares his experiences below.
I joined Charter out of The University of Massachusetts, Amherst in the Fall of 2014. With a burgeoning interest for the built environment and propensity to learn, I began my career with the company in the Estimating Department. At first, I worked side-by-side with Charter’s Chief Estimator as we continued to grow and expand our workforce and estimating pursuits. Early on, the notion of a Project Engineer Development Program had not been fully fleshed out, but I would soon come to find myself in the midst of a flurry of realignments and strategic initiatives as the idea came to light. These changes exposed me to active project sites before being rotated to our Program Services Group. With migrating roles and responsibilities, I was given the opportunity to establish the best version of what a Project Engineer is supposed to be through my experiences and interactions with numerous individuals and environments.
My professional development to this point has complemented my ability to adapt and achieve success through resourcefulness and guidance by industry leaders. The structure of this program, though somewhat still in motion, was an excellent introduction into a competitive, progressive company. Through my time in the Estimating Group, I learned the basics of takeoff, evaluating project plans and specifications, subcontractor/vendor solicitation, and bid construction while mastering a variety of new software and customer relations.
The next step in my advancement landed my boots on the ground at a few active jobsites on the Operations side of things. Each site involved a number of complex features and safety procedures to familiarize with. In preparation for this venture, Charter provided me with over 120 hours of training to ready myself for excellence when working in the field. Some of the items I was tasked with included managing Charter personnel timecards, tracking quantities and production, ordering/purchasing materials and equipment, performing work zone air monitoring, and attending construction meetings, among other duties.
The final leg of the Program opened my eyes to the effort involved with assembling a thorough proposal. While working with the Program Services Group, the team integrated research and content from multiple stakeholders into the final product to convey not only Charter’s means and methods of achieving success, but also highlighting our highly qualified personnel and exceptional past performance. Through a creative vision and development of aligned win themes, this role demonstrated Charter’s commitment to collaboration and progress.
I entered Charter at a booming time, witnessing great changes to the company and economy. Among the greatest takeaways from this experience is the interactions with people; whether it is at the office, on the job site, at a site walk in Virginia, or on my morning commute. I’ve been given the training I need to excel and have a great understanding of how our business functions as a whole. I have acquired an aptitude for managing resources and picked up on what steers our strategic initiatives. I’m looking forward to continuing in the Project Engineer Development Program and seeing how it progresses and grows.
We are currently hiring for this position! You can apply by heading over to our careers page and you can learn more about the program here.
