Pressure, stress, anxiety, all these feelings are what most would try to avoid no matter what profession they are. As you rank higher in an organization, your responsibility increases. Who does not like the sweet taste of a fat paycheck?
Such reward often comes with a price that one has to pay – Time. Irreplaceable as it is, one can only afford the luxury of time if he/her have the earning power to buy other people’s time. Every time I worked on a project, times passes swiftly as the deadline is drawing close – Every minute is gold.
Working around the clock
It is not a comparison between professions. It is a race of time. There are deadlines ahead, and everything seems to be at a slow pace. An engineer is more like a herder calling every party to speed up things; to deliver everything on time. Not one can be delayed.
Wait, what? Can it not be delivered on time? As one party could not send over the supply on time, the entire project would be jeopardized. What should an engineer in such position do? Panic kicks in, stress overwhelm the mind of the engineer. The deadline is visiting soon. It feels like death from the inside out.
It is not the nature of an engineer to give up. It never is!
Suddenly, an engineer has turned into another person – A magician.
The Unfinished Business
Everyone involved in the project is working 24/7 to ensure that it can be delivered on time. For what is missing, the engineer is negotiating with the client if the deadline can be postponed a little; to buy some time to get the supply needed.
On one side, the engineer is dealing with the client to deliver everything on time. On the other hand, he/she is sourcing out every contact he/she has to cover the shortage of supply.
No Loose Ends
Finally, as the timer strikes 0, everything is ready; or at least it is. Inspection date has been arranged. Clients will be coming over to check the product/workmanship, and with the final comments, everything is settled. Documents are signed off, and the case is closed.
Sigh. What a ride this project has been. It gave me a heart attack –A near death experience. After the sign-off and delivery, everything is cleared, and it is time for celebration.
A short-lived celebration as it is, a new project comes in, and it is time again for that roller-coaster ride. As long as an engineer could survive, he/she would take it.
The cycle lived on.