The Internet Is Killing the Civil Engineer | Fortune

Summary

Chandrakant Patel, a chief engineer at HP, discusses the challenges of attracting civil engineering talent in an era of internet distraction and tech competition. He acknowledges the stagnant productivity in construction and sees the competition with tech firms as a catalyst for innovation. Patel emphasizes the importance of attracting hands-on engineers and views the current market contraction as an opportunity to acquire talent, shifting focus to growing sectors like Google Fiber and modular nuclear plants.

Takeaways

• 🛠️ The speaker, Chandrakant Patel, is the Chief Engineer at HP, and his son wrote in an essay about how the internet may be stifling American innovation, particularly among younger generations.
• 📱 His son argued that modern distractions, such as social media, prevent students from engaging in important learning opportunities, like visiting significant infrastructure projects (e.g., the Oakland Bay Bridge construction).
• 🔧 Patel is concerned about the lack of focus on physical infrastructure and the potential gap in creating future talent, such as civil engineers, who are essential for building and maintaining infrastructure.
• 👷 The speaker acknowledges the competition between tech companies and industries like civil engineering for talented graduates. However, he views this competition as a motivator for innovation within civil engineering.
• 📊 Patel refers to a McKinsey report from 2015 showing that while manufacturing productivity has doubled, construction productivity has stagnated, which worries him as a major challenge.
• 💡 He believes that competitive pressure from tech and other sectors can push civil engineering and construction industries to innovate and catch up with the productivity of other fields.
• 🎓 Patel mentions the importance of recruiting talented individuals, particularly those interested in building and problem-solving, rather than just working with spreadsheets and presentations.
• 🧑‍💼 He expresses an interest in his son's skills, hinting at potential recruitment, reflecting how HP seeks passionate and hands-on engineers for complex, innovative projects.
• 🔄 While recruiting talented individuals is a challenge, Patel believes there is opportunity, especially with the current shake-up in talent within the oil and gas sectors.
• 🚀 HP’s diversified business allows them to shift and adapt talent to growing sectors, like fiber optic networks, gas power plants, and modularized nuclear and LNG plants.

Q & A

What is Chandrakant Patel's profession?

Chandrakant Patel is a chief engineer at HP.

What concern does Chandrakant's son express in his essay?

Chandrakant's son expresses concern that the Internet has created a coffin for American innovation, suggesting that it is causing distractions and a lack of interest in physical infrastructure projects.

What example does Chandrakant's son use to illustrate his point about distractions?

Chandrakant's son uses the example of his friends not having the opportunity to visit the construction of the eastern span of the Oakland Bay Bridge due to distractions, which he considers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

What does Chandrakant think about the competition between tech companies and the construction industry for engineering talent?

Chandrakant views the competition between tech companies and the construction industry for engineering talent as healthy, as it compels the construction industry to innovate.

How does Chandrakant feel about the current state of productivity in the construction industry?

Chandrakant is concerned about the lack of productivity growth in the construction industry compared to other sectors like manufacturing, as highlighted by a McKinsey article.

What does Chandrakant believe will help the construction industry to innovate?

Chandrakant believes that competitive pressure from alternative industries will compel the construction industry to innovate and accelerate the pace of innovation.

What type of projects does Chandrakant's company focus on?

Chandrakant's company focuses on the world's most exciting, toughest, and first-of-a-kind projects that are technically complex and challenging to execute.

How does Chandrakant describe the ideal candidate for his company?

The ideal candidate for Chandrakant's company is someone who is a hardcore engineer who likes to build things physically rather than just working on spreadsheets or PowerPoint slides.

What is Chandrakant's opinion on the availability of talent for recruitment?

Chandrakant believes that there is both competition and opportunity in recruiting talent, especially with the contraction of the oil and gas capital investment markets.

How does Chandrakant advise his Human Resources team to approach talent acquisition?

Chandrakant advises his Human Resources team to be counter-cyclical in talent acquisition, similar to Warren Buffett's investment strategy, thinking in cycles of decades rather than quarters.

What strategies does Chandrakant's company employ to manage talent across different business units?

Chandrakant's company shifts talent towards markets that are growing, such as Google Fiber to the home, combined cycle gas power plants, modular nuclear, or LNG plants.