This year has so far been a momentous one in my career journey as a Roadway Project Manager at DRMP.

There is a moment in every engineer’s career that stands out, and for me, that moment arrived when I transitioned into a Project Manager role and secured my inaugural project win in mid-January.

I felt proud and honored when the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District 1 chose DRMP as the lead consultant for the SR 35 (US 17) project spanning from north of SR 64 to Bell Street in Hardee County, Florida. This project involves 7.5 miles of resurfacing and filling in 2 miles of sidewalk gaps to enhance safety for motorists and pedestrians.

What sets this project apart within FDOT District 1 is it has a wider scope of services compared with many of the District’s recent projects, which have been limited to solely pavement work due to the District’s budget limitations.

In addition to repaving and adding new sidewalk, this project also involves maintenance of traffic (MOT), drainage improvements, and signing and pavement markings. The variety of tasks made this project more desirable and drew considerable interest from other firms.

The Road to Project Manager

I am entering my 10th year as an engineer, and one of my goals was to transition from a Project Engineer to a Project Manager. To prepare for this role, I had solid mentoring from DRMP leaders who supported my career aspirations and helped me grow my career development to where I am today.

After serving as a Project Engineer, I moved into a Deputy Project Manager role in DRMP’s Roadway Group in preparation for eventually becoming a Project Manager. My responsibilities as a Deputy Project Manager involved assisting the Project Manager with staff hour development and negotiations, team coordination, attending client meetings, scheduling, and invoicing.

I understand for some engineers, the prospect of taking on a Project Manager role may be daunting. The misconception of being tethered to endless meetings at the expense of hands-on design work can deter even the most ambitious engineers.

However, effective project management is not about sacrificing one’s passion for design, rather it is about combining your technical design skills and knowledge with strategic leadership.

Going After the Project Win

The process to secure the project win was a little more nerve-wracking than I had anticipated.

As part of the FDOT project selection process, we first had to submit a Professional Services Letter of Response (LOR) outlining our firm’s strategic approach and understanding of the scope of work, our relevant experience and qualifications, identification of key personnel who would work on the project, and our proposed solutions based on our thorough field review of the project area.

FDOT selected three firms to be considered for the project. The next step was a timed in-person interview with FDOT’s technical review committee (TRC). Having previously participated in a support role in numerous interviews as a Deputy Project Manager, this time I was in the hot seat. The weight of responsibility felt heavier knowing the outcome of this interview could significantly impact this opportunity for our firm.

I addressed 12 questions proposed by the TRC within a 45-minute timeframe while accompanied by five members of our team to assist in responding. The effort invested in the proposal and project knowledge makes the prospect of not winning disheartening, yet the experience gained as a Project Manager is invaluable. After we completed the interview, FDOT released the rankings online about two weeks later.

Upon learning that DRMP had ranked No. 1, I felt a sense of relief and pride not only for myself but for my team and the collective efforts of the firm.

As we review the details of the project scope and anticipate beginning the design phase in June, I am excited and grateful for the support of DRMP’s leadership and my colleagues in securing this project win.  

I hope sharing my experience with aspiring young engineers who may have ambitions of stepping into the role of a Project Manager serves as an indication that with determination and perseverance, they too, can achieve success in project management.