Getting to know Committee 18 Chair Tegtmeier

摘要

Why did you decide to choose a career in railway engineering? It was not so much a choice as it was a direction it took. As an engineering consultant I was not home until late in the evening and my children were beginning to engage in extracurricular sporting activities. I was missing out. I started to look for a career where I might not have to work the long hours as much. A local short line railroad had an ad in the newspaper for a staff engineer. I applied, interviewed, and was offered the job. How did you get started? As a senior in high school, I enlisted in the Navy after my 18th birthday and went on active duty after graduation. My Navy rating was a Builder (carpenter) with most of my skill set as a concrete finisher and laying masonry block. After five years active duty I worked highway bridge construction for about another five years. At this time, I also got married. A few months after my wedding, I came home from work and my wife told me she did not marry a part-time husband as I was out of town most of the work week and that I need to find another career. I looked into using my GI benefits, and at age 28 I decided to attend college. After graduation with degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Iowa College of Engineering, I worked at the county secondary road department as the assistant engineer and then in private practice. As I mentioned before, I looked for other employment to best meet my home life needs as well as having a rewarding career as a civil engineer.