This post is all about a day in the life as a project engineer for a general contractor!
Welcome back to Day 3 of my journey as a Project Engineer! It’s Wednesday—honestly, Wednesdays are often the toughest day of the week. You’re still two days away from the weekend, and for me, they tend to be packed with back-to-back tasks. Today was no different. It was busy and chaotic, and I could sum it up in three words: meetings, meetings, and more door hardware. But despite the whirlwind, it was a productive day. So, let’s dive into the details of what went down.
Morning
7:40 AM – ARRIVE AT WORK
It was raining again this morning, so I had to drive a little slower than usual. If I’m being totally honest, I did not want to get out of bed today, so I was a bit behind schedule. Normally, I’m in by 7:30 AM, but today I got there around 7:40. It’s not a big deal, though. Life happens!
7:45 AM – BREAKFAST AND EMAILS
Once I arrived, I heated up the breakfast casserole I’d meal-prepped and dove into my emails. I checked our system for any RFIs or submittals, and thankfully, there were only a couple of submittals that came back—not too many to deal with today. I responded to a few emails, but nothing too crazy. My main focus for the day? You guessed it—the door hardware submittal. I spent a little time working on that before the meetings started rolling in.
8:30 AM – WEEKLY STAFF MEETING
Our project team has a weekly staff meeting to go over all the project details. These meetings typically last an hour to an hour and a half. We do weekly huddles rather than daily meetings because it’s more efficient. This meeting came with a few tasks for me: continue pushing for pricing on the exterior skin testing, get clarity on the ceiling mockup for our owners, and keep track of the environmental requirements for the project. Honestly, there’s usually a random assortment of tasks that come out of these meetings.
I have to admit, though, that this week, I felt like I spoke more than I ever had before, which was kind of a big deal for me. It felt good to contribute more to the team. To be totally transparent, I didn’t feel this way just two weeks ago, but after catching up with a more experienced colleague from my company, I realized that I’m not alone in feeling like I’m finding my voice in these meetings. Some days, you feel like a rockstar at your job and other days, you don’t. It’s just part of the process.
10:00 AM – BUY-OUT MEETING
Next, we had a buy-out meeting to check on the status of getting subcontractors signed on and under contract. This one was a quick meeting, mostly upper management discussing things that went over my head, but it’s always nice to be part of the conversation—even if I’m not fully in the loop sometimes.
10:30 AM – TOUCHBASE WITH MECHANICAL SUB
We’ve recently started a weekly touch-base with our mechanical subcontractor to go over all the details. We’ve had a lot of BIM coordination and redesigning on this project, so things have been a bit chaotic. This meeting is great for making sure everyone stays aligned.
To be honest, I didn’t do much in this one. I mostly sat back, took some notes on RFIs and submittals, and listened. Our MEP superintendent took the lead, and I just absorbed as much as I could. Sometimes, these discussions can go over my head, but that’s all part of the learning process.
11:00 AM – MEETING WITH SKIN SUB AND DESIGN TEAM
Right after that, I ran to another meeting with our exterior skin sub and the design team. We went over some structural elements related to architectural features on the building. Again, this was a bit above my head, but I’m trying to learn and keep up. I aim to be a sponge and soak up as much knowledge as I can for the future.
Lunch:
12:15 PM
Lunch was a bit of a letdown today. I had tried a chicken tikka masala meal prep, but let’s be real—it wasn’t great. So, I ate a few bites and decided to join some coworkers who were heading to Wendy’s. I got a Biggie Bag for just $7, and since I paid with cash, I’m calling it “free” (thank you, girl math!).
Afternoon
1:00 PM – BIM COORDINATION MEETING
Right after lunch, I jumped onto a Teams call for our weekly BIM coordination meeting. I try to pay attention, but honestly, sometimes these meetings are just long conversations that could’ve been emails. As the general contractor, we’re mostly there to answer questions and provide input, but on this project, our mechanical subcontractor is the BIM lead, so we’re just hanging out for most of it.
While the meeting was happening, I worked on the door hardware submittal, trying to get it wrapped up.
2:00 PM – FINISH DOOR HARDWARE SUBMITTAL
Once the BIM meeting ended, I finally had the time to focus on the door hardware submittal. It took longer than expected, but once I figured out how to review it, things went smoothly. It would’ve been finished earlier in the day, but with all the back-to-back meetings, I barely had time to sit at my computer.
By 3 PM, I was done—and I rewarded myself with a donut that our intern brought in. It’s the little things that make a long day more bearable!
3:15 PM – CALL WITH SPECIALTY SUBCONTRACTOR
Just as I finished up the submittal, I got a call from our specialty subcontractor regarding revision pricing. There were a few changes on the drawings that impacted costs, like changing the bathroom layouts from gender-neutral to gendered, which affected the toilet partitions. He needed to review the updated drawings and provide revised pricing.
3:30 PM – RFIs AND SPREADSHEET UPDATES
After the call, I worked on submitting a couple of RFIs and updated our door hardware spreadsheet to include electrified hardware. I’d been tracking it throughout the day, so it was just a matter of organizing everything.
That was the bulk of my work for the day, but my day didn’t end there.
Evening
4:15 PM – GROCERY STORE RUN
After work, I rushed to the grocery store to grab a couple of tomatoes for dinner. I’ve been loving Big Mac salads this week! I also picked up a few things to make cookies for my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day—because why not? But I had to hurry since I had to be at my second job by 5:00 PM.
5:00 PM – PART-TIME RETAIL JOB
I work part-time retail once a week, and as crazy as it sounds, I actually enjoy it. It’s low-key, and it helps fund a few extra things I like to treat myself to—like lashes, nails, and shopping. It’s not a fortune, but it’s an extra couple hundred dollars a month. Plus, the mall is conveniently on my way home from work, so I don’t have to go out of my way. I’ve been reading The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman during my slower shifts. It’s one of the books on my 2025 reading list, and I’ve been trying to squeeze in a few chapters when I can.
8:15 PM – FINALLY TIME TO HEAD HOME
Thankfully, my shift flew by. My manager and I closed the store quickly, and I was finally on my way home after a 13-hour day.
Conclusion
So that’s a day in the life of a project engineer who also juggles a second job. It was definitely packed with meetings, but I felt accomplished by the end of it—especially after finally finishing that door hardware submittal. It was the hardest one I’ve tackled, but I learned so much from the process.
This is Day 3 of my Women in Construction Week series, where I’m giving an authentic, unfiltered look into my life as a project engineer. Stay tuned for the rest of the week for more behind-the-scenes insights into what it’s really like working in construction!
