Have you ever wondered what it is like to work at Edge? Here is an article by Pranjal Dutta where he shares his experience since joining our team 8 months ago.
My first 8 months as an energy engineer-in-training have been a great learning experience. I appreciate the challenges and the learning that came with them during this time. To summarize, it has been a time of immense growth, developing key skills and self-discovery.
It feels great to be a part of a team that is driven, passionate about similar goals, promotes learning and pushes you to come up with your own solutions.
Transition
The green buildings/construction industry caught my eye when I was still in school. I was already proficient in thermal sciences but was not much aware of the world of buildings and energy. This sparked my curiosity during that time, and I ended up taking an energy modelling course which later laid a foundation for me to explore a career in this field. Eventually I became a part of the Edge team. Switching into work life was not as easy as I was expecting it to be. It took me a while to get used to that routine and managing everything else outside of my job.
Expectations
I did not have a lot of expectations coming into my first job in Canada. Before joining, I was looking forward to a lot of learning and I am quite satisfied that my work is filled with that every single day. The team at Edge puts a huge focus on learning and helping the team grow their skillset, something which I have cherished. Having been in the academics for a long time, working at Edge feels like a continuation of the learning process and applying that in projects along the way.
Reality
Buildings are way more complex than I thought. They are not a linear equation with two variables but many working in tandem to achieve a precise balance. The attention to detail required to work on them is immense, something I under-estimated a bit. Already familiar with the key concepts, I had the technical knowledge but was lacking industry specific know-how which took a while to build.
The fast-paced nature of the work also came to me as a surprise. The construction industry involves quick turnaround of projects and in my short time here, I have already worked on more projects that I can count, ranging from high rise residential towers to industrial warehouses. Working on fresh challenges that come with each individual project and applying newly learned skills adds to the excitement.
One of best parts of my work is that I can get to investigate ideas and the technical concepts from the get-go with real time simulation modelling. This leads to evidence-based learning and a way of improving modelling skills.
The technical discussions that often involves slight banter with some of the team members are also one of the highlights of my day and add a lot to the cohesiveness in the team.
Future
Working in a place where work-life balance is promoted is very pleasing. At Edge, the team regularly involves itself in outdoor activities such as a weekly bike rides or a lunch time tennis session.
We are growing as a team and will continue to have big value addition in this industry. Going forward, I will continue to enhance and diversify my skillset and contribute on more complex projects. I am confident that my journey at Edge is going to be a mutually successful one.