Some of us are born knowing our passion. Some of us don’t know it until we see it.
At Schaefer, we believe in providing diverse opportunities, both internally + in our communities, to find + elevate our people’s passions.
Forget a one-size-fits-all approach; we believe in customized career paths + professional development plans, whether you:
- Love numbers + are heavy technical
- Enjoy collaborating with clients + partners and take on mostly project management duties
- Like mentoring + managing
- Are passionate about markets/material types (+ share thought leadership on a larger platform)
- Have a head for the bigger picture + manage the state of the business in a leadership role
It takes all of these types of people (+ more) to make Schaefer a Best Firm to Work For.
Why do people come to + stay at Schaefer?
> project diversity
> stock ownership
> flexible schedules/remote work
> culture
> professional development
How do we support our engineers in developing their career paths? Empowerment + exposure.
- Career path planning sheets that identify outreach + training that align with overarching career goals
- Project diversity – Schaefer designs for 10 markets + encourages diverse personal portfolios
- Independent training budget to spend according to individual interests
- Annual internal team reformation to work with + for a variety of personalities + experience levels
- Opportunities to develop internal initiatives outside of technical work – innovation, sustainability, client experience, and diversity + inclusion
- Feedback-driven with regular check-ins, individual development plan setting + formal reviews
- Early project + relationship ownership
- Annual SMART Conference for all internal team members to learn from colleagues + external experts (+ it’s a lot of fun)
At Schaefer, there’s no required path, no pre-determined development. Healthy things grow – in support of our strengths + in what challenge us. We support our people along the way. We’re looking to partner with clients and hire individuals that bring their best every day.
I had found my technical passion – I’m an entertainment engineer. What I craved was an opportunity to develop others. I took advantage of relevant trainings like giving + receiving feedback + leadership development. Schaefer helped me develop + achieve my goal.
[laura goodman, PE | senior project manager]
We’re Schaefer, a structural engineering firm with a national footprint. We’re always looking for smart, creative people to join our team.
