Career Interview

Christopher Quach
Utilities Assistant Water Engineer
City of Riverside Public Utilities
3750 University Avenue
951-826-5655
1. Q: How did you become interested in this career?
A: Ever since I was a little boy, I was interested in math and science. When I was in high
school, I had to decide on a college major. I knew I liked engineering because it is based on
what I liked, math and science. I picked Environmental Engineering because it involved the
engineering of water and air quality technologies. I hoped to become an engineer that would
benefit the environment and society as a whole. Upon graduation, I realized that I was most
interested in technologies that revolved specifically around water engineering. I was most
interested in water infrastructure engineering because water is an essential part of everyday
life. Ultimately, I hoped that I could have a positive impact on society by working in a water
infrastructure related career. Water and engineering go hand in hand.
2. Q: What are the aspects of this career that you like?
A: I really like planning and designing water infrastructure facilities like: water pump
stations, water pipelines, and water wells. My career revolves around replacing existing old
water infrastructure such as leaking water pipelines and aging pump stations. I also plan and
design new infrastructure based on future needs and water demands. All of these aspects
require engineering knowledge and critical thinking. I like the ability to make intelligent
engineering decisions that will benefit the community. I also like continuously learning and
becoming more valuable as an engineer. I love being able to produce quality solutions that
everyone likes. I am proud to say that my work contributed to society and was valuable.
3. Q: What are the aspects of this career that you dislike?
A: Mostly, I like all the aspects of my career. If I had to choose, I would say that the
pushback from the public towards important engineering projects is what I most dislike. I
dislike that the opinions of various people within the community can slow down or even shut
down a critical engineering facility. These engineering projects require lots of hard work and
are being planned for good reasons. Public opinions are good, but they should not greatly
hamper such projects. I also dislike when there is confusion and important questions are
unanswered or treated without proper thought.

4. Q: Which classes or training did you take in college?

A: I took many different classes while at UC-Riverside. Some of the classes that most I took
water & wastewater quality, and water & wastewater system design. I also took regular
engineering classes such as thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. While at UCR, there were
many classes that revolved around learning fundamental skills. Laboratory classes taught
how to look at a problem and come up with creative solutions. Fundamental math and
science classes taught me to think critically and work hard. I also took a class in professional
development that helped me to understand what it takes to become a professional engineer, in
general.
5. Q: Is there opportunity for advancement in this career field?
A: There is definitely opportunity for advancement in this career field. For my own career
path, I started as a Technical Intern. After a few months, I was promoted to Assistant
Engineer. I am now trying to be promoted to Associate Engineer, which then leads to Senior
Engineer, Principal Engineer, and eventually Engineering Manager. To become a Senior
Engineer and beyond, I need to become a licensed professional engineer in the state of
California. This requires me to go through a tough application process and pass an extremely
difficult state exam. After obtaining this license and gaining many more years of experience,
there is almost no limit to how much someone can advance in this career field. The water
industry is essential to maintain a functioning society and the current standard of living we
are all used too. The water industry is also always expanding and there will never be a lack
of jobs while people need water to live. The more knowledge and experience an engineer
has, the more valuable they become.
6. Q: Can you describe your daily work?
A: My daily work usually consists of preparing preliminary design reports. My job is to
determine what water facilities and pipelines need to be addressed and how to address them.
If there are water pipelines that are old and prone to breaking, I need to determine which ones
are most critical and prepare design reports on the best way to fix the problem. For both
water pipelines and facilities, I need to make sure that whatever is replacing it will be
adequate for both current and future water demands. Along with planning and designing
water facilities such as pump stations and wells, I also handle questions from other engineers
regarding operation of the citys water system. There is a computerized model of the water
system and I am able to perform what-if scenarios. These scenarios are critical for urgent
problems that require immediate attention, where time is a luxury. These are the main
aspects of my daily work, upon other things.

7. Q: Which skill do you think is the most important to perform for this job?
A: The skill I think is most important to perform this job is the skill of communication. I
could not perform my job if I did not have communication skills. Most of what I know came
from learning from other engineers, not from my college courses. I did not learn how to do
my job in school, I learned it by talking to my fellow coworkers. My job required me to
solve problems that I had no idea how to solve. However, I was able to communicate clearly
with other engineers. After enough discussions, I could build an intelligent solution. Almost
no problem was the same as before; each project was slightly different. The data and
information I needed to come up with an intelligent solution was not always at my fingertips.
To accomplish my tasks, I had to communicate with staff in the field as well as in the office.
8. Q: What do you do to keep your skills current?
A: The best way I keep my skills current is to continuously learn about the industry. I am
always reading articles related to water engineering and how it could help me. The key goal
is to never stop learning. Specifically, I try to attend training sessions, both online and in
classes. There are always opportunities to increase my skillset and knowledge. I make sure
to take any opportunity to learn and not pass it up.
9. Q: If you were hiring a person for this job, what would you look for?
A: If I was hiring a person for this job, I would look for someone with good communication
skills, good work ethic, integrity, ability to adapt, capability to learn, produce quality work in
a timely manner, and friendliness. This job requires the ability to take on multiple tasks, find
creative solutions, present these solutions in a technical report, and be able to communicate
to other people. This person would need to do all of these things to be successful.
10. Q: What one thing you would do differently in regards to your career?
A: I am still very early in my career, so I dont have much I would have done differently. In
regards to my college education, I definitely would have done something differently. While I
learned most of my job while at work, there was essential material that I learned or should
have learned while in college. The fundamentals of engineering taught in school are still
very important, even after starting my career. If I could have done it differently, I would
have tried much harder in my college courses. I would have paid much more attention
during class and really tried to absorb the information. If I had tried harder in college, I
would have started my career much more smoothly. The problems I had to solve at work
would have been easier to solve had I fully understood what I learned from my coursework.

11. Q: What is your advice for someone who is interested in this field?
A: My advice is to never give up. Engineering is not an easy career field and the college
courses do take up most of your time. I would say if you are interested in this field, you have
to continue. Eventually, the hard work will pay off and reward you with a successful career.
Engineering is not for everyone and it is not easy. However, there is a very large demand and
the work engineers do are incredibly important. Engineers have always been invaluable to
society and there will never be a time when we do not need engineers. Again, my advice is
to never give up, keep going, try hard, learn, learn, learn. It will pay off!