I Design Plants

Basically, that what I do for a living. I work in a Japanese company that specializes on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC). Back in college, I never thought of the existence of this industry. University then was flooded with flyers of FMCGs, Oil & Gas and IT and those were the type most of us were gunning for. I applied for this job through a single click in Jobstreet out of lazy desperation to find a job right away. I actually never intended to take the exam and pursue the interview process. And if I have to be honest, a huge chunk of the reason I accepted this job is merely because their building is gorgeous.

Well, I never thought that that single click in Jobstreet would mean life for the next nine months. And fortunately, it's not only the building that's gorgeous with this company.

So there, I design plants. Oil Refineries, Gas Processing Plants, Geothermal Plants, Chemical Plants, Pharmaceuticals, Metals Refining - name it, we do it. I am a Process Engineer and I take part in the basic engineering phase of a construction project. I calculate Heat and Material Balances for the whole plant process. I draw PFDs and P&IDs (something like a plant blueprint of the whole process in a plant). I size equipments such as separator drums, columns, heat exchangers, pumps, compressors, turbines and even pipes.  I specify design pressure and temperature. It's a very geeky job but heck, after all, I took a very geeky degree in college and I can attest that I am a geek myself.

People in college would say that perhaps only 20% of what we learned back then would be applied come real life. I'd say, with my job, I use no less than 99%. A Process Engineer is what a Chemical Engineering undergraduate is being prepared to be.

It's a daily routine. Commuting by bus and train to work. Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm except when we render overtime. Corporate setting: dress shirt plus slacks plus leather shoes.

The office setup is, well, Japanese. Tables are joined in such a way that they look like long tables arranged in rows inside a very spacious hall. It's quite hard to describe but it should look something like this: (click!). Although not as stressful-looking as the one in that link. I have my own computer, drawers and piles of papers and binders everywhere. I look like a very typical office guy - like Frank Wheeler in Revolutionary Road.

Living up with being multinational, the employees are also multinational. Lots of English speaking to do everyday. I currently work with Japanese but there are also Vietnamese, Britons, Indians, Pakistanis, Arabs, Americans and Koreans in the office. And we Filipinos are being treated equally there. A Japanese colleague actually told another officemate that he looks up on me, saying that I do work efficiently. It was one very humbling experience.

I guess I am just proud of what I'm doing. It's very technical and umm, very intelligent. I learn a lot. A great ton of learning- everyday. It's also very significant. I mean, we are a company that builds other companies and eventually, we build nations. It's very satisfying and I'm just very happy that I chose this path. I cannot imagine myself to be in a completely different industry. If I am to shift companies, I'd still choose working in EPC as a Process Engineer. But for now, I am staying.