Vernon
Q ..
was going to say, the geotech guys I've talked to always felt that they were discriminated
against.
A
Oh, they were.
l
Q ..
Just like you guys were?
A
The structural people had the top priority, and it didn't seem to make any difference
whether the people had managerial capabilities or not, if they were well known for their
structural capabilities, why they would get selected a lot of times. But that kind of
changed, as planning took on a stronger role.
But in the early days, why structures was the only way to get to be the Chief of
Engineering. Then, in later years, why they still had a policy--if you're going to be Chief
of Engineering.or any other division, why you needed to have a broad background. They
wanted you experienced in a lot of different areas. They would like to have you
experienced in structures, geotech, hydrology, and hydraulics.
They even started a lot of programs where they would swap people around. They would
trade the chief of one discipline with the chief of another one, even though they knew very
little about the other discipline they were going to be in charge of. I think, by doing that,
people got a lot better appreciation for all the problems and concerns with the other
discipline. It helped them, I'm sure, to become Chief of Engineering.
But, if you didn't have that structural experience, it was tough to get to be a Chief of
Engineering. Although there got to be to a point, as I think we mentioned before, that
because the planning chiefs were so articulate and they would have preferred to be Chief
of Engineering than Chief of Planning, when the job came open as Chief of Engineering,
often the Chief of Planning moved right over to Chief of Engineering. They wanted that,
they preferred that job to being Chief of Planning.
Q ..
Like you said before, that has always been seen as the job to have in the division or
district, isn't it?
A ..
Yes, it has been in the past. I don't know whether that is going to continue. I don't even
know that it does continue today, but it certainly did in the past because the Chief of
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