 In this Engineering Manager 80-20 shorts, we are lucky to have with us Steve Saldati a young but very successful civil engineer. And Steve, what I'd like for you to share with our viewers is when you think about your career to date, what is one of the key drivers of your success at such a young age? For me, what stands out in that perspective is getting involved with a local group like an American Society of Civil Engineers or anything similar. Because from that perspective, that's an opportunity to meet new people, to get new perspectives from other projects and other work and other people. And it's really a way to kind of step outside your box from a technical standpoint, because technically speaking, we learn the basics in college. We can read a book to learn more about certain technical envelopes of whatever it may be that you're working on. But to really kind of get the idea of how the world around you is operating and the current news, it really kind of takes meeting these people, talking with them, having open conversations about what challenges they're having. And so for me, just kind of breaking the ice and getting out into those groups and getting that exposure has been just a huge driver. Because again, then it leads to, oh, so-so knows so-and-so, which I think would love to hear what you have to say. So it's just a way, you know, it's kind of the idea of social media where you put something out on the platform and so many people can see it. And then the type of network you can create within a short amount of time, it's just, you know, it's very useful. But, you know, same thing goes for these local groups to be able to meet new people. And from there, you work on those softer skills, you know, kind of indirectly. You're working on these softer skills of being able to communicate, being able to mingle with different people, maybe in a different role or a different type of personality. And so just give you that, you know, exposure and practice. If you're trying to, you know, maybe come out of your shell a little bit more. You know, if you tend to be a little bit more of a shy person, this, you know, more practice will make perfect, you know, the ability to go out there and have that personable relationship, you know, with various people. But it just, for me, it just gave me a much better idea of the world around me and how it was operating and what the future challenges were going to be, you know, within the civil engineering community. And Steve, a lot of people will say, you know, get involved in professional associations. You hear that a lot, but just to be clear for you, this was beneficial to you because you did it at a young age, correct? Correct, yeah, absolutely. So I actually got involved at the student level of where I went to college, California State University, Chico, you know, Go Wildcats. But it started there, right? It was, you know, it was a slow progression. You know, you met more students and you got some exposure to the engineering world, but it was the idea of going from the student into the, you know, entry-level engineer and still getting that exposure. So now, all of a sudden, at an entry-level position, I'm getting more exposure to the more seasoned professionals within that area and also, you know, sometimes potential customers or clients who may show up to these events as well. So it started in college, but it was also a big push to maintain that involvement once I graduated. And that's where I've seen other students kind of drop off and go a different direction, which is fine. You know, if you choose a different career path or if you choose, you know, to go, you know, live somewhere else, like, you know, that's all part of life. But within that community that you're going to be in, trying to stay involved as much as possible, doesn't have to become, you know, a second life, you know, for you, but just being able to go out there and maintain these connections is paramount. That's great. And I do just want to say, if you're listening out there and you are a civil engineer, not yet involved in associations, definitely get involved in them. But if you are an experienced engineer and you are involved in associations, to Steve's point, you know, get involved with the younger chapters. You know, volunteer to go speak for a student chapter. Encourage interns in your company or students that you know or younger engineers to get involved at a young age because like anything in life, it's easier to do things a lot of the times when you're younger, because you get busier and other things happen and more responsibilities happen and you may not be able to get all of the good contacts and information and skills and news that Steve's referring to. So Steve, thanks again for sharing this about your career and I'm sure it's going to be helpful to a lot of civil engineers. You're very welcome. Glad to help.