Having graduated from college into my first job as an engineer a mere 45 years ago, I experienced the things I write about here. Although not easy, I am happy to say that I still love to come in to work and perform engineering. I have worked for four Companies over my career, all good Companies. I started with an ENR Top 10 Engineering firm and have moved to smaller and, for me, more intimate Companies each time I took a new position. I felt that by working for smaller companies, my contributions would have more impact on my clients. Here are a few things that served me well as I began my career and have held up as I advise young engineers on traditional structural engineering career paths. This article was initially prepared and delivered to Dr. Joseph M. Plecnik’s Professional Practices Class (CE481) at California State University, Long Beach, in March 2007 and has been updated for publication here. Dr. Plecnik was the author’s favorite Professor at CSULB.