Where are you from, and where did you go to school?
I am from Turkey, and I studied at Istanbul University in Istanbul, Turkey.
What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?
To be honest, even though I studied engineering and am currently practicing civil engineering, I would like to be a lawyer :) I wish I could have gone to law school and studied law and speak & write more. I like communicating with people, enjoying debates, and defending ideas I believe ambitiously. I think I became a civil engineer just because of that my parents led me because I was good at science and math classes in high school, and my older brother and father were already engineers too. I guess my natural talent for science and mathematics during high school made engineering look like a logical path, guided by parental influence. Therefore, civil engineering became the chosen profession, surrounded by calculations, instead of reading & writing, while a strong interest in law and social science continued.
Where do you work?
I work as project management consultant at AKIM Engineering company, founded in 1994 at Turkey. I still lecture project planning & scheduling principles and teach project planning tools and software too.
What do you love most about your job?
I love to see projects in a way that someone from construction site cannot see. Project management and planning expertise gives ability to sit in a cockpit or control cabin of a whole project and monitor & track everything easily. We, as PMO members or planners, schedulers, PM’s have a privilege to see the big picture, and support decision makers with all these valuable data.
Do you have a project story to share?
Once, I was part of an industrial facility construction project, which seems that most likely going to be delayed if some of the preventive actions are not taken. Luckily, it was discovered at the very early stage of the project, and it could have been avoided. All findings and status, including recommended actions disclosed to all stakeholders immediately. Top management refused to admit the fact that has been reported to them, and they chose to ignore early warning signals. None of the preventive actions were taken, in order to save cost. At the end, project was delayed as much as approximately calculated earlier. It caused bigger problems and damage than preventive actions could have.
What are your future goals and aspirations for your career? Did someone inspire you to be on this career path?
I am trying to be someone people appreciate, and who inspires others as a role model by helping and supporting people I work with. I am trying to build a document library containing technical articles I wrote, and useful information based on my experience and expertise, to share with others who need it. I hope that my humble efforts help many people to succeed in their goals. I would like to be remembered and respected in project management and planning profession. I was inspired by my father since childhood. I followed his path by working very hard patiently, and consistently to achieve all my targets.
What is the biggest career challenge you’ve had to overcome? What’s been your favorite or most memorable moment of your career?
At the early stages of my career, my biggest challenge was planning a project from scratch, which I have never had experience in that industry before. I had to study and review all related documents, including technical specs and contracts, and had to read too many articles, and did a lot of research to learn best practices and different approaches and was able to proceed and complete the task successfully and appropriately in a very short time. My most memorable moment of my career was many years ago, on the very first working day in the office. I still remember that day, I was too naive, overly optimistic, curious about everything, and a little nervous.
Why did you join AACE?
I joined AACE because I want to be part of a professional community and find & meet people who are following similar career paths like me, sharing my experiences to support other members, and improving my skills by learning from others and networking.
What do you like most about being an AACE member? Or what’s your favorite part of being an AACE member?
There are a lot of professional growth opportunities, and it is great to be surrounded by professionals who understand cost engineering, project controls, risk, estimating, and scheduling at a very deep level.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter the field?
I strongly recommend everyone to enter this field because it has been undervalued for years, and I believe nowadays it is rising & shining since there is a significant need for professionals in this field. This field will get the recognition it deserves and will be very important for all organizations across the world. Therefore, I advise that they should improve their skills by pursuing certifications and learn project management and planning tools and software.
Business trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, enjoying sightseeing after work hours :)
Lecturing on project planning & scheduling techniques to a client
Giving a speech to engineering students at a university symposium
Presenting sample PMO dashboard reports