What is a typical day for an engineer?

I am a mechanical engineer in a fossil power plant. I typically work 7am to 4pm. The first half hour of the day is spent reading email, checking voicemail, and reviewing any operational problems from the nightshift. 730 to 830 is the daily plant meeting to discuss problems. The rest of the day is dictated by the problems of the day. My time is flexible for the most part. I try to spend time looking for re-occuring problems with equipments (temperature increase, vibration problems, etc.). I also work on work scopes for future projects. I work at a small plant right now but at the large plant that I used to work at everyday was spent working on a different equipment problem. It was nice because you had a variety of work to do but you also felt that nothing ever operated like it was supposed to. We call it fighting fires. In addition to day-to-day problems I have also worked on control system upgrades and turbine overhauls. Those are large projects that require the unit to be off for several weeks at a time. This past spring I was the project manager for a $2.3 milllion turbine overhaul. Outage work is more rigorous, typically requiring 10 to 12 hour shifts for 6 or 7 days per week for several weeks. I found myself working 14 to 16 hours many days.

I like working in power plants because I can get a mixture of office work and being out in the field. Some enigneers never like to leave the office but I enjoy being able to go out into the field and see the equipment that I am working on.