by: Lisa Gordon, PileDriver magazine
This Construction Career profile originally appeared in PileDriver magazine, 2019 Issue #6
John Peirce has learned a lot of valuable lessons over his 46 years in civil engineering.
During that time, he's completed a couple thousand projects, mostly designing and building temporary and permanent earth retaining walls to facilitate road and bridge building, cofferdam and foundation construction, and shoring and underpinning of all types.
While working on his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in geotechnical engineering at Drexel University earned in 1973 and 1978, respectively Peirce landed a co-op position at The Conduit & Foundation Corporation's corporate headquarters in Philadelphia.
"I worked out in the field and got involved in heavy construction," said Peirce, who says that suited him just fine. In the early days of his career, he never wanted to be cooped up in an office.
Following graduation, he was hired on with The Conduit & Foundation Corporation and specialized in highway construction with them for 15 years, before moving on to geotechnical specialty contractor Schnabel Foundation Company.
Peirce stayed with Schnabel a design/build specialty contractor focused on temporary and permanent earth support for 11 years, eight of which were served as branch manager of the Philadelphia office.
In 1992, Peirce co-founded Peirce Engineering with his wife, Beth, and daughter, Jennifer Peirce Brandt, who is also a professional engineer. Later, his son, John another professional engineer joined the company.
By 1997, Peirce was focusing on the family engineering firm full-time. His diverse professional background and varied experience has served him well.
"I have a unique perspective," he said. "I've done highway work, plant work, utility work, estimating, project managing and I'm a retired surveyor. I was everything from a lowly rod man all the way up to a project manager."
Lessons learned
PileDriver recently caught up with Peirce to talk about his impressive career and some of the key lessons he's aiming to pass along to his children.
From three key mentors over the years, Peirce learned the importance of being familiar with every aspect of a job, staying quiet when he was unsure of his facts and dealing with people fairly...Read More in PileDriver
