Civil XLr8
Training and Consulting - Bentley Civil Software
Nationwide
July 2000 - April 2005
Unlike my previous self-employment incarnation, Civil XLr8 was designed for multiple clients - nationwide (interestingly, my first week training was in Venezuela).
Having authored three iterations of professional Drainage Training Material, I had a clear idea of the manual I wanted to write to fill an empty market space. The Drainage Training role was empty nationally as well.
My first job was using Bentley material for older software, from a lead provided by my ex Intergraph boss, David Fagerman (Mr. Can Do!). "It's in Venezuela, but don't worry, Jeff, they all speak English down there." My high school Spanish still seemed adequate, so, no problem!
As many know, in rural South America, English is not a priority. My Spanish is passable for short conversations, but not really for sustaining a 5-day training class. Special thanks to Scott McNichol for providing translation help. Taking a multi-day class is a challenge enough, but understanding it and translating it on-the-fly, is REALLY hard.
Scott was saying afterwards, "I thought ahead of time that you would just train out of the books. I appreciate that you were flexible and went where we needed to go." "Well if the book was the best material for you, we would have stayed in it. But there's no sense staying in it if I can provide more applicable training outside of it."
To this day, I start my classes with the question "Everything in the material is available online, with videos. Often, the voice in the video is mine. What value do I add by being in front of you parroting what you already have access to? 1) I can answer your questions, and 2) I can tailor to your workflows and needs."
In the meantime, I was finishing up my Drainage Material for use in class. My first several classes were for CAD Productivity, the long-running InRoads Training company run by good friends Sam Nugent and Todd Stutts. Training was on the beautiful LSU campus (there's nothing like jogging and being surprised by a real live TIGER on the other side of a fence!).
I was able to work for PBS&J on the Foothill Transportation Corridor South. Eighteen miles of multiple alignment alterntives through steep Southern California foothills.