Packing List: What Do I Need to WFH?

This may seem like a silly question if you’ve been working from home for most of 2020. But as I take my current setup and consider moving it around with me, there are some things I’ll definitely need, and some things that might be more of a convenience. There are also some things that as an engineer if I were to do site visits I would need.

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I’ll be making a few of these Packing Lists as I plan my trip to get my mind around just how many things I’m considering fitting into my Mini Cooper… This is a very specific list to being an engineer, and also a structural engineer. What would you change for what you do?

Necessities:

  • Work Laptop & Charger

  • Spare Monitor - this may seem like a big thing to drag around, but I do a lot of 3D modeling and having multiple screens makes my day infinitely easier

  • Wireless keyboard & mouse - Two words: Number. Pad. (What, I do math all day)

  • Surge Protector - Because a) why not always have a way to plug in extra things and b) you can never be too careful with work equipment

  • Relevant Codes & Standards - I’m a structural engineer, so these are my “must haves”

    • AISC Steel Manual

    • Binder with key pages / tables from the:

      • Aluminum Code

      • AISC Stainless Steel Design Guide

    • NDS Wood Manual

    • These are what I use most often. The rest can be PDFs

  • Calculation Pad or two - Yes people do hand calcs sometimes!

  • Calculator - I may do most of my work in excel or on the computer, but sometimes you just need to be able to run numbers by hand

  • Pencil Case with a variety of pens & pencils of various colors to mark things up

  • Ruler / Straight Edge / Scale

  • Planner / Calendar

  • Notebook for noting down project time

  • Copy of my PE Certificate & Stamp - you never know when you’ll have to sign something official!

Things I’ll Need for Site Visits

  • Hard Hat

  • Steel Toe Boots

  • Tape Measure and/or “Disto” (laser measure for longer distances)

  • Safety Vest & Goggles

    • I keep most of these in my car anyway for easy access, so I’ll just need to make sure they still fit with all of my other things!

Niceties / Things I’m Leaving at Home:

  • Desk

  • Desk Chair

  • Yoga Ball (aka my backup desk chair)

  • Many other physical copies of codes & standards that I can just keep PDFs of on my computer

  • Stapler / Tape Holder - If you’re remote, you probably aren’t printing out things to check or hand in. It’s all on the computer & in programs like Bluebeam.

  • On that note, no tacks, binder clips, paper clips… all of those little things you keep around a desk for paper are things I’m going to try and avoid. I’ll try to stick to one small binder of work stuff max!

Does this sound like a lot? Do you just need a laptop? Or do you need a full desk setup with reference materials? Will I hate myself down the line for needing all of these other things with me? We shall see!

Let’s go forth and adventure… with a lot of technical gear & books ;)

~ Victoria