u/CULLDOZER

Right now, my title is MEP Revit/BIM Designer. It's not very accurate to what I actually do. And I'm starting to feel undervalued.

History: I am a pipefitter by trade. I worked for 7 years, mainly medical in both new construction and renovation of operating facilities - but also in commercial and industrial/chemical. I worked mainly with carbon steel and copper, but also refrigerant, pvc, cpvc, etc. I learned steam systems, hot water systems, and chilled water systems very well. I was a leadman and foreman on some projects.

After that, I became an APM for a small mechanical outfit. My role extended to being the sole BIM technician as well. As APM I handled drafting subcontracts, soliciting vendor pricing, negotiations, purchase orders, submittal packages, closeout documents, permitting, software licensing admin, commissioning etc. I was managing multi-million dollar projects as an APM at the end. I also modeled and created the coordinated shop drawings for mechanical duct, hydronic pipe, MedGas, pressure plumbing, and DWV. I was doing all of this for $25/hr because I was told I needed to prove I was capable. And after 22 months, they offered to bump me up to $29/hr. Which I thought was below my level of contribution. I was told that I had completely changed the operational level of communication within the Mechanical Group. I had organized solutions and who would pay for them in field issues that people were stuck on. And I was tasked with putting together a presentation for awards consideration for one of our projects that I was highly involved in through all phases. We won.

After I realized I was not going to get compensation that I expected, I accepted a call from a recruiter to accept a more BIM focused role. I wanted $32/hr to change. They offered me $30 with the caveat that I could move up to my desired rate after 90 days. It took almost a year, but they bumped me to $34. I've been at this pay for 2 years with nearly 3 years in my current role. But by the time I got my only raise my role had expanded beyond that of a production draftsman. I was managing outsourced international BIM teams. My role encompasses early risk assessment, field change mitigation, scope gap analysis, high levels of communication with project stakeholders and field supervision. My company has expressed interest in moving me into preconstruction with a focus on client facing meetings, because I'm such a social butterfly. They've put me through corporate project management academy and training for their estimation software. I have direct communication with engineers and made friends with some of them. I have been commended by them by name in letters to our executive leadership. I have been personally invited to dinners and meetings with owners of huge projects ($100mn+) because of my impact and influence on the project success. They have awarded me bonuses and unexpected awards for impact MVP (I was the only person in my department to get this).

In my previous role, I was basically the top brass for our company on my projects. Now it feels like I'm less mission critical, even though I know that I'm not. It feels like my company doesn't recognize the value that a couple other guys and I add to the project and primarily see us as overhead. I know they do see value, but I feel like I'm progressing too slowly.

Do I just wait it out and see what they have planned for me? Or is it time for me to mosey on to the next thing?