Ep. 17: Sneak Peek: Turning Your Passion into an AEC Career

This sneak peek episode introduces our interview with Matt Nichols, Principal of Acoustics at Jaffe Holden. Matt's story is an inspiration, showcasing how he transformed his passion into a successful AEC career.

Join SN’s Emily Lawrence and Jen Knox as we they how he identified his interests and strategically connected them to the AEC industry. This episode is packed with valuable insights for anyone wanting to bridge their passions with rewarding opportunities in AEC. Stay tuned for the full interview, where we'll delve deeper into Matt's journey and gain practical advice to ignite your own AEC success story!

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Transcript

Emily Lawrence: Welcome to the AEC Groundbreaking Growth Podcast. 
Jen Knox: Hosted by Stambaugh Ness.

[Opening Credits]


Emily Lawrence: Hey everyone, Emily and Jen here with another sneak peek episode of Groundbreaking Growth. We are sneak peeking our next episode, which is Episode 17 with Matt Nichols. 

Jen Knox: Yeah, we're super excited for everyone to listen in on our conversation with Matt. He is the Principal of acoustics at a firm called Jaffe Holden, and they're really interesting because they provide acoustics engineering to some top-end clients, both from a performing arts standpoint and universities with various forms of theater programs. So definitely a unique story that Matt is going to share with us.

Emily Lawrence: We're really excited. Just so everyone knows and is clear, what exactly is an acoustics engineer? What is that role? 

Yeah, I am not a very musically inclined individual; sometimes, I don't appreciate the spaces constructed for presentations and performances and for recording music. So when we think about an acoustics engineer and what they're doing, they partner with contractors and clients to build these performance spaces or recording spaces and look at the room design. What is the volume of the space, and what is the geometry of the space? Because all of that really impacts how you receive the music as a listener and how you're consuming that. They then go beyond just the space itself and talk about the material properties of the construction itself. So, what does the wall look like? What's the insulation thickness and material? What are the materials of the other components within the space? Seating components? I think back to my time. I managed a lot of office spaces, and from an acoustics standpoint, when you have large open office areas, they're trying to dampen that noise and have a lot of absorptive materials in there to do that.

We can all think of a scenario: being in a conference room that shares a common wall with a restroom, and you can hear it every time someone flushes it—just little components like that. Or you're sitting in a room, and the whole building feels like it's shaking when the HVAC system kicks on. Acoustic engineers look into vibration isolation, the acoustics of the space, and how to isolate those different noises and vibrations.

Emily Lawrence: Yeah, it's interesting. I think about every concert I've been to and the different types of venues, too. And just all of the things that go into having an experience at that place, how you take in sound, and, you know, are things too loud? We've all been in a venue or situation where things have been loud or distracting. It's super important what that does and just an interesting field that I have yet to become as familiar with. It's really fun to listen to him talk about that. And I think our conversation also really dives into Matt's love of music, the passion behind his career, and his field. He started as a musician. He loved playing music as a kid, seeing the evolution of this musician, and then in college, thinking he would be a recording engineer, having that path set out, and continuing to play music. Then, he decided that might not be his path from interning as a recording engineer at a recording studio and having that professor, that mentor step in and say, "Have you looked at this alternative path?" which led him to look at acoustics engineering and then exploring that path and creating a career out of that, as well as continuing to do this home studio and recording and also continue to play music himself. So it's always been this robust career that he has created for himself, and listening to someone talk about that and the passion behind it was incredible. 

Jen Knox: Yeah. Matt is a perfect example of living your passion because he has woven his love for music into his career and is still exploring it to this day. He still has that passion for music outside of work. And engineering is such a unique field that if you have a passion for something, engineering can get you close to it. We're just wrapping up Women's Month, and the first week was Women and Construction Week. I was scrolling on LinkedIn and saw this one individual post about her job. She is a member of the facilities construction PM at the Cincinnati Zoo and has a huge passion for animals. So, imagine engineering and construction took her to a place where she could still leverage her passion for animals. She also gets to build, design, and maintain different habitats and exhibits at the zoo. So, there are so many unique ways in which engineering can bring you closer to your passion.

Emily Lawrence: That's so interesting. It's like working at a firm and seeing what markets it offers. If you're passionate about health care or a specific type of retail space but looking for ways to marry that passion to your career. Your example, Jen, was spot-on. It's how you look at something strategically and let your passion guide you as you decide where to work and what industry to work in.

Jen Knox: And when we're young, like whoever thought you could be an engineer for a chocolate company? That's where I started. We limit ourselves when we are young because we don't have the exposure to it yet. But if you follow that passion, likely engineering can get you close to it.

Emily Lawrence: Yeah. Even in my experience, marketing is its own industry in its own field and specialization. But I do marketing for an architecture, engineering, and construction firm. So, I see buildings come from conception, an idea, learning about all the funding, and then seeing it in use. So it's interesting how you can weave those together. Matt's story and his passion and his lifelong pursuit of sound and music and acoustics are his life and passion, and they shine through, and he talks about them. 

Jen Knox: Yeah, yeah. And it's so nice because when you follow that passion, you build up this common language, it's easy and authentic to talk to your client base then.

Emily Lawrence: Right? When you have all that passion, it's a lifelong pursuit of that industry and that career, and that's your life. You have this language, and it talks about how younger people, as they're developing, underestimate having that differentiator, that common language they can speak with their clients and then also that common language they can speak with the project team. They really know their stuff, and they're passionate about it. They continually pursue learning about the industry, the new products in the industry, the new software in the industry, and all of the cutting-edge things that you can employ to really make the project come to life. 

Jen Knox: I enjoyed Matt's perspective on it and his passion, and I'm excited for everyone else to hear the episode, too. We hope you all join us for our great conversation with Matt Nichols.