'We weren't told about this at College!' How often do you hear these words when newly qualified professionals go out into the world and actually start doing business? This excellent guide tells students what to do and what to avoid as building practitioners: looking at real estate, contracts, tendering, checks and quantities, estimates and costing, PR and languages, and the delicate subject of 'commission'. Here the author, a respected Civil Engineer from the Lebanon, has golden advice - and some amusing anecdotes! Read his handbook, follow his recommendations, and put the cash you save in your bank account. Elie Sehnaoui, a Loughborough University and MIT-trained engineer, has written a fascinating and useful primer for young engineers and architects, as they prepare to launch their professional careers. He distills his long business experience working in Africa, the Middle East and Europe into a series of short chapters on contracts, public relations, project financing, real estate development, and engineering law. Sehnaoui's most powerful and salient piece of advice is that, in spite of the spread of globalization and English as the lingua franca of business, local traditions and cultures still matter. The engineers and architects most likely to succeed will be those who bother to familiarize themselves with the language and customs of the country or region in which they work. Civil engineers and designers can do no better than to carry this valuable field guide with them as they move from country to country and project to project. Prof. Philip S. Khoury Massachusetts Institute of Technology Elie Antoine Sehnaoui The author was educated in Lebanon, England, the United States, and France. He is a well established engineer with broad experience in consulting and construction, and has worked on several continents on a variety of projects in the Public and Private Sectors. He is presently an international consultant with principle residence in Beirut where he lives with his wife Caroline. They have three grown children; Anthony, Caroline and Alexander. Nevine Mattar The illustrations in this book were drawn by a young talented artist. She has exhibited her work in several galleries in Lebanon and abroad. She teaches sociology and philosophy at the Lebanese American University and College.