Advice for a greenhorn 2

[badger2011]

I just graduated in engineering and started my first job a few weeks ago at a smaller manufacturing company (70 employees, 5 engineers) and will be in product development. I am wondering if I can get some advice about what to expect in the first year and any “survival tips”. I would also be interested to hear about any “good practices” you have on the job. I figure I should start making good habits now. Thanks!

 

[pmover]

listen and learn . . .
conduct analytical engineering analysis of developments . . .
be inquisitive . . .
be calm . . .
speak clearly and concisely . . .
document important work . . .
do not be late with deadlines, budget/cost related requests . . .

many more! Good luck!
-pmover

 

[MadMango]

Be prepared to wear many hats and enjoy being out of your element (or cross-functional) being in development.
Show some initiative.
Associate with the good people, not just the cool ones.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."


Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of these Forums?

 

[MikeHalloran]

Keep a daily log.
Actually, keep a bunch; one for each project, and one overall.
Write down what you observe and measure.
Write down with whom you speak, and what was said, as soon as possible after the conversation ends.
Try to be concise and factual.
Omit opinion and conjecture.
Text files generated by MS Notepad work just fine for this; F5 inserts a date and time; use it a lot.

These files are primarily for your own use.
In a month, or a year, or more, you will be able to reconstruct event sequences, gain some sense of what you were doing to justify your existence, and appreciate how much you've learned.

When things are starting to turn bad, I even insert little notes to my successor, so they can avoid making the same mistakes I did. They will have to come up with new mistakes of their own.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[lacajun]

I was advised to keep a portfolio of my career many years ago and didn't. It was wise advice.

Start a portfolio of your career and get every result of your work possible from economic, for your company and your customers, to made things easier, better, higher yield, etc. for my customers by "insert your result." Get photos, if you can, of your products at the end user's site.

I would suggest getting published by writing up some of your more interesting projects. Become recognized as a someone who knows which end is up and getting published helps with this.

You're young and have no idea where life will lead so be prepared.

 

[bigTomHanks]

The technical stuff is important but relationships are key. No matter how good of a student you were the real world is very different. Success depends on how well you work with other to include the big boss to the lowest level worker. Go with the flow as much as possible, I try to follow these mottos:

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

If it doesn't affect your pay, it doesn't affect your day.

The company was there before you and will most likely be there after you leave.

The wheel was invented a long time ago. Use it where needed and you will look like a genius.

Considering that you are working for a smaller company you should have a great experience as long as people want to work with you. Remember that most people are there to support their family and not to work themselves to death.

 

[GregLocock]

When your project is going bad, especially if deadlines are likely to be missed, tell your boss earlier rather than later. On the other hand try and work stuff out by yourself rather than relying on handholding.

Keep a notebook. If you ask for an explanation write it down and never ever ask the same person the same question twice. On the other hand there is a problem solving technique called the five whys which does exactly that.

Take all advice your offered seriously. On the other hand much advice you are given will be wrong.

Yeah I'm in a gnomic mood today.



Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[jmw]

There are couple of threads here and in the ethics forum that would be educational to read, especially regarding relationships with seniors.
This one, for example: seeking advice from fellow engineers

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[tygerdawg]

It is said over & over again "school isn't like real world". True. School is finite, well-defined, conclusive, logical. Work is fuzzy, vague, open-ended, illogical. Learn & polish your technical skills because that will pay your bills. But the things that will advance your career is good manners, good communication (written/spoken), diplomacy & tact, financial/business aspects, tolerance & patience, leadership skills.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[KENAT]

This and similar questions have been asked a bunch of times, I suggest you take a look.

A quick search turned up this thread731-222867 but there are others more relevant as I recall.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​