I am a young engineer who lacks confidence, professionalism and maturity. Looking for advice! 14

[NewEngineer652]

Hello Everyone,

I graduated from college about 8 months ago and working as a mechanical engineer now in California. I have read many posts on this group and they have helped me a lot. There are certain specific problems I have at work and I want to improve myself and learn more to be better. A lot of people have told me that I will become good with time and I need experience in order to achieve what I expect from myself. I believe hard work and determination can reduce that time and I can learn quicker and faster by focusing on what I want, instead of waiting for time. This is the motivation behind this post. Can you please tell me how I should handle the following problems at work.

(1). I lack confidence because the people I work with have more than 25 years of experience. They can sense, analyse and solve a problem in no time. I am afraid I will make mistake infront of them.

(2). In the meetings, I am very quite. I am not sure what to talk about sometimes. Our vendors visit us at our facility to talk about the parts they machine for us. In other words, I can go to meetings and just sit without effecting anything.

(3) Replying to emails is a part of my job. I was not born, raised in United States and moved here about 8 years ago. I want to make sure my emails are correct, professional and logical.

(4) My boss doesn't trust my calculations and suggestions. He checks my drawings with extra attention and assumes I am wrong every time.

I hope I hear from you all. My goal is to improve and be a very good Engineer.

Thanks

 

[Triangled]

Dear newengineer652,
"hope I hear from you all. My goal is to improve and be a very good Engineer". Congratulations, you are on your way!
I am sure you will get very good feedback here!

Just one item from me,
Regarding your item #(4) My boss doesn't trust my calculations and suggestions. He checks my drawings with extra attention and assumes I am wrong every time. Assuming boss is not just being negative, he may be doing you a great service, both instructing you technically and also exampling to you the thought process of very good Engineers, ones who don't necessarily assume their first calculations are perfect but who check and double check and check again. Perhaps to help you feel a little more positive in the process you can begin to look at it a little like a sport, double checking and triple checking your own calcs until the only fault he finds is your penmanship. And then you'll be a very good Engineer! Best of Success!

 

[hokie66]

1) Hopefully, you will have this degree of confidence after 25 years. If you do, be a good mentor to younger people, which is what your bosses should be doing now for you.

2) That is fine. Unless you are expected to contribute, just use the meetings to learn. Don't be hesitant to ask questions, but consider who is listening before you do.

3) All part of the job. Does your boss or someone senior vet your emails? If not, maybe they should. It never hurts to have two sets of eyes.

4) Your boss is doing you a service in checking your work, but only if he explains any mistakes or areas of disagreement.

After only 8 months, you can't be expected to be a fully competent engineer. Many companies allow two years for a new engineer to be productive...at least they did when I started. You are probably an introvert, as many engineers are. Working on being more outgoing, both in your work and outside, can be of great benefit.

 

[JMirisola]

Listen, you're doing just what you should be doing: listening and learning. I guarantee you that's what all those seasoned engineers did when they were in your shoes 25 years ago. There's an adage out there that goes something like this: "It's better to sit there and look dumb than to open your mouth and prove it." At this point in your career, you should be a sponge, soaking up every bit of knowledge that you can. Don't be afraid to ask questions, even if you're pretty sure you know the answer. So long as you ask with humility, your senior engineers will probably enjoy showing you what they know. Remember, most everyone's ego likes to be fed.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWE
My Blog

 

[oldestguy]

Depending on your location, you may find there are local clubs dedicatd to sepcific goals that require you to conerse or othewise get out of your shell. See if there is one where members have to contribute, such as an investing club, toast master club, etc. How about joining an engineering society and volunteer for their activities where you have to speak with members to work on projects, such as mentoing student chapters. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

It may not be that you get those possibilities at work, but what about the rest of the day and weekend time?

 

[IRstuff]

(1). Only time can cure that; as you become more experienced, you will gain more confidence. However, sometimes, fear of being wrong in public is at the root of the that, and you would need to get over that, particularly in a one-on-one situation, so that you can learn by asking questions.

(2). Again, time and experience. Pay attention to what questions others ask


(3) That's good that you are conscientious. Read everything and anything in your spare time. Idioms and grammatical constructions are embedded in the things you read. The more you read, the more correct constructions will sound correct to your inner ear, and the more jarring it will be to see or hear something that is not correct.

(4) This seems a bit paranoid. Your boss is responsible for your work; he needs to be and should be diligent about checking your work for mistakes. Learn from his corrections. Ideally, you should record his corrections and use them as your own checklist for new drawings.

TTFN
faq731-376

Need help writing a question or understanding a reply? forum1529

Of course I can. I can do anything. I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

 

[tickle]

Are you presenting your calculations and drawings to your boss in a way which makes it easy for them to follow your thought process? For example, are you cross referencing? Do you highlight the sections you are referring to in standards? When taking a value from a table or chart, are you marking the lines, column and result? If you are not, then the boss has to do this and it will look exactly like they are doing your calculations. Consider that your boss is showing you what they want (as most of the above posters have hinted at) and take it on board. Set goals for yourself, with the ultimate one being that you receive a calculation and drawing returned from checking with no red marks.

 

[Debaser]

"I graduated from college about 8 months ago...
(4) My boss doesn't trust my calculations and suggestions. He checks my drawings with extra attention and assumes I am wrong every time."

I think most posters on here would tell you it was time to worry if, just 8 months after graduating, your boss was only giving your calculations the merest glance and then signing them off.

 

[Jboggs]

NewEngineer652,
My father was an engineer. After I graduated he told me something I never forgot. The many years since have just further proven its deep truth.
"Now that your academics are finished, your education can begin." Your degree is really just the tuition to the school of experience. You are doing what you should. Soak it in. EVERY DAY is a learning experience.

 

[WiSEiwish]

Jboggs is spot on here. You learn way more by working than in school. This is overwhelming at times because you come out of school without the knowledge of how little you actually know. Confidence takes time and practice.

 

[Triangled]

Re. Your item (2). In the meetings, I am very quite. I am not sure what to talk about sometimes. Our vendors visit us at our facility to talk about the parts they machine for us. In other words, I can go to meetings and just sit without effecting anything.

Look at these meetings, not as a test for you, but as an opportunity for you. Your 25 year veterans probably challenge the vendors and explain things to them and you are not expected to do anything like that at all. I am sure the boss is including you in these meetings with good will, intending to give you the opportunity to gain this experience. Vendors can be a great source of learning, often being experts in their niche. Introduce yourself, thank them for their time and get their cards. Ask them questions about their product, perhaps after the meeting or later by phone or email, if you're uncomfortable doing so in the meeting. Since they are coming to your office, they are eager to sell or keep selling something to the company and therefore are eager to explain things to you... although they may tend to bias their explanations in favor of their product over a competitors product, but you'll be able to figure out the difference. Good luck!

 

[rotw]

Agree with Jboggs.
Let me put it this way: The map is not the territory!
To understand it, many fallacies we learn at school need to be unlearned.
Good luck with the unlearning...

"If you want to acquire a knowledge or skill, read a book and practice the skill".

 

[brandonbw]

One of my first project managers told me always triple check calculations and then check again. So having another set of eyes look your work over is generally a good thing, especially if you are a recent college graduate.

I always liked going to the vendor meetings for the free food. When the vendor met for my own needs to buy software for the company I asked a ton of questions and the higher ups didn't say a word. Most of the time I was just sitting around making money while eating and hopefully learning something.

I get plenty of emails with bad grammar or mistakes (lawyer clients especially), and its not a big deal. I like to read out loud my emails before sending. Reading fiction books might help with your English skills.

The less experienced engineers who claimed to know everything got grilled and hammered for every little detail. Sort of like a test. The ones who admitted to needing help stayed. While the cocky ones that were all fluff got shown the elevator door down.

Stick to what you are doing and soak up as much information as you can.

B+W Engineering and Design | Los Angeles Civil Engineer and Structural Engineer

http://bwengr.com

 

[MadMango]

Mirroring others above...

1) Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, as experience comes from making them. Do be afraid to be careless and lazy.
2) Keeping your ears open and your mouth shut will serve you well in your junior years. Absorb everything you can, it only adds to your arsenal for the future.
3) Don’t worry about language and improper grammar in emails, save that worry for reports and other technical papers. You’ll probably make the similar mistakes during the next 8yrs.
4) You are very inexperienced, there is nothing wrong with your boss double checking your work. Once his confidence increases in you and he stops checking on you, you’ll want him or someone else to double check your work. We all make mistakes.


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

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[KENAT]

Below assumes you have a generally good work environment and your boss/colleagues aren't jerks.

(1). I lack confidence because the people I work with have more than 25 years of experience. They can sense, analyse and solve a problem in no time. I am afraid I will make mistake infront of them.

If you don't make a mistake in front of them it's probably because you aren't doing much - which is generally not good. Obviously try to minimize mistakes, especially in front of customer etc., but it's probably gonna happen at some point.

(2). In the meetings, I am very quite. I am not sure what to talk about sometimes. Our vendors visit us at our facility to talk about the parts they machine for us. In other words, I can go to meetings and just sit without effecting anything.

That's OK - as others say better than saying something silly. If you get a chance to ask intelligent questions for you own education - perhaps toward the end of the meeting etc. then that might be good.

(3) Replying to emails is a part of my job. I was not born, raised in United States and moved here about 8 years ago. I want to make sure my emails are correct, professional and logical.

Many (most?) of the emails I get sent have poor grammar etc. While I strongly encourage you to do the best you can to improve it may not be a deal breaker depending on your career goals.

(4) My boss doesn't trust my calculations and suggestions. He checks my drawings with extra attention and assumes I am wrong every time.

So, your boss makes time in his busy day to go over your work and you're complaining about this? I'd love to have a second pair of eyes go over my drawings etc. One of the best ways of learning is the feedback you get from checking of this kind.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

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

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

 

[Hoxton]

Hey, as other have said, you have had the courage to come on this forum and see what we say about you!

Another piece of advice, when I was a young shy engineer, someone suggested that I join a local public speaking club (in the usa, I think they are called Toastmasters)

Speaking in front of strangers about random topics helped give me the confidence to run meetings, be a line manager and make presentations on technical and commercial subjects. Top presentations were to government ministers and to the World Bank (IBRD).

You are on the right track if you can start to recognize your shortcomings

Good luck

 

[metengr]

Based on your OP and responses, not much to say other than you will improve and will become an outstanding engineer.

 

[graybeach]

Great post and answers. You seem like just the kind of new engineer that I like to work with. Another thing you could do is to always communicate your plan for execution each time you start a new task. This could just be a simple email to the person who assigned you the task outlining your understanding and what you need to deliver. This allows the assigning person a chance to either concur or clarify and gives him or her a warm fuzzy feeling that you are on the case. If you get in the habit of doing this, you will quickly earn more trust. Overtime, the simple email will morph into work plans and proposals for more complex projects. Good luck to you!

 

[EdStainless]

Is there someone (other than your boss) who will give your a few hours a week of mentoring time?
They can show you they would have handled an issue or calculation, and explain why they do it that way. They can also help you with how to present yourself and your ideas.

Take public speaking classes. I know that they suck. Watching yourself on video is never fun.In my career I have been through three multi-day professional speaking classes, and every time I get better. Being able to stand up in front of a groups and clearly present your ideas and work will mark you as serious engineer. Many people can do good work, but few can get up and explain it effectively. Such training will help your one-on-one communications as well.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube

 

[Signious]

My two-bits:

1). I lack confidence because the people I work with have more than 25 years of experience. They can sense, analyse and solve a problem in no time. I am afraid I will make mistake infront of them.

This comes with time, one big thing to keep in mind - Confidence is not knowing that everything you say/do will be correct; confidence is knowing that when you are incorrect it isn't the end of your day, and you will learn from it. There is a fine line between confidence and cockyness.

(2). In the meetings, I am very quite. I am not sure what to talk about sometimes. Our vendors visit us at our facility to talk about the parts they machine for us. In other words, I can go to meetings and just sit without effecting anything.

In meetings, especially if there is a vendor present, you are there to learn. Bring in a scratch pad and write down notes on anything that you think could have been brought up, or didn't follow in the meeting. After the meeting take 5 minutes to go over these notes with a co-worker you get along with. Eventually you will learn what a 'good' and 'bad' topic to bring up in a meeting will be, and then you can join in the flow of conversation.

(3) Replying to emails is a part of my job. I was not born, raised in United States and moved here about 8 years ago. I want to make sure my emails are correct, professional and logical.

Few notes on this one, first and foremost is to keep it as short as you can without losing anything important. I usually make a point form list of everything I need to get across in 2 or 3 works each, then fill in the blanks from there:

1. Clear the CC and recipients of the email as soon as you start writing. This is key in my opinion - it keeps you from accidentally sending something before it is finished.
2. Use point form as much as possible, no one likes sifting through walls of text. Re-read the email before you send it, read it 'in the mind of the other person'
3. Google. Seriously, there are loads of pages online on how to write professional, informal, and memo style emails.
4. Look at the style your co-workers use and emulate it.

(4) My boss doesn't trust my calculations and suggestions. He checks my drawings with extra attention and assumes I am wrong every time.

This is a mentor doing what a good mentor does. If he assumes you are right, then things can - and will - get missed. Don't take it personally - before you hand him anything go over it yourself with a red pen and tear it apart. Find out the mistakes you commonly make and correct the behaviour.