technical skills or learn to BS 3

[oneintheeye]

in your experience what gets you places (i.e. promotion/money). Learning technical skills or being a BSer and being confident in what your saying even if it is total rubbish. I think I waste my time learning technical skills when the money goes to the BSers of this world.
This is not meant to be a rant sorry.

 

[KENAT]

It depends how you want to advance.

There are places where technical skills are fairly well rewarded - here you can get decent compensation based primarily on technical abilities.

However, it seems that it may be 'easier' in many places to get promotion/money based on, let's say 'soft' rather than technical skills. Typically this will require taking a management or at least sales/marketing type role.

Of course, if you can combine both then you should be in a win/win right?

Even in places where technical ability is appreciated, having some soft skills will generally help.

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[PeterStock]

Learn the skill, then learn to BS.

Peter Stockhausen
Senior Design Analyst (Checker)
Infotech Aerospace Services

http://www.infotechpr.net

 

[kelowna]

Peter got it right. You need to learn how to speak with confidence, present in public and defend your ideas. However there has to be some substance behind.

 

[Twoballcane]

The US has become more of a knowledge base than a skill base economy. The people that have salaries in the top 20 to 10 percent have degrees.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."

 

[Twoballcane]

Umm whatis a BSer? In the Engineering world I have seen BSci or BEngr.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."

 

[TheTick]

BS may make you money, but skills make you valuable.

I don't think you can choose. BS chooses you. You either have the gift or you do not. Even if you do, get some skills.

 

[stanweld]

For advancement, learn to intelligently BS; however, as The Tick stated, most Engineers either have the gift or don't and most don't. Remember that if you don't "toot" your own horn, you cannot expect others to "toot" it for you.

 

[Twoballcane]

Ohhh ok BSer is Bull S***er....well in that case the skill of spin on in any situation is a skill to own. Tech skills can only get you so far, but to look good while not working to hard...priceless!

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."

 

[Comcokid]

BS skills will help you keep a job and in promotion at many companies. The more dysfunctional the company, the more BS skills will keep you ahead.

However, technical skills will help you get a new job and to change jobs far more easily. The quickest way to better pay is to leverage knowledge to a new job.

Now, put the previous two things together, and you arrive at what I call the "lint-filter theory of companies". Some companies function to trap and retain the lowest capability employees - the BS'ers. People who BS do the best as this kind of dysfunctional company and capable people soon grow dissatisfied and leave for elsewhere. The people with skills are the ones most likely to quickly find better employment. The people without skills are the ones most likely to develop BS as a skill to keep their job. Eventually, the dysfunctional company plugs up with "lint" and gets trashed.

 

[Ron]

There is no better feeling than to be called out on your "BS", only to rip them with your technical skill.

...sinister laugh that doesn't print well!!.....

 

[KENAT]

"Mwaa Huh Huh Ha" does it for me Ron.

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[shadow401]

It’s been my experience that being a good BSer and having an outgoing friendly personality is far more important then technical skills. Think about it this way. Which one brings in more money to your company?

If your engineering designs are flawless and you are much more efficient then everyone else, you might be 20% more profitable then the average employee in the company. If your company bills you out hourly then unfortunately you make your company less money then the average employee but possibly more return clients and thus more work.

On the other hand if you are a good BSer, you are bringing in work for your company. This work keeps who groups of people busy and making money. Being a good BSer will also help you to collect money from the client and/or explaining why you went over budget.

That’s why CEO’s of large companies make tons of cash. It’s not that they have more technical knowledge then other people but because they bring in investors and clients. Unless your involved in inventing new technology or some other creative work, your just not adding that much value to your company being a techie.

 

[KENAT]

"Unless your involved in inventing new technology or some other creative work"

Um, well, it seems to me that many engineering jobs, at least in the 'exempt' sector are doing exactly this.

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[IRstuff]

At the root of every myth is a grain of truth.

While being a great BSer is a plus, you can't really BS on nothing for very long. The best BSer I've run across was a top-rated engineer before he went into marketing and knows quite a bit about the stuff he's peddling. And it's precisely because he knows his stuff that his customers buy into the stuff he peddles, and he can withstand a high level of technical scrutiny.

Do your technical, master it, and the selling comes naturally. If you don't know your stuff, you'll hem and haw, or have to defer to your "people," which diffuses any progress that you might have made with your customer.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[SNORGY]

Choose "skill" over "BS" any day of the week.

If it was otherwise, I would lose sleep every night, depressed over the fact that I was an MBA instead of a P.Eng..

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[mechengdude]

"in your experience what gets you places (i.e. promotion/money)"

Learn to BS if you want to get a promotion and raise. Your first step is to stop calling it BS and use terms like:
networking, building relationships, level setting expectations, mission statement, synergy, etc..

Good luck expanding your horizons

 

[ctopher]

I worked with an engineer than BS'd his way with the company for a few years that he had a BS. When the company finally found out, he was dragged out kicking and crying.

Being a BSer can only get you so far. Having a college degree will take you further. It's 'how' you use your education that will make an impression.

Chris
SolidWorks 09 SP4.1
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[DallasJ]

In my limited experience a good BSer can put the information out there for other non-techies to understand. Its what makes a good BSer..

It doesn't matter how smart you are in your field if you cant explain your part to a group or in a meeting people are going to shut down just waiting for that great speaker to start up.

 

[IRstuff]

"In my limited experience a good BSer can put the information out there for other non-techies to understand. Its what makes a good BSer.."

It also makes for a good engineer. Whatever technical skills you might have, no one will know if you cannot explain what you are doing, and why, to any audience of any experience. Your ability to explain complicated subjects to, say, a high school audience is a sign of the mastery of your subject matter.

If you think about the best technical mentors, or even your college professors, you would not consider them to be BSers (for the most part). But, you respect their ability to explain complicated to concepts to neophyte audiences (YOU).

I will admit here that people consider me to be a good BSer, but, at the same time, they recognize that I never present material that I do not have complete mastery of, and I never pretend to know more than I do. THAT is what engenders the trust that my audiences have in the material I present, and me, as an engineer.

While there are those that are easily swayed by big, or arcane, words, the majority of people have sufficiently operable BS filters to recognize technical depth and mastery in a speaker, or the lack thereof.


TTFN

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