Tips for Becoming a Successful Engineer 26

[JBreunig]

I was thinking recently about the engineers that I know that have been pretty successful. I think they share some common traits, and there's a few things that separate them from the less successful engineers.

I wrote this blog article about what I've noticed. I'm curious what you all think. What have you noticed that's been key to an engineer's success?

https://www.xceed-eng.com/5-tips-successful-engineer/

Jim Breunig P.E.
XCEED Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
FEA Consultants

 

[TheTick]

Treat requirements as challenges

Challenge all requirements! In some industries, requirements are copied-and-pasted without careful consideration. That, or they're vaguely-phrased wishes.

 

[JBreunig]

TheTick - I like that, that's a very good point.

I've seen, and participated in some pretty creative solutions to customer requirements. That's more what I was going for, but I think your point is a great one. You need to meet the need, which is not necessarily what they're explicitly asking for.

Jim Breunig P.E.
XCEED Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
FEA Consultants

 

[JohnRBaker]

Become fully competent in your field of endeavor and then do what's necessary to make yourself invaluable to your employer. It worked for nearly 50 years for me.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[zdas04]

My key was talking to people. People in different disciplines often have mainstream (in their field) solutions to problems that your field has considered unsolvable. The rest of that key is "listening is more than waiting for your turn to talk".

[bold]David Simpson, PE[/bold]
MuleShoe Engineering

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo Galilei, Italian Physicist

 

[xnuke]

Develop excellence in oral, written, and graphical communication! Engineering isn't all technical.

xnuke
"Live and act within the limit of your knowledge and keep expanding it to the limit of your life." Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged.
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[zelgar]

5. You are not perfect. Accept it, Fix it, Get Better, Move On!

I'd also add, "Don't get angry." Even though it's natural to get upset at being wrong, don't attack the person who identified your mistake.

During my 25 years as an regulatory engineer, I've had others get angry when their work was questioned (e.g., engineering calculations provided without any base formulae, units, assumptions, etc.). Sometimes the engineer didn't even look at the comments to see if they were justified, it appeared they were upset that anyone would question their work because they were a PE.

As a regulator, I sometimes feel like I'm checking other engineer's work, but if I had a question, I'd always check with another engineer I work with to see if they could follow the submitted information. Also, I would always try to be diplomatic with the engineer submitting the work by stating, that I'm not saying their work was wrong, but I had difficulties following the work provided.

 

[monkeydog]

I never met an engineer that did not want to be successful.
Henry was marginal on that, he just didn't want to be fired.

 

[JBreunig]

These are all great thoughts and comments. I think I may write an update with some of these. It's great having some other viewpoints in here.

Monkeydog - I also think everyone has a desire at some level to be successful. Who wouldn't want that? I think it's the few that have something different about them that can execute and become successful.

zelgar - I agree! So many engineers have pride of authorship that they get a little peeved when someone points something out. It's like you're calling their kid ugly.

xnuke - So true. Why is it that so many engineers suffer with written and oral proficiency? Must be a right brain/left brain thing.

JohnRBaker- Sage wisdom. The true top of the pack that I've seen have carved out their own specialties, making them known, and indispensable. I like it.

zdas04 - I like that idea. It's actually one of the reasons this forum is so powerful.

This is great folks! I'll be writing an update later, and I'll include some of these words of wisdom for sure!

Jim Breunig P.E.
XCEED Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
FEA Consultants

 

[jari001]

Develop excellence in oral, written, and graphical communication! Engineering isn't all technical.

At my recent job interview, I was repeatedly praised for my being "very articulate" yet it a backhanded way as if my ability in public speaking undermined my technical capabilities. It's an exciting job though, so I hope i get it!

I don't count myself as successful...yet, but I will say that the trait I've seen among successful engineers is being engaging and approachable. In the plant/manufacturing environment people will go to those they trust and get along with before they go to the "right" person, so if you become the go to person the opportunities to learn new things go way up as you work to solve many problems. It also makes deviation investigation easier when people will actually talk to you

 

[Mr168]

My last in-person interview (R&D/field services group) went the rounds with members of about three different departments. They requested up front that I bring in a PowerPoint presentation of my choosing to discuss in front of various staff members.

After offering me the position, they implied this was SOP for any department head or managerial role for which they were hiring. They wanted to make darn sure that you wouldn't ice up when speaking in front of a client, and that you knew how to adjust your demeanor and level of "tech talk" for a given audience. The longer I've been employed, the longer this has been a critical component of my profession.

To that, I think xnuke hit the nail on the head.

 

[HamburgerHelper]

Probably depends on the tone of your organization. Going out drinking with your manager or supervisor might be more important than most of what you do. Others, being a super technical expert is held in highest regard. Other still, might just reward loyalty or years of service with the company. There is always a market for competent engineers but to make head ways inside of an organization in my opinion really depends on what they value.

 

[Jboggs]

A few tips from 40 years out:
1) Above and beyond the requirements of management, seek out the feelings and desires of those that will have to build and use your designs. Give them as much of what they ask for as you can. If they know you listened to them they will go out of their way to make sure your design is a success. The opposite is equally true - if they don't want it to work, it really does not matter how good it is. It won't work. Period.
2) Learn to adopt the habit of always asking yourself a very simple question: "How can this go wrong?" You'll be surprised how often you will get "that feeling" that something more is needed just to make sure that nothing falls through the cracks or that things are done they way you want. How many times have I had a conversation where I left thinking this really isn't going to happen the way I want. "THAT" feeling is right 99% of the time! How can this drawing or this paragraph be misinterpreted? How can this common practice now lead to trouble or confusion later? "How can this go wrong?"
3) Be proud of your personal work product, which usually is in the form of drawings. Take the extra effort to make sure they are clear, clean, neat, thorough, as simple as possible, and have a good visual impression. First impressions are formed in the first ten seconds of seeing a drawing, and they're permanent. If the viewer's first impression of a drawing is that its author is a professional and knows what he's doing, they will go to the trouble to find what they need. On the other hand if their first impression is that the drawing is sloppy or overly complicated, it won't matter if it is technically correct.

 

[IRstuff]

> Be stingy with criticism/blame and generous with praise/credit -- while not a direct impact on success, others will tend to support people that treat them fairly and respectfully

> You are not omniscient, so listen to seemingly "stupid" ideas; at least some of them are not really that stupid, and some of those might save your bacon -- BTDT

> Be proud, but not arrogant, of your work; no matter how good you are, you'll still make mistakes -- taking criticism yourself is hard, but so is character building

> Fess up to your mistakes early -- people respect your honesty, and will be more willing to accept your work, knowing that you won't leave stinking turds under the carpets; this also keeps other people from finding your mistakes and crowing about them

> Be honest with the customer and help them overcome their own errors as a team player -- customers appreciate people who don't throw them under the bus

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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[analogkid2digitalman]

'Share Your Thoughts' at the end of the article should be #6 on the list.
Even in areas outside one's experience, express your thoughts and ideas.

My main specialties are electronics and programming but on numerous occasions I have suggested ideas to Mechanical Engineers on fixturing. Sometime they agree and follow up with my approach, sometimes not. We should act as a team and freely share our thoughts.

-AK2DM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's the questions that drive us"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[MotorCity]

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS check your work. Whether its a two line email or a set of 100 drawings, you will always find things that are not correct or could be improved when you take a second look. The quality of your work is a reflection on you.

 

[Shotzie]

@MotorCity My boss has a similar rule. He says to print whatever it is you're working on or just finished working on, and highlight every item/sentence. Green means you understand and agree, yellow means you think it's right but you have questions about it, and red means you don't think it's right or have no idea what it means. It allows you to revise things easily and also ask pointed questions during the review process.

 

[TheTick]

Cool heads and good communicators are vital skills in engineering (and any other profession). More projects die from poor communication and decision-making than by actual bad engineering.

 

[Mr168]

Consider hiding the "Reply All" button in your e-mail client of choice.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Perhaps, but judicious use of the 'BCC: recipient' can help in many situations.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without