What is the best engineering advice you ever received? 205

[tulum]

I would like to continue engineerdaves series of threads; what frustrates you at work, and what satisfies you at work...

I just finished reading one of Donald Trumps books entitled "the way to the top". What he did was he asked the top executives across the US to submit the one single most important thing they learned to help them achieve businees success.

For example one qoute was (and is very applicable to engineering):

"Although you can't always control where you are planted-to which department or specific project you are assigned-you can control the experience while you are there...bloom where you are planted."

So my question to the forum is: What is the best engineering advice you ever received?

 

[johnwiss]

Inevitably, the easy things are where the bugs are. So when it comes to designing you must sweat the little stuff!!

"Good enough" is perfect.

The bug just introduced is your bug--it is not a compiler bug, a subtle bug, it is a bleeding obvious one--so question thyself first.


John

 

[unclesyd]

Two that I ran across in my notes from a session in 1960

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

 

[harlan07]

A company that goes to the ends of the earth for its employees will find it can hire them for 1/5 the cost of an American.

 

[philruh1]

Reasons someone will leave their present job: They perceive they:
1. Don't make enough money.
2. Don't like what they are doing
3. Don't like whom they are doing it with
4. Don't agree with company's principles
5. Don’t see self there in 5 years.

If you think you do or you think you don’t, your right.

 

[privateer]

Glad to see someone posted this, but I'll add a little to it:

"Always sweat the small stuff. Don't worry about the big stuff - it always takes care of itself."

This has been so true in every aspect of my life - and contrary to "popular" belief.

Here's another....
We've all heard "Do what you're told", "Do what I say, not what you think", "Do what I mean, not what I say", "Do as I say, not as I do".... And all the other variations.

I tell my interns/proteges "DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE!" Empowering a person with "responsible" initiative is an incredible learning experience. Of course all actions/corrections need to be communicated, and if they are wrong, then it's marked up as a positive learning experience.

 

[CanEngJohn]

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill

While I like the quote I no longer believe it is true.

I have come to believe that some of the best Engineers are not pessimists or optimists. I believe the best Engineers are the ones who start a project as a pessimist and figure out how to become an optimist before day 2.

The trick is to not let anyone know what you truly think on Day 1.

 

[oldrunner]

A good source of information is the foremen and superintendents – especially when you’ve never seen the kind of project you’ve been given.

When the superintendent comes storming into the engineering office, get him to go for a ride with you.

Make friends with the steel shop superintendent: You might then be the only engineer he’ll let into the shop.

Make friends with the steel shop superintendent: He’ll call you when he can’t build your design and won’t tell your boss.

Write your letters and reports “idiot” style.

Don’t be afraid to fire you client.

You can be fair, but you don’t have to be generous.

When your client blindsides you in a meeting, don’t be afraid to yell at him! You might be friends by the end of the day and drinking buddies by the end of the week.

When one of your vice-presidents screws up a project badly (and the project was suppose to go out that day), and he offers to pay to redo the project, tell him no and “you’re gone”! (Not the right way to fire somebody)

When the vice president (licensed Calif. S.E.) says he’s proud that he’s never been on “the boards”, then you’re more than justified when saying “you’re gone”!

When you are doing an instant engineering project and the client asks you to get it to him a “couple of days” early, make sure you put the phone down before you blow your top!

The client complains about you bill after he insisted that the project be looked at every which way and you reduce the bill by about two grand, much to the disgust of the staff. Two weeks later, the client returns with another project, glad handing you about your wonderful solution to the previous project and telling you that you save him a million dollars. Fell through the floor on that one.

Sorry guys, but this is about fifty years of gripes of lessons learned and advice given to me by my bosses.

 

[BTriple7]

My boss once told me,

" Always be trust worthy and can be relied upon by people you work with. This would come in very handy one time"

He told me that sometimes, he gets some things done (Protocols and bureacracies not with standing), not because he has the influence of being a manager, but due to his record with people. Other managers do get stuck with the same.

 

[dogleg43]

Don't sh*t on the rungs of the ladder while climbing up.
You may have to climb back down.

 

[ewh]

This may have been mentioned above, but the best I ever received was CYA.

 

[ddelaiarro]

"You can't push on a rope" came from a statics teacher trying to get us to really think about the problem rather than just 'work' the problem

"Think of the worst thing that can happen before you do anything. If you're prepared to deal with those results, proceed." Not necessarily engineering related, but it can fit there too. This little jewel came from my Dad when I was in HS.

"NEVER work under a car not on jackstands!" Another tidbit from the old timer.

All three have helped me out in life

 

[CanuckMiner]

ddelaiarro,

Actually you can push on a rope. You just have to freeze it first. ;-)

Cheers,
CanuckMiner

 

[Ashereng]

"We can do everything you want...but, why do you?"

That's stoped a few change orders.

 

[ddelaiarro]

So true CanuckMiner....that was actually the 'extra credit' question on the final - What is the one instance you can push on a rope? It threw most everyone for a loop.

 

[Ashereng]

I believe that a rope can also be pushed in a pure vacuum, without gravity, e.g. space?

 

[Nella95]

Best engineering advice? Well, the best advice I've been given in the work world deals with company politics. Learning those 'political' processes can help you arrive at a faster and more correct engineering solution. And the CYA philosophy wowks in compant policy as well.

 

[rnd2]

Another take on TheTick's superb quote: "Decision is clean cut, easily mended, blended, repaired or removed. Indecision is ragged edged with loose threads and jams everything associated with it.

 

[JStephen]

While in college, I interviewed with a "small" construction company. Professor advised me "Don't ever work for a small company! They're here today, gone tomorrow!" I didn't take that advice. But six months later, the largest employer in town started laying off people. Meanwhile, I'm back working for that original small company.

Advice #1: What seems like good advice isn't always so good!

Once upon a time, a truck was carrying a very huge load. There was an overpass over the highway that was just slightly too low for the truck to clear. So the driver and the highway patrolman and a few assorted others scratched their heads wondering what to do. Then a 6-year-old boy said "Why don't you let the air out of the tires to lower the load!" So they did, and got under the overpass and all seemed well. And then the poor ol' truck driver had to sit out there for the next three days airing up all those &^%$# truck tires (lowboy + dolly, of course) before he could take off again, and then had to wait another day for his oversize permit to be re-issued, all the while footing the bill for the bucket truck and an escort vehicle.

Moral: Sometimes what seems like good advice isn't really so good.

Other unrelated advice: If you DO have to check your own work, try to do it a different way. Lay it out on CAD one time, and work out the geometry to check, or vice versa. Work out the integral, then use Simpson's rule to check.

 

[GregLocock]

Another time you can push a rope is if you do it very quickly!

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[GeoSmith]

Some people always said, "Just do it, don't ask!!!"