Transitioning From Engineer to Manager : Engineering Career Advice from a Panel of Engineers that Have Made the Leap

January 26, 2012 By 2 Comments

Last week I had the pleasure of attending and participating in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Eastern Regional Younger Member Council (ERYMC) in Nashville, Tennessee.  The conference overall was awesome, but in this post I wanted to summarize the engineering career advice shared in the Saturday afternoon panel where three experienced engineers explained how they transitioned from engineer to manager.

The following is the advice that the three panelists shared:

  • You know you are ready to make the leap from engineer to manager when you feel like you are looking for something more; you want to contribute on a larger scale.
  • They all had a desire to move into engineering management position; they didn’t “have-to.”
  • You have to look at the big picture when you become a manager; look at the forest not the tree.
  • Try to get your employees to also look at the big picture. [Read more...]
Filed Under: Engineering Career Development, Leadership Tagged With: , ,

How to Start an Engineering Company: Owning and Managing an Engineering Business Through a Tough Economy

January 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The following is a brief summary of the 1-23-2012 session of the Engineer Your Own Success Radio Show for engineers.  You can listen to the entire show on our archives page.

During the latest session of my Engineer Your Own Success radio show I had the opportunity to interview Rick De La Guardia owner of DLG Engineering to find out not only how to start an engineering company, but how to run an engineering company that thrives in any economy.

To give you some background, Rick De La Guardia is founder of DLG Engineering, Inc., a structural consulting firm, whose goal is to educate and raise awareness of the importance of the proper design, review and installations of our nation’s building envelopes. He obtained his bachelors of Science in Architectural Engineering from the University of Miami and currently serves as president of the University of Miami College of Engineering Alumni Association.

Rick took a job in a very specific field of building envelope consulting out of college and when he realized that he wasn’t being compensated fairly for his abilities he left the company and started his own company.

Below are the questions in bold that I asked Rick as well as his responses directly below the question: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Engineering Company Owners Tagged With: , , , ,

Transitioning from Engineer to Manager: How to Manage Engineering Professionals That Have More Experience Than You

January 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The following is a brief summary of the 1-16-2012 session of the Engineer Your Own Success Radio Show for engineers.  You can listen to the entire show on our archives page.

During the latest session of my Engineer Your Own Success radio show I had the opportunity to coach a younger engineer (Mary) who was facing the challenge of having to manage or oversee a group of more experienced engineering experts.  This is a challenge that many engineering professionals face when transitioning from engineer to manager.

To give you some detailed background, Mary works for a large engineering company and is in charge of coordinating the preparation of large technical reports.  This includes the oversight of several experienced technical experts to ensure that they all submit their sections of the report on time.

Mary felt disrespected by these experts, and thought that her age and sex may have contributed to their lack of respect.  The experts showed this lack of respect by not submitting their work by the proposed deadline.

Based on our discussion, I provided Mary with the following recommendations: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Engineering Career, Leadership Tagged With: , , ,

Five Reasons Engineers are Built Into the Future

January 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Featured Guest Blogger: Eugene S. Please

The seemingly go-nowhere job market is making many individuals think twice about pursuing higher education. Those interested in engineering are certainly no exception, as engineering positions waned in an otherwise industrialized world intimidated by a bad economy. But aspiring engineers ought to recognize that, while demand for their potential talents is currently down, their role in the 21st century is anything but irrelevant. The following are five reasons why you can most certainly count on the demand for engineers in the decades to come:

Infrastructure Needs Improvement

Across the United States of America, bridges are disintegrating, sewers are sinking, and other civil necessities continue to degrade with any rehabilitation. Millions of improvements to infrastructure wait to be made when the money to make them becomes available. For every improvement, there will be a team of engineers there making the big on-the-grounds decisions. Extend this worldwide, and it’s easy to see how many engineers are going to be needed.

The Environment is Changing

Whether humans are the cause or not remains a matter of debate, but the evidence is overwhelmingly clear that Earth’s environment is changing, at least as far as human survivability is concerned. Seaside cities will see more floods, while urban areas under arid conditions will continue to heat up. To ensure these places remain inhabitable, engineers will be busy designing new ways to survive the unforgiving forces of Mother Nature. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Engineering Career Tagged With: ,

Develop YOUR Own Winning Team to Boost Your Engineering Career

January 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Featured Guest Blogger: Suzanne E. Pylant, EI, A.M. ASCE, Spylant Consulting, LLC

 Aren’t you just sick and tired of articles entitled:

  • 10 things to make you a better engineering manager
  • How to work more efficiently under stress
  • Top 3 ways to manage your boss/staff
  • How to become a successful engineer

And I could go on and on with self help topics, tips and how to’s on every website you visit until you’re regurgitating them on the floor in

Engineering Career Team

full color print like yesterday’s bad news. Most of us are too busy and many of us have LONG surpassed information overload (especially in this current economic environment) so we basically ignore any further published mental molestation of our maxed out days. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Engineering Career Tagged With: , , , , , ,

From Design Engineer to Manager in 2012 – You Can Do It!

January 4, 2012 By 2 Comments

I have received many questions recently through the different social media outlets to the effect of, “How do I go from design engineer to manager in my engineering career?”

It’s a great question and one that many engineers ask.  In my career travels as a design engineer, and the last few years as an engineering career coach, I have worked with, coached, and spoken to many engineers about this topic specifically and in this post I want to offer some engineering career advice based on my experiences.

In talking with many successful engineers that have made the transition from design engineer to manager, here are some guidelines that may be helpful in your transition:

From Engineer to Manager

Learn How to Delegate

What do I mean by learn how to delegate?  Well I could have just said, start delegating, but many successful engineers will tell you that it’s not that easy.  As engineers we get so wrapped up in day to day technical aspects of projects that when it’s time to go take on a managerial role, we either don’t want to give up the technical tasks to someone else or we are so involved in our projects, it is hard to take a more “hands-off” role.

Many engineers have the mentality of,  “I want to do it to ensure it gets done correctly.  That’s understandable being that you are a competent project manager, however to make a transition from engineer to manager, you are going to have to let other people help you.  You are going to have to take the time to teach them how to do it, in order to free up your time for other things.  The best way to do this is to start by giving small tasks to your team members to let them gain your trust.  Once they build up your trust, you will feel more comfortable giving them larger tasks until you can remove yourself from the “trenches” and take on more of a managerial role. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Leadership, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Maintaining a Professional Image Throughout Your Career

December 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Featured Guest Blogger: Gavin Redelman of RedStarResume

Congratulations on securing your job. You have been selected above and beyond the other job applicants because of all the wonderful factors that made you the best fit for the job. Now that you have the job there are many tips to keeping your position and maintaining a professional image.

Understand Your Role and Expectations

You may feel as though you are doing a fantastic job, but if your expectations differ from those of your manager or boss, there is going to be conflict. Be sure to always have a good understanding of what is expected of you. If you feel that the expectations are unrealistic, then you should approach your boss and explain the situation. One of the most important aspects of maintaining a professional image is being a good team player and contributing fairly to the team objectives. No one likes a colleague who does not do his or her fair share of the work.

Expand Your Role and Keep on Learning

Be a team player and look to get involved in more areas of the business. Be willing to share your expertise, but also be willing to learn new skills. If your company offers training courses, put your hand up to get involved. If your company doesn’t offer training courses, you can still take the initiative and invest in your own growth and knowledge by paying for these courses yourself.  After all, it is your career! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Positive Attitude, Professional Development Tagged With:

When Looking to Purse an Engineering Undergraduate or Master’s Degree Consider Online Programs

December 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Featured Guest Blogger:  Dawn Lovett, Founder of Online Engineering Degrees

Are you interested in getting a degree in engineering but can’t go to a traditional college? Perhaps you don’t think you can afford the costs of college, or maybe you have other responsibilities, such as children or a day job, that would prevent you from being able to take college classes. You might even have a college degree, but would like to further your education in order to advance in your career.

For many people, earning a college degree online is a great alternative. You have the flexibility to take classes at a time that works for you and learn at your own pace. Contrary to popular belief, accredited online colleges provide courses at the same level as traditional colleges and offer many of the same services, such as financial aid and student support. Students even have the chance to interact in online discussion forums or contact their instructor with concerns at any time.

Individuals who succeed in online degree programs are often self-disciplined, assertive, organized, and passionate about earning their degree. If you think you have what it takes, here are some details about online engineering programs.

Programs

There are number of different online degree engineering programs available in engineering. The type of degree you should consider depends on the type of career you are pursuing. An associate’s degree takes about 2 years and can lead to a job as an engineering technician. Most engineering jobs require a bachelor’s degree in a specific field of engineering, which takes four years to complete. Advanced positions in management and research generally require master’s or doctoral degrees.  Some examples include: Mechanical engineering, which involves the design and manufacturing of machines. Electrical and Electronics engineering which involves electrical equipment and technology such as computers and telecommunications systems. Aerospace engineering focuses on building planes, satellites, and other aircraft. [Read more...]

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The Engineer Your Own Success Tour Visits Bethlehem and Raleigh – December 2011

December 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Students at Work

Over the past week I have had the pleasure of delivering my Engineer Your Own Success (EYOS) seminar to engineers in both Pennsylvania and North Carolina. I started by traveling to the Lehigh Valley area in Pennsylvania on Thursday December 8th.  I stopped off at my Alma mater, Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, where I visited some former professors of mine. I also had the opportunity to spend time with my cousin who is currently a senior mechanical engineering student.  He gave me a tour of the laboratory and showed me his senior project, which is a Formula One racing car that he and 12 of his classmates designed and built. This car will be raced in a national contest in the spring against other college team’s vehicles. It’s great to see engineering students engaging in hands on activities as part of their education.

Next I was off to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I had the pleasure of speaking at an event that was held at the

Bethlehem, PA

Hotel Bethlehem, which is a wonderful placed located in beautiful downtown Bethlehem.  The annual American Society of Civil Engineers – Lehigh Valley Section holiday banquet is a very special event as the chapter invites back all of the past-presidents and honors them during the evening festivities. It was a fairly large audience, which consisted of a wide variety of experience levels from the attending engineering students and retired engineers. It was great to see so many students present at this professional function. As I stated in my presentation, you are never too young to begin networking and building relationships. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Happy Holidays – Without Action in Your Career There is No Forward Motion

December 14, 2011 By 4 Comments

Hello everyone this is Anthony Fasano, founder of Powerful Purpose Associates and Author of Engineer Your Own Success.

I wanted to take few minutes to wish you and your family a happy, healthy holiday season!  I know this can be a very crazy time of the year for many of us between shopping, cooking and working.  Please try to take some time to rest and relax, rejuvenate and re-energize.  Take some downtime, whether it’s by yourself or with your family.  Reflect on the year you’ve had which I hope has been extremely positive and then start thinking about your goals for 2012.

I want to thank all of you for your support over this year, as it’s been amazing year for Powerful Purpose Associates and myself with the launch of my book Engineer Your Own Success.  With your help and support, I’ve been able to get a very positive powerful message out to professionals all over the world and I seriously could not have done it without you and for that I thank you.

It is my goal for this upcoming year to [Read more...]

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