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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:

Networking is Critical to Finding Those Post-Graduate Engineering Jobs

November 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Featured Guest Blogger: Nick Jameson

If you’re the average college senior nearing the point where you enter the real world, you have every reason to be worried: the economy is stagnant, the recession appears to have no end in sight, employees aren’t hiring, and Americans in their 20’s are, percentage-wise, the least employed demographic segments. No doubt about it; there’s a lot of concerning data out there, and looking for a job post-graduation may be a more painful process than medical billing or sitting at the DMV.

But if you’re an engineering student about to complete an engineering degree, you may feel a bit better about your chances. You have a highly marketable major, after all, and your parents, friends, and college advisers are probably telling you that engineers have nothing to fear. It’s a growing field, they say. It’s recession-proof.

So, for those of you out there in that situation, what should you believe? Should you expect years of unemployment or a long line of suitors? Are post-grad, entry-level engineers truly weathering the recession as well as some may think?

The answer, as you may expect, lies somewhere in the middle. A few things that are for sure: engineers possess a marketable skill set, demonstrated career potential, and an intended line of work that has certainly been growing in recent decades. On the other hand, though, the recession has still taken its toll on engineering firms. So what does this mean for the post-grad applicant? It probably means job offers and excellent employment opportunities are out there – but you’re going to need to be resourceful in tracking them down. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Networking, Professional Development Tagged With: , ,

Big or Small Company – Which is Better for Developing My Engineering Career?

October 25, 2011 By 7 Comments

I have been asked by many engineering professionals, especially engineering students and younger engineers, “Is it more beneficial to my career development to work in a small or large engineering company?”  This is an excellent question, but unfortunately one that doesn’t have a straightforward answer because it really depends on so many different things.  First and foremost it will depend on your career goals and which situation will put you in the best position to achieve them.  It also depends specifically on which companies you are looking at as not every small or large company offers the same benefits or drawbacks.

That being said, in this post I will offer some advice from my own experience as well as some information I recently received from an executive at a large (the largest) engineering company.

I spent most of my career working at small to mid-sized engineering companies.  When I graduated, I worked for a company that had about 5 employees total.  This was a great experience because it allowed me to get involved with every aspect of a project including fieldwork, office work, and team/client coordination.  I learned so much about the engineering industry in this position.  One of the major drawbacks was that the benefits were not as good as those at a mid-size or larger firm.  For example, there was no reimbursement available for graduate school or other courses that I wanted to take. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Professional Development

Engineers: Remember, It’s Your Own Success

August 2, 2011 By 2 Comments

Featured Guest Blogger: Charles J. Gervasi

Staying independent is key to engineering success.  Engineers are independent by nature.  An engineer who spends too much time focused on someone else’s goals can become resentful.  Pursuing only your own goals is not as simple as it sounds.  Many years ago I had a supervisor say, “If you’re dedicated to being a top engineer, you should apply for a job with title XYZ in the group ABC within our company.”  The contra positive of that is that if I did not jump through their hoops, I was not a dedicated engineer.  I had signed up to solve this manager’s engineering problems and I wanted to accept the things he said, but I realized this particular premise was wrong.  A manager, even a more experienced one, cannot set my goals for me.  If I had gone along with my employer’s program, I would have felt resentful every time something did not go my way.  I might have felt like I turned over my professional development to them and they mismanaged it.  If I had done that

I would share some of the blame because it’s impossible to turn over responsibility for my life to someone else.

Plan to Job-Jump 

Thirty years ago job-jumping was looked down upon.  In today’s word, changing jobs every couple years, especially for a beginning engineer, is perfectly normal.  The most important reason to plan for job-jumping is that when you get into a situation where something at your job is not working for you, it is easy to respond dispassionately.  It is much easier to maintain a positive attitude toward your colleagues if you do not feel trapped.  They may be doing something you think is completely asinine, but you can stay positive and open to working on future projects in areas where you do agree.

Another side-benefit to job-jumping is that most companies give annual raises of 3% to 6% but pay 15% to 20% over someone’s current pay to entice them to switch.  It does not matter whether you’re currently toward the bottom or top of typical engineering salary, you can move up in pay much faster by job-jumping.  Once a new employer wants you, there’s nothing wrong with negotiating.  If you’re up for a raise next month and new employer is offering you a 12% raise to switch, point out that this is only a 7% raise over your pay as of next month.  If you currently get more vacation time, a new employer will sometimes match what you currently get and find it easier to negotiate on vacation time than on salary.

Keep in mind the raises are just a side benefit.  The main benefit of job-jumping is to learn more technology, meet more people, and be exposed to new ways of doing things.  That will bring far more money than manipulating corporate payscale systems. [Read more...]

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

The Importance of the Non-Technical Professional Component of Engineering Education

July 24, 2011 By 2 Comments

Featured Guest Blogger:

Merlin Kirschenman, P.E., CPC, M.ASCE, M. AIC

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has been a leader in “raising the bar” for the education of civil engineers.  In 2001, ASCE established the Task Committee on Academic Prerequisites for Professional Practice.  During a decade of work on raising the requirements for a professional engineer, this committee accomplished a lot, and in 2008 it published the Body Of Knowledge Second edition (BOK-2). This establishes the education requirement of a master’s degree in engineering, or equivalent, to qualify to be a licensed professional engineer.  The BOK-2 addresses  the necessary  non-technical topics, but it lacked emphasis or depth of knowledge in the non-technical, professional areas of the education phase; which is necessary to prepare the graduate engineer to function as a master builder and meet the requirements for ASCE’s Vision 2025.   The 5th year of the BOK-2 is dedicated to technical knowledge topics; making it similar to a current advanced technical engineering degree.

Many engineers believe the “raise the bar” effort for engineering education should include significantly more professional preparation especially in leadership, management, business, communication and public policy. During the preparation of the ASCE BOK reports, some of the committee members with industry backgrounds tried to get more professionalism into the 5th year of the CE curriculum. They proposed that the 5th year should be a professional engineering degree instead of more technical knowledge. However, they were not successful in obtaining this level of professionalism in the BOK reports.

The following are a few comments and suggestions on how the concerns of those who want more professional aspects in the education process can be addressed while still addressing the concerns of those who want the primary emphasis to be on the technical aspects.  This debate has been going on for quite some time and it doesn’t appear like a resolution of the differences is forthcoming. [Read more...]

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

How to Lead a High-Performance Team Without Creating Stress

July 8, 2011 By 3 Comments

Featured Guest Blogger: Jeff Goodling

Historically political leaders have held power though the use of fear, either the fear of the despot (Stalin, Duvalier, Amin, etc.), or by offering protection from those that are feared (providing sanctuary within the castle walls).  Many of today’s business leaders continue to believe that fear is an appropriate tool to motivate their employees.  These leaders will state that the company can’t stay ahead of its competitors unless productivity increases, that the employee can be replaced by someone who will work harder or cheaper, or creating competition between two employees for a promotion.

I don’t think anyone wants to admit that they are living in fear, but we make decisions based upon fear daily, and many of those fear based decisions (i.e. jumping out of the way of a speeding car) are sensible.  I think it’s healthy to acknowledge our fears, and also to acknowledge that stress is only a more acceptable term for fear.  Frankly, without any stress in my life I’m not sure I’d get out of bed every morning.

I also recognize that stress can temporarily motivate employees.  However the medical profession is convinced that it is not a sustainable state, and in my experience creating a stressful work environment causes your best employees (those with the most options) to be the first to leave.

This leads us to the crux of the issue — how do you lead without creating stress? [Read more...]

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

Go For It in Your Career!

May 24, 2011 By 2 Comments

Featured Guest Blogger: William Merunka

Like the stock market, careers are full of ups and downs. During the up phase, we tend to celebrate and our happiness can be seen by those around us. Although the praise and recognition may not be our purpose for doing something, we enjoy the positive attention we may receive, even if we keep it to ourselves and don’t express it externally.

When our career is in the down phase, the whole world knows about it and we search for excuses as to why it didn’t go as we wanted it to. While the real reason can usually be found by evaluating things we did and didn’t do in our personal actions, the easier path, that we often take, is pushing the blame on other people and making excuses.

When speaking about career development, there should not be any excuses. Either we took the necessary steps to get from A to Z, or we didn’t. Bob can not put an end to your career. He may try to spread rumors about you, or steal clients from you, but he does not have the power to end your career.

While it may be hard to admit to ourselves that we are the cause of our failure, we need to be realistic and take a good look at our actions. It is important to realize, that you are not alone and this is something that happens to many people. Even some of the most successful people in the world had to deal with setbacks before becoming very successful. It’s the lessons that we learn from the failures that help us grow and become greater people.

There are a wide variety of reasons why we do not achieve the career success that we desire. If you can determine what is truly holding back in your career, you can work to overcome it. In this article, I will talk about a few of the more common obstacles that slow down or halt career development. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Career Goals, Professional Development

6 Simple Ways to Develop Your Engineering Career

May 17, 2011 By 1 Comment

Featured Guest Blogger: JC Ryan from MyCollegesandCareers.com

Knowledge and skill often extend and expand engineering careers, but sometimes the squeaky wheel needs some amplifying in positive ways. Fortunately, engineers looking for ways to develop their careers and fortify positions can do so easily and simply.

Networking

One of the mainstays in any career field, networking with other engineering professionals and firms increases your professional profile among those with whom it counts.

Regardless of your engineering specialty, get to know those in the field and let them get to know you in return. Read their books, magazine articles and reports. Subscribe to their newsletters or e-zines and send comments to them. Ask pertinent questions that spotlight their specialty. Give them professional attention and respect without fawning over them.

Presentations

Attend professional conferences and seminars. Spend constructive time outside the conference room discussing the presented information, projects and other industry issues. Attending presentations of various forms extends your professional networking into national or international arenas, not just locally. However, if there’s an important conference in or near your city, don’t overlook that silver-platter opportunity. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Networking, Professional Development Tagged With: ,

Would You Say Your Career Has Been Successful?

April 29, 2011 By 5 Comments

Most of us try to follow a similar path in life, which includes graduating college, getting a job and then going onto to having a successful career.  Sounds great doesn’t it?  Well it would sound great if that’s the path you want to follow.

As great as it sounds to have a successful career, I believe that many people chase a successful career not knowing exactly what success means to them.

What does a successful career mean to you?

Does a successful career mean: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Professional Development, Uncategorized, Work Family Balance Tagged With: ,

What to Do When Your Career Doesn’t Go as Planned

April 19, 2011 By 5 Comments

Featured Guest Blogger: Cheryl Palmer, M.Ed., CECC, CPRW

Many people who have put an incredible amount of time and energy into their careers find themselves frustrated when they are confronted with career setbacks. It could be that your career is stalled. You find yourself unable to move any further up the corporate ladder. Or your career may temporarily be in neutral. You may have been laid off or downsized, and you are now involuntarily unemployed.

What´s the best way to handle these career setbacks? Here are some tips to get you back in gear:

Stalled Careers

People who do not get promoted in the time that they thought they would usually either react with anger or with self blame. Those who react with anger often refuse to give their best to the organization after being met with this type of disappointment. They look at those who have been promoted, and if they sense that the process has been unfair and that their hard work has gone unrewarded while others who, in their opinion, have not worked as hard have moved on to higher positions, they usually either start looking for other positions or stay and refuse to do any more than they have to. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Job Search, Professional Development
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