Taking Your Engineering Career Further: What to Consider

Being successful in an engineering career is about much more than simply being good at science and math.

16:26 11 January 2022

Being successful in an engineering career is about much more than simply being good at science and math. While it’s important to have a good technical knowledge of your subject when advancing your engineering career, it’s also crucial for engineers who want to work their way up the career ladder to develop a range of important soft skills and a perspective that will help them achieve their goals. This is an especially important step to consider if you want to work in an engineering management career, where management, business, and people skills are just as, if not even more important than your technical engineering skills and knowledge.

 

Whether you have recently graduated with a degree in engineering or are currently working as an engineer and want to take your career to the next level, the following strategies can be put in place in your professional life. Engineers who do the following tend to thrive in management positions and other high-level engineering roles.

 

Consider an Advanced Degree

Enrolling in an advanced engineering degree program can be an ideal way to improve your technical knowledge, boost your engineering skills, and open up new opportunities that can help you take your career to the next level. In the engineering field, getting an advanced degree qualification is becoming more and more essential for professionals who want to enjoy more career momentum, with an increasing number of employers now requiring engineers to earn a master’s degree within the first few years of starting work.

 

Along with this, the fact that technology has advanced considerably while the number of credits needed to earn a bachelor’s degree in engineering has been reduced has led to several industry groups calling for the master’s degree to be recognized as a basic credential for engineers to gain a license to work in this field, leading to newly qualified engineers who are better-prepared.

 

See the Bigger Picture

In an engineering career, it’s important to be able to see the finer details without losing sight of the bigger picture. For engineers, being able to see the bigger picture is a skill that will help you get further. The reality today is that an increasing number of engineering firms are looking for engineers with a business mindset, especially when filling management positions. Engineers who are experienced with strategy and planning, coupled with a high level of technical knowledge and expertise, tend to be the most highly sought-after in the industry.

 

Financial knowledge, including experience with balance sheets and income statements, is also important to have for engineers looking to get into management. This MEM degree from uOttawa University is designed to help engineers take on a more managerial perspective including developing an understanding of seeing the big picture, the impact on the business as a whole and the total production cost for projects.

 

Get in Touch with Your Creative Side

Innovation and creativity in new products are what set successful engineers apart from the rest. If you are currently working as an engineer and want to take your career to the next level, thinking more creatively will help you get an edge over your competition and come up with more ideas that your employer or company will accept and take on. The most successful engineers today tend to be people who are open to new ideas, even when these ideas come from sources outside of their group. Even if not all your new, innovative and creative ideas are not acted on all the time, being more creative will certainly help you stand out, get noticed in your career and become more valuable to your employer.

 

Improve Your Teamwork Skills

With many different engineering disciplines, it may be important for some engineers to be able to work successfully as a team, while others may work in a more solitary environment. Being able to work alone successfully is certainly a strength worth having; however, the world today is becoming more and more collaborative, meaning that engineers are increasingly needing to become better team players. More often, engineers are working as part of multidisciplinary teams where they will need to work well with people who do not always have the same background, training, or knowledge as them.

 

As a result, one of the best skills that an engineer can have when it comes to career advancement is the ability to work well together with other people and communicate clearly to people who may not always have the same understanding as them. In engineering management, for example, you will likely be working closely with business professionals and others who do not have any engineering education or training, making it extremely important for the engineering manager to become an expert at putting complex topics and ideas into simple terms that are easy to understand.

 

Challenge Yourself

Engineering is a field that undergoes constant change and development, and it is important for engineers to adopt a mindset of continuous learning and development in order for them to take their career further. As you make your way up the career ladder, taking on more responsibility and making more weighty decisions, you will find that the tools and resources you use are always changing, putting you in a position where you need to commit to learning new things and developing your own skills in order to ensure that you stay current and able to continue getting the best results in your job.

 

For engineers who want to take their career further, they can do this by being proactive when it comes to seeking out new assignments, taking new opportunities to learn about emerging technologies, and signing up for training programs. As a result, you will find it easier to stay on top of the curve in engineering, keeping your knowledge and skills up to date, which ultimately makes it easier for you to find new opportunities.

 

Think Outside of the Box

Engineering may be a STEM career, but it tends to allow for more creativity and outside of the box thinking compared to other STEM disciplines. With several different disciplines and sub-sectors to choose from when working in engineering, most engineers tend to focus on just one; however, thinking outside of the box or even taking inspiration from other engineering disciplines can help you find new opportunities that you may not have even been aware of. For example, a mechanical engineer might find that there are overlaps with other disciplines such as electronics or software engineering that they can take advantage of. Learning the basics of other relevant disciplines as an engineer and making connections can help you become better prepared for issues that may arise with projects, become a better team player, improve your own knowledge and skills, and find more work opportunities.

 

Work on Your Soft Skills

In an engineering career, several soft skills that may not appear to be relevant to engineering in any way at first glance can help you take your career to the next level. Improving a wide range of soft skills such as decision making, teamwork, and communication is crucial for any engineer who wants to advance their career. If you want to work in engineering management in particular, there are various soft skills that are highly sought-after in these positions. Engineering managers will often find that they rely on their soft skills more often than their technical skills to succeed in their career, as they will use these skills to effectively oversee projects and manage teams of people.

 

For engineers who are interested in getting into management, working on improving communication skills, public speaking, and business skills will help you get better results when talking with customers and clients, working with agencies and suppliers, communicating instructions to teams, public speaking and presentations, and much more. Leadership skills are also hugely important for engineers who are interested in taking the management route since these are necessary to become a manager who can motivate and inspire their team to get the best results.

 

Network

While networking might be something that many people associate with the business world, spending time getting to know other professionals can also be beneficial for engineers. In order to take your engineering career to the next level, it’s important to spend time networking with others, which could involve attending networking events and industry conferences, or spending time connecting with others online on engineering forums or social media such as LinkedIn. Consider joining industry groups where you can meet and connect with other people who work in your field and get access to more industry events where you can build professional relationships and find career resources. The stronger your professional relationships with others in your field, the more opportunities you will find.

 

What to Keep in Mind When Getting an Advanced Degree?

While changing your mindset and improving your skills can take you further as an engineer, an advanced degree is often required for engineers who want to take their career further. With several options available for engineers who want to study at the master’s level, these are some of the main things to consider when choosing the right advanced degree for you:

 

Your Career Goals

Consider where you want the advanced degree to take your career. Perhaps you want something different to what you are currently doing, or maybe you are happy with your current discipline and area of work but want to be in a better position to take on more responsibility and go for higher-paid positions. Spending some time getting clear on your career goals and determining where your sights are set for your career will make it easier for you to sort through the program options and find the one that is a good fit for you.

 

Future Career Prospects

While considering your career goals, it’s also worth making sure that you are thinking about the career prospects of the route that you want to take. Some engineering disciplines are in higher demand than others, while some are declining, so it’s important to consider the job outlook and determine if this is the right path for you.

 

Study Method

Another important factor to consider today when choosing an advanced engineering degree is how you are going to study for it. Online learning has taken off, and full-time engineers now have more options available to them compared to in the past when it comes to finding a distance learning program that is flexible enough to allow them to get their advanced degree qualification without causing any disruption to their current career.

 

If you need to continue working full-time and upholding other commitments while working towards your advanced degree, an online degree program might be the right option for you. On the other hand, if you want the flexibility that comes with studying online but feel that you would benefit from being able to go and attend classes on campus and use the facilities, you may want to consider a blended program that offers a combination of both online and on-campus study.

 

Preparing for the Workload

If you are like the majority of professionals today, you may be considering studying for an advanced degree alongside working in your current career as an engineer. This could involve studying online or part-time and will require you to plan ahead to use your time effectively and figure out what works for you when it comes to getting things done, meeting your goals and preventing yourself from falling behind. While online programs and other advanced degree options designed for working professionals can be easier compared to a traditional, campus-based program, being ready for the workload and having a plan in place for your success is essential to avoiding becoming burned out and overwhelmed.

 

Engineering is a top career choice for anybody who is creative, meticulous, and wants to work in a career where there are always going to be lots of opportunities. When it comes to taking your engineering career to the next level, education is often essential, along with adopting a new mindset and working on a range of important skills.