7 Tips for Engineers to Help Them
Climb Up the Success Ladder
Do you often feel like you are not moving forward in your field of work? There could be several reasons why you feel stagnant in your career, especially as an engineer. You might be working with a company that does not have many promotional opportunities or, you might be demotivated or uninspired with the working conditions. Whether you are at the beginning of your career as an engineer or feel saturated at a senior position, there comes a time when the pace of growth becomes slow. There are a few things, however, that you can do to speed up your career growth. Follow these tips to climb the ladder of success without much hassle.
1. Draft a career plan
Drafting a career plan can help set a timeline on how long you want to stay in a company or under a particular title. As an engineer, you would like to get promoted into senior technical or management positions. According to research published in the Engineering Management Journal, engineers who shift from one organization to another within 7 - 10 years tend to learn new technical skills and acquire senior management positions. To become successful in your career as an engineer, you need to write down your long-term goals. Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 or 20 years from now? And what is required for you to get there. Is it a particular time of experience on-site, mem degree, or some certification like EIT or PMP?
2. Focus on bigger goals
As an engineer, leading teams should eventually be one of your goals. Once you learn new technical skills, your next step should be to teach them to your juniors and lead them to success. It helps you acquire managerial positions, but you need to be patient. Engineers require more time in perfecting their skills and adding them to their resume as something they have expertise in. So, keep your eyes on the prize and apply leadership qualities where necessary.
3. Keep learning new skills
The field of engineering keeps evolving and, there is always more to learn throughout your career. As an engineer, you need to be proactive, learn new skills, and gain experience in new technologies. Volunteer to accept challenging tasks regardless of your experience in them. Managers are happy to delegate tasks to those who are interested in taking on challenges.
4. Develop your soft skills
Another mistake engineers make during their careers, leading them to face slow progress, is undermining the importance of learning soft skills. Along with learning new technical skills, adopt a few soft skills like problem-solving, team leadership, communication, and collaboration to maximize your career growth. Employers of engineering companies actively look for candidates that have good leadership and management skills.
5. Be part of the industry, not just a Company
One of the biggest mistakes people often make in their career is to focus on just one big organization instead of being part of the whole industry. Even if you are part of a successful organization, make sure to network outside the office, go to seminars, attend conferences and meet-ups. Get recognized outside of your office and pitch yourself to other fellow engineers from different companies. You may volunteer to build software or a simple widget for a start-up, invent something that saves energy in the household, or automate time-consuming machines. All this will add value to your profile.
6. Work within teams
One of the vital things to keep in mind throughout your career is to learn on the job. As an engineer, you need to keep your eyes open and develop a good engineering judgment. Observe your colleagues. What are they good at? Absorb all the knowledge you come across. Learn how to approach a problem and know when it's acceptable to make assumptions with an innate sense of right and wrong. The more you are part of projects that require teamwork, the more exposure you have to absorb.
7. Social Media Presence
In the era of the digital world, it's always good to have a social media presence, especially on Linkedin. You can share your achievements online or interact with fellows in your industry. Employers keep a keen eye on individuals through LinkedIn profiles - an interactive social media presence can do more nowadays than a resume might. It opens you to a vast network and helps you reach out to more professionals who belong to your field.
Conclusion
The engineering industry is actively looking for people with higher education and good management skills. Having technical skills in an engineering field is vital. Still, it is also significant to learn how to lead and manage teams of engineers. To ensure success in your career as an engineer, acquire technical knowledge with some management skills, and you will soon be on your way to the top.
