Building An Engineering Career - Essay Example

Your full full December 09, 2009 Building an Engineering Career Engineering is the research, development and implementation of technical solutions to problems using a deep knowledge of science and mathematics. Building a career in engineering needs hard work from the very beginning of one’s academic career. When one chooses to build an engineering career, there are many options in front of him, such as, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, industrial or material engineering, petroleum engineering and nuclear engineering. One should have a clear idea which direction one has to go and should choose the engineering field in which he thinks he can develop interest. In order to get an entry-level job in any engineering field, one must hold at least a bachelor’s degree in that specific engineering field. The bachelor degree is usually a four-year program nowadays, but many students extend it to five or six years depending upon the duration of their final degree projects. The four-year program is also referred to as honors in engineering that is recognized as equivalent to the masters degree. In the first two years, the courses taught are mainly on the basics of engineering, like mathematics, circuitry and introduction to engineering. The next two years focus on the engineering primarily with courses on any chosen area of specialization. There are course projects, semester projects and a final degree project which enable the would-be-engineers to have a better, deeper and practical knowledge of the field. There are also two-year and four-year degree programs called diplomas in engineering technology which include more practical work based on engineering principles and laboratory classes rather than theoretical knowledge. But these technical graduates are not considered as professional engineers. Moreover, to get admission in an engineering college or university, it is important for the student to have a strong pre-engineering background with sufficient knowledge about mathematics, physics and chemistry. Mathematics knowledge should include algebra, geometry, calculus, theorems and trigonometry. After their bachelors degree is complete, the engineers need to get licensed in order to start their engineering career, which makes them licensed engineers or professional engineers. After becoming licensed, the engineers are offered a wide variety of jobs with higher salaries as compared to any other graduation. According to an estimate, “engineers held 1.5 million jobs in 2006…civil engineering (256,000), mechanical engineering (227,000), industrial engineering (201,000), electrical engineering (153,000), and electronic engineering, not including computer engineering (138,000)” (About.com, 2009). After gaining entry-level jobs with reputed companies, engineers use theories and principles from their acquired knowledge to solve technical problems economically, develop complex structures and designs, undergo decision-making process, perform testing keeping in mind the time and cost required to complete a project, and gain experience. The more the experience working on field, the more is the worth of an engineer. An experienced engineer may be made a supervisor, manager, or a technical expert administering a workforce, younger engineers, diploma holders or technicians. However, it is very important for engineers to keep in touch with the latest updates in their field and continue their learning because of the upcoming technologies and tools, so that they can apply the latest technological techniques to satisfy the consumer efficiently and gain their trust and respect. Engineers may have to use the computer softwares for the development of new ideas and designs, for the testing of a system’s working, and for the supervising the quality of the solution or the product. After gaining some field experience, engineers may want to specialize in their engineering field which opens up great opportunities for him regarding jobs and high salary. Moreover, the engineers must have in their nature the creative element which would force them to come up with new ideas for problem-solving. They should be curious enough to analyze the problem efficiently and should have enough team spirit to work in teams and groups. They should be able to collaborate and communicate with the members of the same or different profession. They should recognize the change in developments and discoveries and should be able to adapt themselves according to these changes. They should be able to work inside the virtual world or the Second Life in order to keep pace with the modern, technology based world. They should be flexible enough to absorb and learn about the upcoming inventions and discoveries so as to facilitate themselves with the up-to-date equipment. This way, they would be able to progress by leaps and bounds in their engineering career. They should be able to work as a leader and a supervisor (Watlington and Radeloff). They should think and make decisions a step ahead of the old conventional methods. They should maintain their integrity by staying adhered to the code of ethics, morals and values. They should be able to accept criticism and seek advice from the experts of the field. The element of praising others’ work and assisting others should be an important element in their nature. In order to bring stability in his engineering career, he should avoid malicious acts that might injure others or himself. He should treat the co-engineers with respect and should always try to put his best efforts in whatever project he is working on. For a fresh engineer, having all of these qualities is very vital for him to begin a successful and fruitful engineering career. If he possesses all the qualifications described above and possesses all the qualities illustrated in the above lines, then the market waits for him with open arms. There is huge demand of specialized and experienced engineers in market and industry. According to the United States Department of Labor, “employment of engineers is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations over the next decade, but growth will vary by specialty.” Companies and industries are hiring professional engineers with fast pace so as to keep up with their competitors and the progressive technology. Companies need to update their structures, designs and templates and increase their productivity, and this is forcing these to place more engineering jobs and hire more and more expert engineers. How to Start an Engineering Firm Engineering is regarded as one of the most esteemed and respected professions. Engineers, after gaining some field experience, may be interested to open up their own firm or business if monetary resources allow them, or they may want to enter into a partnership to get their engineering career flourish. Dan Berube, a member of BeruGold Research Corporation which is an engineering contracting business specializing in electronic warfare and intelligence applications, states, "I got tired of living by other peoples rules…There was no opportunity for any creativity by working for a big corporation” (qtd. in Vonderheid). Though it is a very challenging and risky task to start a firm of one’s own, still it is all worth it when the productivity and the outcome is considered. Starting one’s own firm or business is always very rewarding at the end. "The worst-case scenario is that I go back to working for someone else," states Erin Mace who is a member and cofounder of Savant Engineering which is a design firm that specializes in commercial buildings in United States (qtd. in Vonderheid).   The following steps are mandatory for an engineer to follow before he decides to start an engineering firm of his own. First of all, the entrepreneur or an engineer who is starting a firm for the first time should have a clear idea in his mind about whether the firm will be able to meet the demands of the market. The engineer should focus strongly upon the basic functionalities of the firm. The engineer should decide, prior to opening the firm, about the specialty the firm will be going to offer. For example, he should decide beforehand if the firm will hire workforce belonging to different specializations or belonging to one specialized field. For instance, if an engineer is going to open up a civil engineering firm, he should decide if he is going to work with civil engineers only or with engineers with various specializations. He should know that if he hires a mix of chemical, electrical and mechanical engineers, this is going to benefit him more as he would be able to compete in the market more efficiently. The engineer should focus on developing a brand product or item in accordance with his specialized field in engineering. He should decide which technologies he will implement to facilitate his problem-solving and development and successful completion of projects. He should decide that he will incorporate the latest technology based tools so as to increase his productivity. He should seek advice from businessmen working with engineering firms so as to get a deeper understanding of starting his own business and to clarify his concepts regarding business. “Small business owners can also gain the expertise they need just by observing how other businesses run”, says Callahan (qtd. in Vonderheid). More importantly, he should have completed his engineering degree, bachelors at least. He should have obtained the license of engineering and should have taken the required license tests which are necessary for the issuance of the license. He should focus on his capital and monetary resources before starting the firm. He should have a clear idea about whether or not his finances will allow him to start a big firm, maintain inventories, hire engineers, start projects, pay salaries and compensate for any losses. He should look for investors so as to support his finances. He should focus upon how and when to start hiring employees and what resources he will be using for this purpose. He should decide if he is going to advertise through newspapers, at the television, or if he is going to use the internet to advertise and hire engineers. He should work upon the marketing strategy so as to attract the market toward his newly born firm. He should think upon which kind of projects he will be working on, where to get the projects and who will be the consumers. He should know that he is going to progress if he learns from his mistakes. "We learned by breaking things…My partners and I lacked experience in sales and marketing. We all came from R&D and engineering, so we had to develop skills in positioning our company and making sales calls", says Roberto Poujol (qtd. in Vonderheid). How to Select the Right Partners Now, we will discuss how it is possible that one finds the right partners for the startup business. According to Malhotra, Choosing a right partner for a business is like choosing your life partner. A right partner can help in making the business flourish by leaps and bounds; whereas, a bad partner can bring disaster to the whole future of the company. Thus, choosing a right partner is as important as choosing one’s career. One should not go for very young partners as maturity comes with age. The older the partner, the lesser is the need to keep a constant eye on him. However, old partners will be sharp enough to dodge you wherever they get a chance, so, it is a very important task to go for a partner who does not keep you on guard constantly nor does look for opportunities to get personal benefits. One should consider the partner’s qualifications and area of expertise before reaching a decision. Sometimes, compromises have to be made because if the other person is an expert in his field and can help in increasing the productivity through his knowledge and experience, then he should be given a serious consideration. The partner should be dependable, responsible and truthful by nature. According to Jay Myers, “Don’t go into partnership with someone who doesn’t put money, or something or equivalent financial value, into your deal” (qtd. in 10 Tips on How to Choose a Business Partner). The reason is that when a partner invests on an equal basis, the chance of him walking away and leaving you alone with all the responsibilities is eliminated automatically. One must go for a partner who is easy to communicate with and shares your viewpoints and vision. The partner should have high personal and business ethics. The owner of the engineering business should know how to deal with his partners and how to supervise the employees. He should know how to deal with non-productive workforce in order to diminish the risk of any decline to the company’s progress. The owner should be able to communicate with the employees so as to know what problems are originating and which employee is having low performance issues. One-to-one meetings are very necessary, especially with those employees who do not meet the performance needs of the company. The owner must be able to clearly convey his objectives to the employees and should tell them to summarize what they have understood so as to know if they clearly get to comprehend his points of view. He must try to achieve a healthy and comfortable relationship with his partners- relationship that is based on trust and honesty. Works Cited 10 Tips on How to Choose a Business Partner. “Share Financial Commitment.” N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. . About.com. “Employment Facts for Engineers.” Engineer: Career Information. About.com, 2009. Web. 09 Dec. 2009. Malhotra, Ash. “How to Choose the Right Business Partner for Your Startup.” Starting a Business. Helium, 2009. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. . United States Department of Labor. “Engineers.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections Suite, 2007. Web. 09 Dec. 2009. Vonderheid, Erica. “Business 101 For Engineering Entrepreneurs.” The Institute. IEEE, 2004. Web. 09 Dec. 2009. . Watlington, A., and Roger L. Radeloff. Contract Engineering: Start and Build a New Career. United States, US: McGraw-Hill Companies, 1997. Read More