Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
In episode 118 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I visit with Karen Morgan, P.E. who is the owner and founder of the AEC Proposal Institute. We discuss what information civil engineering professionals need to seek up-front for proposal writing success. Morgan discusses 5 specific points that you can use as a checklist to ensure you write more winning proposals.
Effective and successful engineers have something in common. They are capable of effectively managing their time. As a consulting engineer, your time is a precious commodity. Your clients are paying for your knowledge and time. Therefore, the action of maximizing your time, focus, and overall productivity, will equate to more money. Learning to master your time can do wonders for your engineering career and personal life.
In your career, managing your time will help you take on more tasks, delegate tasks as needed, and become a more productive member of the company. This will increase your value to the company and help you climb the ranks more quickly. In your personal life, better time management will help to maximize every hour of the day and make you feel in more control of your own life. This article is adapted from a previous article on my personal blog. [Read more…] about Maximizing Productivity Hacks for Engineering Professionals
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
In this episode, I talk about the importance of deadlines in your engineering career and life, and how you can use deadlines as productivity tools. This episode was inspired by a chapter of the book called The Business of Engineering: A New Mindset for the Engineer of the Future by Matthew K. Loos, P.E. that we are running a Kickstarter campaign for at the moment.
Do you demand a high level of performance from yourself? One of the major reasons for orienting yourself towards results is the need to set higher standards for your work. Establishing a habit of a grading system will help you reflect on and better understand your performance, and ultimately help you make adjustments if needed. [Read more…] about How to Use a Grading System to Improve Your Engineering Performance
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
In episode 117 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I visit with Tracy Bratton, PE. who is the Land Development Division Manager at Doucet & Associates, based in Austin Texas. We talk about the importance of staying calm, cool, and collected as a civil engineering professional. We also talk about the role that sound technical experience plays in an engineer’s confidence level as well as the ability to manage projects.
In my 10+ years working as a learning and development professional in an engineering consulting firm, there was one skill that I heard frequently was lacking for both project managers and organization managers. That skill was delegation. On the surface, effective delegation sounds pretty easy. However, in reality, it can be very difficult and uncomfortable. Delegation is the assignment of responsibility to another person to carry out a specific activity. [Read more…] about Effective Delegation Techniques for Engineering Professionals
Nowadays, the engineering market has become more and more demanding and competitive. It’s not enough to get your degree; you need to constantly learn and develop new skills to stand out from the other engineers and work on exciting projects. Therefore, keep on reading to discover what skills are necessary to become a chief engineer and how to acquire them. [Read more…] about Chief Engineer = Professional Engineer + Manager
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
In this episode, you will be listening to a conversation between myself and Amanda Glover who helps introverts build confidence and be the best professionals they can be. We will talk specifically about how introverts can nail the job search process, as well as the importance of overcoming limiting beliefs.
The following is an excerpt from The Business of Engineering: A New Mindset for the Engineer of the Future available only through this Kickstarter Campaign.
Engineers of the future will need to possess skills not commonly taught in engineering schools today. However, we can see that the curricula for a majority of engineering schools are beginning to change. Many schools are starting to adopt alternative learning strategies to engage more and more brighter students who may not have previously chosen engineering as a career path. The engineering schools have started to realize that technology is moving at such a rapid rate that they must prepare students differently than they have in the past.
[Read more…] about What Engineers of the Future Need to Know to Succeed
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
In episode 116 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I visit with Matthew K. Loos, PE, LEED AP, a licensed professional engineer who wrote a book called The Business of Engineering: A New Mindset for the Engineer of the Future. Matt realized that what helped engineering professionals to be successful up to today, will not work going forward with complex projects and fast-changing technology, and I strongly agree and believe that this book and mindset will change the way engineers think about their careers forever.
