Using Key Performance Indicators to Manage Your Engineering Career and Life

“What gets measured gets done.” ~ Unknown Management Yoda Ever heard this phrase? More than likely you have and if you haven’t, stick around in the industry long enough and you will. Although this phrase gets thrown around each time there are discussions about organizational performance, it happens for a good reason: it’s true. Management […]

How My Tour in Afghanistan Transformed Me Into A Civil Engineering Leader – Ep 002

How My Tour in Afghanistan Transformed Me Into A Civil Engineering Leader

In this episode of the Civil Engineering Podcast, I interview Amanda Huffman, a former Air Force civil engineer who was deployed to Afghanistan on a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), on how this experience helped her grow professionally. Also in this episode, for our Civil Engineering Project of the Week segment, we take a closer look […]

How the Civil Engineering Podcast Can Help You in Your Career – Ep 001

How the Civil Engineering Podcast Can Help You in Your Career

Have you been waiting for a podcast where the marvels of civil engineering and the people who immerse themselves in this wonderful world are front-and-center? The wait is over! Christian Knutson, PE and myself are civil engineers who now work to help engineers succeed and with joy we present to you – The Civil Engineering […]

Samurai or Firefighter – What Kind of Engineer Are You? – Ep 058

Samurai or Firefighter - What Kind of Engineer Are You?

In this session of The Engineering Career Coach Podcast, my co-host Chris Knutson and I are going to discuss two different approaches to work as an engineer, the firefighter approach and the samurai approach. The basic difference being a reactive or proactive approach in the way you work. “Productivity is never an accident. It is always […]

5 Reasons Accountability Is Needed for Success On The Big Engineering Projects

Accountability is one characteristic that is present every time success is realized on a big engineering project or any project undertaking.  Think about the major goals you’ve accomplished in your personal life and your engineering career.  University work entails accountability – exams, papers or projects, and semester grades.  With the F.E. or P.E. exams, it’s […]

5 Ways to Get Big Picture Thinking

How many times have you heard that you need to get the big picture? Or that you feel like you didn’t have the big picture? I’ve heard this phrase repeated too many times to count and each time I do the thought that runs through my mind is this: what exactly is the big picture […]

The 4 R’s that are Critical to a Successful Engineering Career

successful engineering career

Information on the 4Rs for a successful engineering career was sent to me by Anthony Venafro who serves as the Director of Engineering at Smith Engineering in Chantilly, Virginia. I was so impressed with the information; I asked Anthony if I could post it here on the Engineering Management Institute blog. These are four core […]