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How to Develop Relationships With Engineering Managers

November 18, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

This is a guest post by Nader Mowlaee

As an engineer, you know it’s essential to be a team player, collaborate with your colleagues, and build your skills to advance your career. However, if you want to accelerate “climbing the ladder” or get access to pitch your ideas to the right people, then it’s worth building strong, positive relationships with engineering managers. Workers who maintain a strong, positive relationship with their managers not only increase their employment opportunities, but enhance engagement and improve productivity too. In fact, a Gallup survey highlights that companies with engaged employees increase productivity by 17%.

Without having a strong, positive relationship with your engineering manager, your boss may overlook you when someone is needed to take on a special assignment or travel to represent the company at a trade-show. Moreover, you risk hampering your job growth opportunities and becoming disengaged and unmotivated to work. So, it’s essential to develop positive and strong relationships with your engineering managers. Here’s how to do it:

Starting an Engineering Firm: A Total Guide

November 11, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

This is a guest blog by Jim Hughes

There are many reasons why a lot of engineers choose to start up their own firm. Basically, you get to be the boss, you get to decide which projects to take, and you get to pursue your engineering passions. And if you nail the right strategy, there are no limits to your income potential. However, starting an engineering firm is not easy. In fact, 90% of startups fail.

Becoming your own boss entails a lot of responsibilities. You have to take care of everything—from raising funds to hiring people and promoting your firm. And if you don’t deliver as intended, you’ll lose clients.

There’s a lot at stake the moment you quit your 9-to-5 job and decide to start up your own firm. To increase your chances of success, follow these guidelines:

5 Crucial Client Communication Skills for Engineering Project Managers

November 4, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

This is a guest blog by Holly Welles

Whether you’re trying to connect with customers, a new employer or your partner, or even trying to network with peers, communication is vital for career growth. For project managers and planners, it’s especially crucial because poorly delivered messages can have a considerable impact on the results of projects and tasks.

Communication is also essential for dealing with clients. Without the appropriate message, you might misinterpret the scope of a project, what demands a client has or project specifications.

As an engineering professional, here are five crucial client communication skills you will need to interact with clients effectively:

The Key Roles of AI Engineers

October 28, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

This is a guest blog by Jim Hughes

AI engineering is a relatively new field that is becoming more and more important in various industries, especially in the industrial and manufacturing contexts. It has even found its way into the stock market. Some of the most interesting and meaningful applications of AI are in the field of engineering and that is why more and more people are becoming AI Engineers.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Engineering

Engineering in the 21st Century: 3 Most Essential Basics to Remember

October 21, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

This is a guest blog by Anastasia Moore

Rapid change has become the epitome of the 21st century. Over the past years, humanity has made a significant step in the development of all industries known to us, and even more changes are yet to come.

Fast-paced technological progress has made tangible adjustments to every sphere of our lives, and engineering is not an exception. What people thought was impossible twenty years ago is now our new reality, and there is no way to hide from these changes.

How to stay relevant and competitive as an engineer? What should a specialist keep in mind to succeed? In this article, we are going to take a closer look at this matter and find the answers!

Licensing an Engineering Firm and Facilitating Organic Growth

October 14, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

This is a guest blog by Christian Haring of Harbor Compliance

You want to grow your firm, yet when a prime opportunity arises in a new state, it’s not as simple as writing a proposal and jumping in. You have to consider the feasibility of licensing and registering your firm. Can you get a license in time to respond? Since licensing an engineering firm can take anywhere from four weeks to five months, that can be a difficult question to answer with any sort of confidence.

Yet there are resources that provide clarity on state requirements for registering and licensing an engineering firm. In addition, there are best practices you can use to facilitate organic growth in your own time, and on your own terms.

3 Uncommon Engineering Skills That Engineers Should Develop for Extraordinary Success

October 7, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

This is a guest post by Nader Mowlaee

There comes a time in every engineer’s career where they’ll want to take their roles to the next level by managing others, overseeing projects, and even running their own engineering startups. It’s a given that to catapult your engineering career, you have to do what’s necessary to be successful in outshining the rest, and sometimes that calls for identifying and fine-tuning the skills companies need. Research shows that companies desire soft skills, such as complex problem-solving, people management, creativity, and critical thinking—four essential soft skills that are projected to be the top desired soft skills by 2020. While these skills are essential for being successful in your engineering career, they often overshadow the uncommon engineering skills that engineers need to achieve exceptional success the way Apple’s Tim Cook or Tesla’s Elon Musk did.

Yet, everyone can’t transform into Elon Musk overnight. If you want to accomplish extraordinary success, you have to look beyond the ordinary. You won’t achieve far-reaching goals by simply working harder or longer hours than everyone else on the job. Instead, shift your focus to developing the unconventional skills that engineers often neglect. Here are three uncommon skills every engineer needs to achieve next-level success:

Community Outreach Initiatives for Engineering Professionals

September 30, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

This is a guest blog by Holly Welles

If you’re an engineer, you chose your path because you love to solve problems, no matter how challenging. These characteristics make you a vital asset to society. Put your skills to good use by joining community outreach initiatives like one of the six below. Not only will it look good on your resume, but you’ll also learn vital skills, meet new people and gain experience.

How to Overcome Conflict with Your Fellow Engineers at Work

September 23, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

This is a guest post by Nader Mowlaee

At some point in your engineering career, conflict in the workplace arises. In fact, conflict resolution takes up as much as 40 percent of managers’ time in the workplace. That’s because it’s natural for different people to have different views on how to accomplish a task or project. But when you’re working on an important project with your engineering team and have quickly approaching deadlines, constant conflict can slow down your team’s productivity. So, it’s crucial for engineers to overcome conflict with their colleagues. Here are three practical tips engineers can use daily to avoid or eliminate workplace conflict.

Redefining Business Development for Engineering Professionals

September 16, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

This is a guest blog by Lindsay Diven, CPSM

It’s interesting that in the engineering industry, our sales teams are often referred to as Business Developers or Client Managers. The sound of the word “sales” makes you think of a used car salesperson or a telemarketer. I get it. You studied to be an engineer and practice your craft with pride, as you should. You are very skilled in your expertise.

However, there is a point, when you must win that next project for your team or firm. This typically involves finding potential new clients and meeting with decision makers. Having worked with engineers for more than a decade, I know that this is easier said than done.

Resisting Business Development Meetings

You may resist meeting with clients because you feel you must sell your experience and ideas. This often feels like a “dog and pony show.” The clients often feel this way too. They don’t want to sit in an hour-long meeting listening to how great you and your firm are. They are busy too and more often not taking as many “sales” meetings or are making them shorter. I have experienced some clients only giving us 15 minutes!

So, how do you make business development easier for you and more accepting for your clients? How do you make those type of meetings valuable to both you and your client so that each party feels their time wasn’t wasted?

You do this by redefining business development.

First, let’s start with the original definition.