Project Management and Goal Setting
Identifying actionable goals can be difficult if you don’t know what you want to achieve and if you don’t have a process in place. As engineers, we know that every successful project has a clearly defined project statement, scope, and process to deliver the intended results. The skills of project management which we’ve developed in […]
Recommendations on What to Bring to the PE Exam
What to bring to the PE exam The following is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of my book Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career. You are allowed to bring as many books to the PE exam as you wish, which is why on the day of the exam […]
6 Simple Ways to Develop Your Engineering Career
Featured Guest Blogger: JC Ryan from MyCollegesandCareers.com Knowledge and skill will help you extend and expand your engineering career, but sometimes the squeaky wheel needs some amplifying in positive ways. Fortunately, engineers looking for ways to develop their careers and fortify positions can do so easily and simply. Networking One of the mainstays in any […]
Analyzing Your Objectives by Applying SWOT
A great strategic planning tool used in business for analyzing an environment for a new project is the SWOT analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Business planners know that in order for a project to be successful, they need to scope the playing field to determine what resources to allocate, what challenges will be faced, […]
Due Diligence in Your Life
Due diligence is as important to engineers as water is to a fish. By definition, due diligence is any number of concepts or processes involving an investigation of a design, engineering calculation, contract, or some other item where a certain standard of care is needed. We like to know the bridge we’re driving on won’t […]
Starting an Engineering Company Today Can Be Like Driving Into Death Valley
Starting an Engineering Company This is a guest post by Brandon Lee Walter where he discusses the process of starting an engineering company. I decided to try to make the move to a company that sounded like they would be prepared to ride out the upcoming recession in May of 2008. After being let go […]
Credentials Bring You Credibility
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of my soon-to-be-launched book Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career: Your credentials represent measurable accomplishments in your career, which include your degrees, licenses, certifications, and any awards you may have won. Credentials are essential for several reasons, but the most […]
Staying On-Point In Life: Sharpening Your Saw
In military terminology, “being on-point” means to assume the first and most exposed position in a combat formation. You’re out front, leading your team into hostile territory and therefore, fully switched-on and in tune with your environment looking for threats and opportunities. To Staying On-Point In Life and to be a successful point-man, you must […]
Compass, Gear, and Pencil: Learn to Write…and Communicate
If you are trying to decide among a number of skills which one you wish to improve, improve your writing. For certain having good skills in speaking, managing a program, or negotiating a budget are important. But being able to write and communicate good will win-out every time. That’s because good writing is about more […]
Are You Managing or… Investing Your Time?
This isn’t an article about time management. If you want that, go to Amazon.com and buy one of the 20,985 books on the subject. This is an article about investing your time. Management implies control, focus, and organization. This is a prereq and a practice you develop from experience and….time. Don’t manage time and you’ll […]