Controlling the Good Idea Fairy
The good idea fairy is insidious. Sure, he comes on meaning well and espouses great outcomes and high returns. But he shows up in the eleventh hour just when the moment of execution is about to arrive, just when the moment of truth is upon you. Right at the wrong time. And he brings with […]
Warning: Too Much Internet Use May Reduce Your Productivity and Negatively Affect Your Work-Life Balance
Too Much Internet Use May Reduce Your Productivity. In my engineering career, I have always tried to be as productive as possible. That’s what we are taught as engineers – always optimize! Recently I have been doing a lot of traveling for my Engineer Your Own Success (EYOS) book tour and it has helped me […]
Big or Small Company – Which is Better for Developing My Engineering Career?
I have been asked by many engineering professionals, especially engineering students and younger engineers, “Is it more beneficial to my career development to work in a small or large engineering company?” This is an excellent question, but unfortunately one that doesn’t have a straightforward answer because it really depends on so many different things. First […]
Computer Skills that An Engineer Should Have to Advance their Engineering Career
Computer Skills The below video is in response to a question that I received on our facebook fanpage asking, “What computer skills should engineers have?” This is a great question! Especially for younger engineers and recent graduates, you will need to be very proficient on the computer. You must know how to use the Microsoft […]
The Importance of the Non-Technical Professional Component of Engineering Education
Featured Guest Blogger: Merlin Kirschenman, P.E., CPC, M.ASCE, M. AIC The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has been a leader in “raising the bar” for the education of civil engineers. In 2001, ASCE established the Task Committee on Academic Prerequisites for Professional Practice. During a decade of work on raising the requirements for a professional […]
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 […]