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In this episode of The Engineering Quality Control podcast, I talk about a five-part framework for quality control for engineering professionals and discuss the first part of this framework, known as Gather.
I have little issue with telling people what I get paid unless they ask. I think this juxtaposition comes from the age-old question of nature vs. nurture as I was raised to never talk about money, not even to family members. That’s the nurture. But when I was applying for my first “grown-up” job, I experienced firsthand how difficult it is to negotiate compensation without knowing how much peer employees are paid. That’s … well, that’s more nurture, I guess. Anyway, while I was interviewing for positions, I collected all the information I could find on average salaries for recent engineering graduates. Unfortunately, there was such a huge variation in the reported values that they were useless. So, I decided to break the ultimate wage transparency taboo. I walked up to a person in my graduating year, job offers in hand, and asked if we could chat about salaries.
[Read more…] about The Benefits and Downsides of Wage Transparency
“I hate sales!” “I could never sell anything!” I wish I had a dime—maybe a dollar—for every time I uttered phrases like that.
My first business coach helped me break that thought pattern. Here is how the thinking goes:
Did you sell anything? No.
Did you tell Chris you could help with the problem? Yes.
Did you have to take Chris down some long sales conversation to get his/her interest? No.
Will you close the deal? The likelihood is high.
Selling isn’t about selling in that icky, slimy way that you have perceived it. Selling is about you providing a friend/client/stranger with a solution to the problem they’re trying to address. In return for your help, you get paid.
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In this episode of The Structural Engineering Podcast, we talk to Annie Kao, PE, Vice President of Engineering at Simpson Strong-Tie about innovation and product testing in engineering and why seismic retrofitting is so important in structural engineering.
[Read more…] about TSEC 58: Innovation and Product Testing in Engineering
I learned at a young age the three Rs that are commonly related to sustainability: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. But I believe there is one more very important “R” that is missing, and that is Responsibility. Engineering is a caring profession, and specifically civil engineering stresses that we protect and advance the welfare of the public. As such, we have the responsibility to manage our personal consumption as well as the consumption of resources in the projects we work on.
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In this episode, we talk to Prof. Russell D. Dupuis, Ph.D., an electrical engineer, and professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and co-winner of this year’s Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, talks about the use of LED (solid-state lighting) in engineering and how LEDs changed the world and will continue to do so.
[Read more…] about TECC 247: How LEDs Changed the World of Engineering (Solid State Lighting)
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In this episode, we talk with Charles Muse, a Program Engineering Manager at General Motors in Detroit, Michigan, about his career and some of the major projects he has worked on, including his passion for people and the development of STEM.
[Read more…] about TECC 246: Engineering a Passion for People and the Development of STEM
I need a coach. Anyone can trudge through a task or lesson on their own, but if I truly want to get better, I’m in need of a coach.
I’ve been an athlete all my life. I started soccer at age 6, baseball at age 8, and I lettered in both football and track in high school. Attending a senior military college and then entering the Air Force afterward meant intramural sports, physical training, and annual physical fitness tests from the age of 18 until my retirement from the service in 2017. Of course, we lead active lives in our house as well: hiking, cycling, CrossFit, surfing. Well, you get the idea. I’m not a couch potato.
The reason for that self-absorbed preamble is to establish that at 55 years, I’m not a novice to physical fitness or the gym — and despite all that experience, I STILL need a coach!
“If they don’t bring you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
~ Congresswoman Shirley Chisolm
There is value in encouraging children to learn more about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). As an engineer for 16 years, I have always enjoyed mentoring and speaking to the youth, presenting “Engineering Is Fun!” At the beginning of my presentations, I ask the children, “Who has met an engineer?” At times, there are no or few hands that are raised.
I present on the various types of engineers, what engineers do, and what children can do to prepare to become an engineer, alongside hands-on engineering activities. I then ask the same question after the presentation, “Who has met an engineer?” and all of the children’s hands go up. It is then that I realize that I have planted a seed to shape the next generation through STEM and the importance of representation in STEM careers.
[Read more…] about Shaping Our Future Generations by Becoming a STEM Author
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In episode 9 of The Geotechnical Engineering Podcast, we talk to Menzer Pehlivan, Ph.D., P.E. a geotechnical engineer with a specialization in seismic hazards and resiliency. Menzer knows four languages, has a Ph.D., spent two years working in New York, was featured in a movie, and is now working at Jacobs in Seattle. And in this episode, we have the privilege to talk to this successful engineer about earthquake engineering, and diversity and inclusion in the engineering world.
[Read more…] about TGEP 9: Earthquake Engineering – Dream Big and Aim High!
