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In this episode, I talk to Luke Turko, P.E., the Director of Geotechnical Services for Navarro & Wright Consulting Engineers, Inc (also known as N&W), about how you can make the most out of opportunities that present themselves to you in your engineering career.
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In this episode, I talk to Michael Tranmer, PEng, MSc, PMP, a bestselling author, professional engineer, and TEDx speaker talks about how he worked through difficult life events and how those events led to opening some great opportunities in his engineering career.
[Read more…] about TECC 245: The Three C’s to Working Through Difficult Life Events as an Engineer
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In this episode, I am very excited to share some BIG NEWS with you. The Engineering Career Coach Podcast will have a new host. Many of you might have heard of him on some of our previous episodes or read some of his articles. He is no other than Jeff Perry, MBA, the founder of More than Engineering. In this episode, Jeff talks about how mindsets fuel behavior and how they are the key to career and personal growth. He also shares his goal as a new host of The Engineering Career Coach Podcast.
“Everyone is a mixture of fixed and growth mindsets. You could have a predominant growth mindset in an area, but there can still be things that trigger you into a fixed mindset trait.”
~ Carol S. Dweck
[Read more…] about TECC 231: Mindsets Fuel Behavior, and Behavior Fuels Results
In many professions, it’s easy to find a mentor, primarily when you work with those who have years of experience. Unfortunately, this often isn’t the case for construction workers and engineers, as more and more young people enter the field every year. Mentors are a valuable resource for many as they provide insight, guidance, and career opportunities. Here are a few ways you can seek out mentorship in construction and engineering.
[Read more…] about How to Seek out Mentorship in Construction and Engineering
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:
[Read more…] about Starting an Engineering Firm: A Total Guide
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.
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.
[Read more…] about Redefining Business Development for Engineering Professionals
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In episode 125 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, which is our second episode in our Women in Civil Engineering series, I will be talking to Mary Lang, P.E., P.P., LEED GA, who is a principal at Yu & Associates. Mary will discuss design build and what civil engineers should know about this delivery process, which while it has been around for a while, continues to become more and more popular.
The number of engineers launching their own startup companies is increasing. More and more engineers are pursuing new entrepreneurial ventures with the dream of becoming their own boss, launching their own product or services, and making a dent in their industries. This has highlighted something that is critical to startup success: employee management, which is a huge challenge.
Employee management covers best practices to retain the top talent who will help you achieve your goals. As a founder, you know that a big part of your success (or failure) is your people. So, as you work your way towards establishing an engineering startup, it is important to equip yourself with knowledge in employee management.
[Read more…] about Successful Employee Management for Your Engineering Startup
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In this episode, I will tell you a short story about a long drive that changed the way I think and had a major impact on our business here at the Engineering Management Institute. I hope that it helps you to cultivate an opportunistic mindset in your career and life overall.
[Read more…] about TECC 186: A Short Story About a Long Drive…
Whether project management or organizational management, the foundation of a great management career starts with exceptional technical/professional performance. Many engineering professionals start their careers with strong technical skills, honed through years of schooling, challenging work assignments, and delivering on project management expectations. Moving into a project or organizational management role takes a new set of skills, which can be developed long before acquiring the manager title.
Through developing professional consulting competencies engineers can accelerate their skill development while providing additional contribution to their firms. Also, it allows early career engineers to demonstrate their people skills to those internal decision makers, who may be making those promotional decisions.
So what specifically are professional consulting competencies? After talking with and listening to many junior and senior professional consultants in the A/E industry, I developed a 10-competency model that can be used to guide any engineer in their role as a professional consultant. Executing on technical skills and abilities can develop the first four, the next five require focus on people. Pursuing self-development is important regardless of your career goals.
[Read more…] about The Foundation of a Great Management Career in Engineering
