In this episode, we talk to Zakary Smith, an entrepreneur, innovator, and the founder of Instaversal, an engineering company that creates true partnerships that enable companies that develop and scale products to accelerate their complete product development lifecycle, connecting with a vetted global supply chain of experts. Zack provides some great tips on how you can find the right engineering career path that best suits your passions.
Engineering Quotes:
Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed About Finding the Right Engineering Career Path:
- There are two main areas you must focus on when choosing the correct engineering career path. First, look at your skills and competencies. Look what your natural aptitudes are and which strengths you can build on to stand out from everyone else. Second, look at your interests and passions and see how you can align your skills and competencies with them.
- Sales engineering is like the blood of the engineering body. If you take this revenue portion out of the engineering body, the entire body cannot function. There are many ways in an engineering business to acquire this revenue and keep the system functioning. In sales engineering, there are various KPIs that you can focus on, but they are different from the technical KPIs. These KPIs consist of the number of leads generated, conversion rate, and total sales generated. The engineering part of sales engineering is about knowing how the technical aspects of the product being sold can benefit the customer.
- There are many different industries within engineering, and there are many engineering areas within these industries. To choose the correct industry to start your engineering career path, find an industry that best suits your skills, competencies, interests, and passions.
- Engineering students must try to get work experience before they graduate. It is one of the best things they can do to set themselves up for after school. Get experience that validates what you learn at school and will, in turn, help you focus on the areas that you are interested in. It will help you better focus on your engineering career path when you get out of school and position yourself ahead of the competition in interviews. Some key areas you should look at before you graduate are: do you want to work for a small or large company, what industry you are interested in, the area you want to work in, and your salary requirements. Make a Q-chart to score the different options you have to find what is most important to you. Use your network to get referrals. A hiring company prioritizes referred candidates versus people coming through the general application pool.
- Onshape is product development software that could be the future of CAD design. It is open source software that has a JavaScript module for developing custom modules. It is not only for product development — it also produces workflows for your organization. You can create mobile apps embedded into the software, which add value to your engineering workflow. It is a SaaS-based model that works directly through a browser and has sharable secure files.
- Additive Works is exciting manufacturing software that is used by large companies like Apple and Tesla. It can be used in 3D printing and to develop new material alloys a lot cheaper and faster. It also uses artificial intelligence to improve workflow utilization and margins for companies.
- Your professional and personal lives do not need to align perfectly. By disassociating between them, you will get more gratification and a better focus in these areas.
More in This Episode…
In the Take Action Today segment of the show, Zakary Smith talks about how you can stay current with technologies to press forward in your career.
About the Guest, Zakary Smith
At Instaversal, Zak can fulfill his vision of a fully integrated supply chain ecosystem coupled with proprietary niche product development innovations. He is intently focused on designing and executing the processes within the diverse ecosystem of global manufacturers that will streamline the quotation, ordering, and project management requirements to fulfill an order at each stage of the product development cycle. He is bridging the gap between the technical and commercial needs of a diverse range of product development companies, from startups to large enterprises, and consulting strategic opportunities for companies to get their products to market error-free and on time.
About the Host, Jeff Perry, MBA
Jeff Perry is a leadership/career coach for engineers, building mindsets, leadership, and career intentions to unlock hidden potential and remove self-imposed roadblocks for career and life. For years, he has had the pleasure of supporting engineers and software pros, from new grads to director level. Having been on the front lines in the technical world, he has been able to map out the necessary skills for becoming a quality leader in the field.
You can connect with Jeff on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffcperry/ or visit his website, https://morethan-engineering.com. Jeff also has a new, FREE, on-demand training course for engineers who are job searching or in job transitions. You can see it at https://engineeringcareeraccelerator.com.
Resources and Links Mentioned in This Session Include:
Instaversal
CoolTool
Onshape Product Development Software
Additive Works
Designing Your Life
Connect with Zakary Smith on LinkedIn
This Episode Is Brought to You by Washington State University
Washington State University’s Engineering and Technology Management master’s degree program is a perfect balance of technical and managerial education that helps prepare practicing engineers for managing projects, people, and organizational systems. As one former student noted, “The knowledge that I gained from the ETM Program helped me become a more competent, confident engineer and manager. The program greatly impacted my career and has been a key element in my continued success.” Learn more about the Engineering Management profession at etm.wsu.edu or [email protected]. Take charge of your career and reach out today.
We would love to hear any questions you might have or stories you might share about finding the right engineering career path.
Please leave your comments, feedback, or questions in the section below.
