TECC 89: Special Q&A Series from Engineering Management Institute and the WPI MBA Program 1 of 6

This podcast episode is the first of a special six episode Q&A Series which airs every first Friday of the month starting December 2015. My guest co-host, Pat Sweet and I answer questions from our listeners asking for engineering career advice. This Q&A Series is brought to you by WPI’s Foisie School of Business which is ranked the #1 part-time MBA degree in the Northeast according to Business week since 2007. For more information visit business.wpi.edu or call 508-831-4665. “It is all too easy to speed through life with our eyes focused only on the road ahead. The challenge is scanning the horizon from time to time to determine where we are headed.” – Christopher Gergen and Gregg Vanourek Here is the summary of the questions and answers we’ve discussed in this Q&A series: Question: What advice do you have for entering the Mechanical Engineering field without an ME degree? I have technical skills and some ME project experience, but my education is Business Management with some basic ME courses as electives. – Craig from Washington Answer: Find a mentor in the mechanical engineering field Figure out how you can add value even without the credential Ask yourself: How confident are you in your mechanical engineering skills? Focus on your strengths Question: How long would it take for a recent engineering graduate to become a senior engineering or principal engineer? – Lorin from Edinburgh, UK Answer: Depends on your soft skills, the engineering company you work for, your progression, etc. Make sure you have a good technical foundation and constantly improve your soft skills and core skills like communication, networking, leadership and speaking abilities, etc. Find out a rough timeline from other engineers who are partners in your engineering industry. Find engineering work that you are really interested in doing now. Check out TECC 81: Questions You Must Ask if You Want to Become a Partner in Engineering Firm (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Question: I am very interested in the a new engineering job that I interviewed for, but would like to negotiate a better salary. Do you have any advice or references/podcasts you can recommend for negotiating? – Alyssa from San Francisco, CA Answer: Negotiate along the lines that you want to make it work and you know it is a great opportunity. Explain what you are bringing to the table - you need to show them how much you are worth it. Take into account the value of a good company and good experience at this age. Listen to this Art of Charm Podcast Episode 326 (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Question: You may have touched on this before but do you have any tips on boosting the confidence level that I once had? – Darrell from Oregon Answer: Keep a file of notes that you think are important by project, location, etc. Try to get up in front of a room in any way you can, whether it is at a Toastmasters club or community group.  Speaking boosts confidence! Keep doing what you’re doing, over time you are going to get better and better. Take continuing education courses or buy books to have as reference. Question: I am a student pursuing a Diploma in Building & Civil Engineering and I would like to go for further studies abroad how can you help me? – Guttaka Paul from Uganda Answer: Try to nail down a location and talk to others from your area th...