TECC 93: Why Engineers Need Entrepreneurship with Bestselling Author Taylor Pearson

The Engineering Career Coach Podcast - A podcast by Anthony Fasano, PE and Jeff Perry, MBA - Tuesdays

Categories:

In today’s episode, Taylor Pearson, the author of the bestselling book The End of Jobs, talks about entrepreneurship and why the typical 9 to 5 jobs aren’t necessarily "stable" anymore for engineers. Here are some key points from this episode: #1 – The social & technological advancements of the past 100 years have brought us the end of jobs. Now the scarce resource in the economy is entrepreneurship which, while a scarce skill, is one that can create more career freedom. #2 – For the past 40 years the only job segment with growth has been non-routine, cognitive type – i.e. creating systems. The only segment that is growing is non-routine cognitive work. When you build your career, you have to think about the skills that are non-routine and can do the cognitive work. #3 – Jobs in almost all industries are becoming increasingly commoditized. Getting a certain degree or certification may not be as important as before; you have to have that skill (the ability to do non-routine cognitive work) that companies are looking for. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); #4 – Entrepreneurship is a skillset which can be acquired. You can learn the skills of entrepreneurship just like you learned how to become an engineer. #5 – With the Internet, geography is irrelevant. Entrepreneurship or starting a business has gone global; you don’t have to have a storefront.  #6 – The stairway to entrepreneurship allows you to move from the job you’re in now, to the freedom you desire. Taylor gives an analogy of the stair step theory with lifting weights at the gym – stair stepping your way up to bigger businesses or successes. The 9 to 5 jobs aren’t necessarily stable anymore. How you think about risk or how you define risk will determine if you or somebody else controls your career’s future. Taylor gives an analogy of the turkey and the butcher. Entrepreneurs have much higher leverage points – you might have the credentials but they might not be putting you ahead because everybody has those same certifications, however if you take those certifications and start your own business with more geographical reach, you have more leverage than other people with the same credentials. More details on these in the episode… In the Take Action Today segment of the show, Taylor shares how you can get started as an entrepreneur in your engineering career with your existing skill sets. “The degree to which we’re able to design our reality is directly related to our quality of life, freedom, and wealth. Those that design reality have a higher quality of all factors in their life, and through designing their reality they enable others to do the same by creating more wealth.” – Taylor Pearson About our guest Taylor Pearson  Taylor Pearson is an entrepreneur and author of the #1 bestseller The End of Jobs. Inc.com rated The End of Jobs as one of the top three Start Your Own Business Books of 2015. Bestselling Author and Serial Entrepreneur James Altucher said of it: “Entrepreneurship is not a choice you can make at your leisure. You have to jump on the train or lose your chance. Now is the time and Taylor’s book describes exactly how to do it.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Resources and links mentioned in this session include: Support us in Patreon Upwork.com TECC 39: How Being an Entrepreneur can Help you in your Engineering Career with Sam Lytle, PE of CivilFX