While we may not like it, we face many tests in our engineering career. These may be exams for specific certifications, a test of your negotiation skills when trying to land a major client, or even your debate skills when trying to convince a town to approve a major construction project that you have spent countless hours on to develop the best environmental and economic design. No matter what kind of test you are faced with, if you are not prepared, your chance of passing will not be that great. In this article I will discuss a few steps that you can take to get prepared. While my examples will relate closely to the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam that I recently passed, these steps can be applied to any kind of test.

Know the rules/guidelines: It is important to know the rules and guidelines that need to be followed. Familiarize yourself with these guidelines so you know exactly what you are expected to do and how you need to do it. What tools/references are you allowed to bring, and which ones are you not allowed to bring. For academic exams, it is important to read admission guidelines. It would be terrible to spend countless hours studying for an 8 hour FE (also referred to as the EIT) exam only to be turned away because you arrived too late or you leave your admission ticket and/or personal identification at home.

Choose the proper tools: What tools can you bring to the exam with you? For the FE exam, the only reference you can have with you is an approved reference manual that you are supplied with on the day of the exam and you also must bring a calculator specified on the approved list of calculators. While the calculator list may appear to only be “simple” calculators, they have a lot of functions that can prove very valuable during the exam if you choose the correct calculator and learn how to use it properly. If you’re taking the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam, you are allowed to bring your own reference manuals. As of this time, you are permitted to bring any book you want and as many as you want. While technically you may be allowed to bring in 20 books with you, it will be nearly impossible to search through 20 different books to find information you need to solve problems on the exam, and complete the exam on time.

Budget your time successfully: For most tests you will be given a specific amount of time to complete it. Know what the time restraints are and budget your time so that you can finish in the allotted time. For the FE or PE exams, you can figure out about how much time you can spend on each question. If you find that you are taking longer than your budgeted time, move on to the next question and return to it later. If at a town meeting, know how much time they will give you to speak and present your case. Make sure you allow enough time to present all of your points. Prior to your presentation, if you see that there are some points that the town board members fully agree with you on, adjust your presentation so that you spend less time on those topics and focus more on the controversial areas to help the town understand your point of view and why the project would be good for them. If limited with your time, why waste time on something that everybody agrees on when there are bigger topics that could make or break the project.

Work smarter, not harder. The most important thing to remember is to work smarter and not harder. If you can get the requested result by only working out part of a solution, only solve the part you need. For example, let’s say you are taking the FE exam and they ask you to find the adjoint of a 3×3 matrix. Instead of finding the full adjoint, solve for only 2 or 3 of the positions. By the time you get to the second position, you may already be able to eliminate most if not all of the wrong solutions. Why spend 2-3 minutes when you can eliminate all the wrong answers within 1 minute. It is also important to know the tools that you will be using. Your calculator can save you a lot of time on the FE exam. Instead of calculating permutations, or standard deviations by formula, you can easily get the answer on the calculator by punching a few buttons. While it is good to know and understand the formula, the exam doesn’t take into account if you did it by hand or by calculator. The time you save by using the calculator, will give you extra time when you get to harder questions that you may not be very comfortable with.

If you do not pass the test the first time, you will have more opportunities in the future to do it again. Use your experience from the failed attempts to make future attempts better. If you failed the FE exam and find that you had trouble getting to all the questions, work on improving your speed. This might be accomplished by doing more sample problems, learning to use the calculator better, or even getting better acquainted with the reference manual so you know where to find certain formulas. If a town turns down your project, determine why it was turned down. Is there something in the design that they would have preferred to see? Or maybe the design was fine, but it just wasn’t right for the proposed location. While you may not get the required outcome the first time, you can always amend the design and go for approval again. If you take into account some of the towns’ desires and wishes with the amended design, they may be willing to forget about some of the other issues that they originally did not approve.

What are some other ways that you personally prepare for tests? Remember, techniques and strategies used for one test can be used on other tests also. Good Luck on your next test!!!

Please check out our new Institute for Engineering Career Development – The fastest way to advance your engineering career, guaranteed! – http://EngineerSuccessProgram.com

William Merunka, the author of this post is a civil engineer.  You can follow him on his journey to be a great engineer by connecting with him on LinkedIn.

I have found the following to be important in successful relationship building and subsequently business development:

• Attend networking events that will allow you to build relationships in your industry.
• Be a resource to your clients and keep them up-to-date on industry news.  LinkedIn allows you to do this by posting information on your profile and in relevant groups.
• Get involved in the community where you work.  LinkedIn may help you to identify local community groups and/or events that you can contribute to/attend.
• Identify business partners or other consultants that may have some synergy with you and your company.  You can use LinkedIn’s advanced search to search by keywords and ZIP Code to find these key partners/contacts.

Some other benefits that LinkedIn can provide you in your transition from engineer to manager include:

• The ability to build a profile with targeted keywords that will boost the web presence for you and your employer.
• The ability, through your existing online connections,  to get introduced to key contacts that you may not already have relationships with.

Do you want to learn how to start using LinkedIn effectively?

In my new Institute for Engineering Career Development I am giving a webinar entitled 7 Steps to Building LinkedIn Relationships that Will Help You Advance Your Engineering Career on February 28th.  During this webinar, you will learn both the basics and some advanced strategies for leveraging LinkedIn.  Even if you missed the webinar date you will receive the recording of the webinar upon joining the Institute.

Here is a video on how you can join this low cost, on demand soft skills training community for engineers!

To Your Success,
Anthony Fasano, P.E., LEED, ACC

While engineers are in high demand across several industries, there is no place that engineers are wanted more than in the field of green or renewable development and energy. As both businesses and individuals strive to live lives with smaller carbon footprints, the need for advanced sustainable practices that can reach consumers on a wider level only continues to grow. So for those in the field of engineering, or those that are considering entering the field, look into the following positions to achieve greater career longevity as well as higher salary rates:

Geothermal Engineer

As renewable energy continues to develop, the need for geothermal operations engineers is only going to continue to grow. As a geothermal engineer, you will need to be able to work with plant workers to ensure that plant operations and energy production is on schedule. However, unlike several traditional fields of engineering, to become a geothermal operations engineer you will need more specialized training. So if you are interested, see if a local college offers courses in this field to strengthen your skill set.

Environmental Engineer

You don’t necessarily need to seek specialized education in order to be an environmental engineer working with green technologies. Many firms interested in building green structures or implementing sustainable practices already hire environmental engineers to make sure that projects are already as environmentally friendly as possible. A typical degree in Environmental Engineering is all you need, and you can expect high job demand and a salary between $55-75k.

Electrical Engineer

Electrical engineers don’t necessarily need to pursue specialized education in order to have high hopes in the job market. As green innovations continue to be created, the insight of electrical engineers will be required to ensure operations and electrical devices are efficient, and work with the inner workings of wind turbines, solar panels, and even hydroelectric plants.

Solar Operations Engineer

A Solar Operations Engineer will have similar job requirements to that of a geothermal operations engineer, but will be dealing with solar energy over geothermal energy. Like a Geothermal Operations Engineer, a Solar Operations Engineer will also need specialized training in order to obtain a position.

Smart Grid Engineer

Smart grid engineering is one of the newest fields of engineering with plenty of opportunities and great pay. Smart grid engineers monitor electric power infrastructures, and attempt to make power systems as efficient as possible. The position does pay well, but in order to become a smart grid engineer one must either obtain Journeyman status or obtain their Masters in Engineering.

These are just a few of the specific positions needed as the green industry continues to thrive. Refrigeration, thermal, and energy engineering are also areas of engineering that are in high demand, and can expect to see exceptional growth in the next decade as well.

As people in general take greater strides to improve both themselves and the world around them, we will continue to see a variety of engineering jobs emerge in the coming years. While a Boston life coach, a Los Angeles Dietitian, and a Green Landscaper in Georgia are all positions of growing importance, engineers will be of the highest importance in the future as they will be the leading minds in sustainable practices – something everyone in this world needs to be mindful of if they all wish to stay on it for decades to come.

Our founder Anthony Fasano, P.E., author of Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career sends out free daily career inspiration to engineers through his popular Daily Boosts, you can read about the Daily Boosts or simply sign up below.

Life is too short to sit through one more boring technical presentation in your engineering career.  Yet there you go, off to another one.

Technical Presenters

It’s a design review or project update, a test planning meeting or a problem solving session, and you know what you’re in for:  an hour in a dimly lit room, staring at projected bullet lists of talking points as well as the occasional “eye chart,” all the while listening to a sincere presenter cram as much information as possible into the little time he or she has.

There’s a perfectly understandable reason we find ourselves, more often than not, at boring technical presentations, and it is this: engineers and technical professionals are subject matter experts in their fields, but not, alas, expert presenters or public speakers.  They know their material, often at a very detailed level, and they’re pressed for time, eager to compress as much knowledge into as little time and space as possible in the name of efficiency.  They value content over form, prefer certainty over uncertainty, and determinism over ambiguity. 

These characteristics make them successful engineers, but being a good presenter calls on a different set of abilities—the ability, for example, to detect confusion in the audience and make adjustments on the fly, or the ability to manage a heated discussion when it erupts. 

What skills help you to do these things?

1.            Listening.  The most important thing a speaker ever does is listen.  Sounds kind of counter-intuitive, doesn’t it?  You might think the most important thing a speaker does is speak, but in fact, it’s more important to listen.  This may mean actually listening to words, like tuning in fully to questions or comments, or it may simply mean being attuned to reactions (Are they bored?  Restless?  Confused?  Argumentative?  Delighted?) and altering course slightly—or a lot—depending on what’s needed. 

2.            Designing your slides.  Your slides should depict information visually that enhances understanding.  Therefore, they should never (ever!) be your cheat sheet, or your list of bullet points to remember to say. “Designing” information means creating visuals that enhance rich content, that articulate information in ways you can’t describe verbally.  Graphic depictions of a technology infrastructure, for example, is a much better way to impart it than trying to describe it could ever be.  Another aspect of good design: omit anything from your slides that doesn’t carry information.  No doo-dads, branding, clip-art or gratuitous swirly lines and color (such as those found in PowerPoint templates).

3.            Organizing your material.  Taking time to think about what your audience needs to know in order to take action helps you arrange material in a sequence they can remember.  It’s rarely the case, for example, that a chronological order of events (…and then we figured this out, and then we figured this out…) is at all effective.  Presenters who have mastered the skill of organizing qualitative information know what the first-, second-, and third-most important points are they’re going to make, and they organize their material to feature those key topics.  This prevents aimless wandering around a subject, and it also helps presenters who know they’re running out of time, figure out quickly what to omit if need be.

If you’re reading this thinking, “Wow, organizing, listening, designing slides…that sure isn’t me, I guess I’m doomed,” cheer up.  Engineers, in my experience, are lifelong learners, and they rarely shy away from a challenge in their engineering career.  You may find yourself stepping out of your comfort zone to venture into this new territory—listening, organizing information and designing visuals—but when your audience is energized and ready to be productive, thanks to your presentation, you’ll know it’s worth it.

Susan de la Vergne helps engineers and technical professionals become better communicators.  An I.T. professional for many years, a career she prepared for by majoring in English in college, today Susan teaches “Effective Technical Presentations” and consults for engineering and tech organizations helping them optimize everything from project deliverables to problem documentation.

Our founder Anthony Fasano, P.E., author of Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career sends out free daily career inspiration to engineers through his popular Daily Boosts, you can read about the Daily Boosts or simply sign up below.

The following is the advice that the three panelists shared:

• You know you are ready to make the leap from engineer to manager when you feel like you are looking for something more; you want to contribute on a larger scale.

• They all had a desire to move into engineering management position; they didn’t “have-to.”

• You have to look at the big picture when you become a manager; look at the forest not the tree.

• Try to get your employees to also look at the big picture.

• You must be prepared to deal with human resources issues.  For example, people’s personal issues and emotions.

• You must learn to delegate so that you have time to deal with these human resources issues.

• Be clear about your expectations when you delegate to your staff.

• Seek advice from other leaders that have transitioned from engineer to manager.

• Lead by example and don’t ask your staff to do something that you wouldn’t.

• Be prepared to take risks like opening up a new office, or leaving your company for a more challenging opportunity.

 The three panel members were:

Paul Holzen, P .E., LEED AP – Engineering Supervisor at City of Franklin, TN
Michael Marassa, P.E. – Business Development Manager at Hayward Baker
Monica Sartain, P.E., CHMM, M. ASCE – Branch Manager at Patriot Engineering and Environmental, Inc.

I know this is a short post, but I have been getting requests on information regarding how to transition from engineer to manager and I thought the information shared here was perfect!

If you would like to get periodic advice on how to make the transition from engineer to manager, our founder Anthony Fasano, P.E., author of Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career sends out free daily career inspiration to engineers through his popular Daily Boosts, you can read about the Daily Boosts or simply sign up below.

During the latest session of my Engineer Your Own Success radio show I had the opportunity to interview Rick De La Guardia owner of DLG Engineering to find out not only how to start an engineering company, but how to run an engineering company that thrives in any economy.

To give you some background, Rick De La Guardia is founder of DLG Engineering, Inc., a structural consulting firm, whose goal is to educate and raise awareness of the importance of the proper design, review and installations of our nation’s building envelopes. He obtained his bachelors of Science in Architectural Engineering from the University of Miami and currently serves as president of the University of Miami College of Engineering Alumni Association.

Rick took a job in a very specific field of building envelope consulting out of college and when he realized that he wasn’t being compensated fairly for his abilities he left the company and started his own company.

Below are the questions in bold that I asked Rick as well as his responses directly below the question:

What are the most important attributes of a successful engineering business?
Self-Awareness:  Understand your capabilities, strengths and weaknesses
Foresight:  Be aware of coming trends both economically and in your field
Adaptability:  Do not limit yourself or be afraid to grow or expand
Integrity:  Never sacrifice quality for financial gain
Honesty:  Always be upfront with your clients

What advice do you have on marketing for an engineering company?

Put yourself out there (Facebook, LinkedIn, Professional Organizations, University and High School Alma Maters, Blog, and list your company on every free site available).

Network with people outside of your field or profession.

Keep people constantly informed of your progress and what you are working on.

As owner of an engineering company, how have you managed to not only survive but thrive in a down economy?

• Adapting and offering diverse services
• Providing discounted fees with the understanding that you are building a future working relationship
• Aggressive networking and marketing
• Relaxing on the terms and conditions of payment
• Finding a niche and researching and continually learning and staying atop of the trends and changes in that specific field
• Instilling a family like atmosphere and morale with employees and paying myself last
• Developing diverse contacts outside of my field
• Putting myself out there by writing and speaking to raise awareness of what we do and why we do it
• Giving back without asking for something in return just for the sake of self promotion

What are the pitfalls of owning an engineering firm in a tough economy?

• Collections and cash flow issues
• Delicate client relation issues
• Asking your employees to make sacrifices
• Dealing with creditors and obtaining loans

What is your unique insight and strategic plan?

I started my firm when many said it was crazy to do so.  I knew that I was in a niche market and could offer no less or better quality than my competitors at a REDUCED rate due to having a smaller overhead.  I also developed personal relationships with each client.

What advice do you have for someone thinking of starting an engineering company in tough times?

• Make sure you have a niche
• Be prepared to make sacrifices
• Assemble the RIGHT team and do not discount chemistry
• Have a financial backup plan to carry you through the tough times
• Pay yourself last
• Give your employees a say in the direction of the company and make them feel like it is a family

You can listen to the entire show on our radio show archives page.

Our founder Anthony Fasano, P.E., author of Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career sends out free daily career inspiration to engineers through his popular Daily Boosts, you can read about the Daily Boosts or simply sign up below.

During the latest session of my Engineer Your Own Success radio show I had the opportunity to coach a younger engineer (Mary) who was facing the challenge of having to manage or oversee a group of more experienced engineering experts.  This is a challenge that many engineering professionals face when transitioning from engineer to manager.

To give you some detailed background, Mary works for a large engineering company and is in charge of coordinating the preparation of large technical reports.  This includes the oversight of several experienced technical experts to ensure that they all submit their sections of the report on time.

Mary felt disrespected by these experts, and thought that her age and sex may have contributed to their lack of respect.  The experts showed this lack of respect by not submitting their work by the proposed deadline.

Based on our discussion, I provided Mary with the following recommendations:

• Confront the obvious up-front by acknowledging in your initial meeting with the team that they are much more experienced than you and you hope to learn from each of them during this project.

• Make it clear, that while they may be more experienced than you, this deadline is ultimately your responsibility and it is your intention to do whatever it takes to meet the deadline.  This gives you the opportunity to show them that while you respect their experience you will be firm in your pursuit to meet deadlines.

• Look at each of the group members resumes or even some past work that they have performed and mention/commend them in the initial meeting.  This will show them that you are thorough and encourage a positive relationship from the beginning.  This will show them that you care about the people you work with, not just the deadlines you have to meet.

• Lastly, be honest with those that are on your team.  Being the leader doesn’t mean you have to know everything, in fact great leaders admit when they don’t know something and they find the right person or place to get the information.

You can listen to the entire show on our radio show archives page.

Our founder Anthony Fasano, P.E., author of Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career sends out free daily career inspiration to engineers through his popular Daily Boosts, you can read about the Daily Boosts or simply sign up below.

The seemingly go-nowhere job market is making many individuals think twice about pursuing higher education. Those interested in engineering are certainly no exception, as engineering positions waned in an otherwise industrialized world intimidated by a bad economy. But aspiring engineers ought to recognize that, while demand for their potential talents is currently down, their role in the 21st century is anything but irrelevant. The following are five reasons why you can most certainly count on the demand for engineers in the decades to come:

Infrastructure Needs Improvement

Across the United States of America, bridges are disintegrating, sewers are sinking, and other civil necessities continue to degrade with any rehabilitation. Millions of improvements to infrastructure wait to be made when the money to make them becomes available. For every improvement, there will be a team of engineers there making the big on-the-grounds decisions. Extend this worldwide, and it’s easy to see how many engineers are going to be needed.

The Environment is Changing

Whether humans are the cause or not remains a matter of debate, but the evidence is overwhelmingly clear that Earth’s environment is changing, at least as far as human survivability is concerned. Seaside cities will see more floods, while urban areas under arid conditions will continue to heat up. To ensure these places remain inhabitable, engineers will be busy designing new ways to survive the unforgiving forces of Mother Nature.

Labor Data Points to Science and Industry

Don’t let the mere musings of a blogger be the only thing that tells you engineers are sure to become in demand again. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that between now and the end of the decade, opportunities that involve an enhanced understanding of math and science are the ones that will see substantial growth. Engineers will either be involved directly in these industries, or they will contribute to the initial establishment of the machines and structures that will be used.

Access to an Engineering Education is Improving

Not only are the opportunities of employment in engineering expected to improve, but the means to be educated for these positions is already improving. The graphics capabilities of modern computer models means that accredited online degree programs in engineering will be just as sufficient in passing such knowledge along as traditional campus-based models. All the excuses for not getting an engineering degree in the 20th century are ceasing to exist in the 21st century.

Engineering is Tied Into Every Aspect of Tomorrow

Do not let talk of technological, web-based industry fool you into thinking that the real world is a thing of the past. If all the world’s knowledge is to be contained in data centers, then engineers will have to design such data centers. If people move closer to one another into massive cities to save money on transportation, then engineers will have to be involved in the planning process. No matter the technological advancement of tomorrow, engineers are going to be an essential aspect of the development process.

If you had a list of excuses for why it wasn’t smart to pursue an engineering career, hopefully every bullet point has been eliminated. The truth is that of all possible fields you could pursue, engineering is perhaps the most likely to be a critical component of the future, and therefore is the most likely to provide you with opportunity.

Our founder Anthony Fasano, P.E., author of Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career sends out free daily career inspiration to engineers through his popular Daily Boosts, you can read about the Daily Boosts or simply sign up below.

 Aren’t you just sick and tired of articles entitled:

• 10 things to make you a better engineering manager
• How to work more efficiently under stress
• Top 3 ways to manage your boss/staff
• How to become a successful engineer

And I could go on and on with self help topics, tips and how to’s on every website you visit until you’re regurgitating them on the floor in

Engineering Career Team

full color print like yesterday’s bad news. Most of us are too busy and many of us have LONG surpassed information overload (especially in this current economic environment) so we basically ignore any further published mental molestation of our maxed out days.

That being said, it’s a tough work environment these days, and you know you aren’t fulfilled at work. You know it was wrong when upper management overlooked your cube mate for that promotion he or she had well earned, to give to a new hire. You know deep down inside, that somehow your job could simply be more exciting.

It’s amazing how some people just seem to always know what they want, straight out of school, and seem to get all the breaks too. I wish I could be like that. I wish I could do that. Psssttt; you CAN

Let’s talk football. Forget the details…trust the process and let’s talk football.

What we need; what YOU need, is a group of players because you can’t even be IN the game if you don’t have players. YOU CAN’T BE IN THE GAME WITHOUT PLAYERS. HELLO!! “But, Suzanne (you say), I don’t have players… and I’m doing fine at work on my own.” Keep thinking that way, and we’ll see where you are in 10 years. Don’t waste 10 years though to find out. Here’s some research and studies that say so here and here, decide for yourself and get back to me.

So, when I say players, I am referring to an exclusive group of players that share your “brand” (basically similar morals, ethics and business strategies). Young fresh engineering graduates, PAY close attention here! Doing this one thing can save you many horrors, like the ones I endured early on in my career. Often times, we call these players’ mentors, coaches, heroes, lifesavers, and friends. With you as the quarterback, your team only serves to help you achieve goals and win, right? They are also invested in your success, because at the end, everyone on the team gets super bowl rings. And the BIGGEST thing is THEY CAN’T FIRE YOU!!!

But Suzanne, “How do I get players? What do I say to them? I don’t have TIME to “find” players. Do I just start asking random people at my work?” The last place to search is your workplace, because that is your testing ground. Work is the place you are going to APPLY your game plans. While some minuscule number of engineering companies may have a culture that will support your career, the harder truth is if they exist to make money (you are getting paid right?) then there is a conflict of interest for advancing your career. Because, sometimes the best action to advance your career will often NOT be to the benefit of the company’s bottom line. Heard this one before? “As soon as we get a big enough project that has enough money (read: profit to burn) that will be the best time for you to learn that new software program.” Hmmmm, then the project never shows up.

Here are some of the places I found players when I built my engineering career development team:

• Professional organizations (in your field or in a related field)
• Church, other community groups, or similar hobbies (I have many mentors from my karate group)
• Friends and family (only the ones that talk positively)

Select a wide variety of players on your team, so you can draw upon their different talents, including but not limited to: senior level seasoned folks, female perspective (this is essential for BOTH male and females), young and energetic, visionaries, technology Gurus, and players with key industry connections. Often times one player can cover several of these areas, but you should have at least 5 and 10 is not too many, so that you don’t over tax any one player.

That’s it! Play ball! Simple. Well, maybe not so simple…but now you have ideas for building a powerful career team to help guide and support your engineering career. More importantly what you will actually have is a discreet group of people to help you discover WHO you are, so that you can begin to find the work that fits YOU, inspires and motivates you. Get BUSY, because this can take time. Don’t rush it, and often times all you need to do is open your eyes as your future team members are right in front of you.

Suzanne Pylant is an entrepreneur, engineering consultant, and holistic problem solver in a multitude of industries. She has served the civil engineering community for over 12 years, and brings a fresh unique eye to getting things done in difficult environments. Learn more and connect with Suzanne at http://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannepylant or follow her on twitter at @spylantweet

Our founder Anthony Fasano, P.E., author of Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career sends out free daily career inspiration to engineers through his popular Daily Boosts, you can read about the Daily Boosts or simply sign up below.

It’s a great question and one that many engineers ask.  In my career travels as a design engineer, and the last few years as an engineering career coach, I have worked with, coached, and spoken to many engineers about this topic specifically and in this post I want to offer some engineering career advice based on my experiences.

In talking with many successful engineers that have made the transition from design engineer to manager, here are some guidelines that may be helpful in your transition:

From Engineer to Manager

Learn How to Delegate

What do I mean by learn how to delegate?  Well I could have just said, start delegating, but many successful engineers will tell you that it’s not that easy.  As engineers we get so wrapped up in day to day technical aspects of projects that when it’s time to go take on a managerial role, we either don’t want to give up the technical tasks to someone else or we are so involved in our projects, it is hard to take a more “hands-off” role.

Many engineers have the mentality of,  “I want to do it to ensure it gets done correctly.  That’s understandable being that you are a competent project manager, however to make a transition from engineer to manager, you are going to have to let other people help you.  You are going to have to take the time to teach them how to do it, in order to free up your time for other things.  The best way to do this is to start by giving small tasks to your team members to let them gain your trust.  Once they build up your trust, you will feel more comfortable giving them larger tasks until you can remove yourself from the “trenches” and take on more of a managerial role.

Learn How to Talk to People in a Positive Way

I always tell engineers that the way you say something to people is more important than what you say.  As an engineering manager you will have to delegate to your team members and have regular conversations with them about what tasks you would like them to accomplish.

Many engineering managers think only about the success of their project and not the success of their people.  When you delegate tasks to your team members, explain to them why you want them to do something, how it’s going to help the project and also how it is going to help their engineering career development.  I have coached so many engineers that don’t understand why they are not getting the most out of their staff and when I review their e-mails to discuss their conversations, it’s easy to see that their tone and choice of words is anything but inspiring.

No one has time to read a book these days, but to help improve your people skills I recommend listening to the audio version of Dale Carnegie’s bestselling book, How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Become a Great Presenter

One of the biggest misnomers amongst recent engineering graduates and younger engineers is that you don’t have to be good at writing or presenting.  That is 150% false!  In fact, successful engineers are typically very good writers and/or presenters.

To make a successful transition from engineer to manager, you must be able to present your ideas clearly to a group of people whether it is a group of 2 or 200.  You may have to present at a Town Board meeting in seeking project approvals, make a sales call to a prospective client, or speak in front of one of the local professional engineering societies.  In all of these cases, your ability to present will have a profound impact on your success as an engineering manager.

The good news is that public speaking is not a talent that you are born with or without; it’s a skill that can be learned.  I urge you to develop this skill as early on in your engineering career as possible.  To improve your speaking skills, I recommend joining a local Toastmaster chapter and listening to the audio version of the book entitled Speak to Win by Brian Tracy.

So in response to the question of how to become an engineering manager, I would say: learn how to delegate to others, learn how to talk to people in a positive way always thinking about their success, and last but not least become a great presenter! Please share any advice that you have found to be helpful in your transition from engineer to manager.

Anthony Fasano, P.E., author of Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career sends out free daily career inspiration to engineers through his popular Daily Boosts, you can read about the Daily Boosts or simply sign up below.