Being a successful engineer doesn’t have to take a lifetime. Sure, as time goes on, you should be learning more, and applying those skills and wisdom on the job, but age isn’t a prerequisite to being a successful engineer.
What is success?
There are so many things that people use to describe success. It can be money, happiness, status…the list goes on. Success is really what you define as success. Some may wish to climb the ranks, and others enjoy the satisfaction of solving a problem after weeks or months of toil.
These tips are applicable to everyone, regardless of where you want to go or what you want to do.
Being Successful
We’ve looked back at some of the best and most successful engineers that we’ve worked with, and we’ve compiled this short list of thing they did to get there. It’s obviously not all-inclusive, and you can be successful without doing some of these things, but overall, these traits and actions will help you be more successful.
1. Get a Mentor, and Use Them!
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been doing engineering. If you want to be the best, you need a mentor.
There’s always someone who knows more than you do about something. If you want to grow, having someone help guide you. Pick someone who has different experiences from you. Maybe it’s someone you aspire to be, or maybe it’s just someone that has done something you’re interested in doing. Either way, pick someone that is willing to share their knowledge and experience with you to help you grow.
2. Say Yes to New Projects
Don’t just show up to punch your ticket. Make your time at work mean something! When a new project comes along that will let you make an impact, take it! All projects are learning and growth opportunities. It doesn’t matter if you want to climb the ranks, or if you want to be seen as the best engineer in the company, taking initiative will set you apart from the rank and file.
Some believe that doing more work, in effect, devalues yourself. The thought is that if you do more work for the same pay, then you are mathematically devaluing yourself. This is a myth, and is toxic thought.
The problem with that theory is that it doesn’t take into account intrinsic value. By going the extra mile, you increase your value to your employer, and you simultaneously increase your worth. You’re more valuable to your employer because you’re meeting their need. You increase your own value because all opportunities offer the chance to learn and grow. Take these two aspects with you during your next performance review, and you’ll see just how much they pay off.
3. Treat requirements as challenges
Too often, engineers look down on the people or organizations that tell them what they need. We’ve seen it, and I know you have too (whether or not you’d like to admit it).
“Are they crazy?”
“That’s Impossible!”
“What were they thinking”
And the list goes on, and gets even more colorful.
You should be treating these requirements as obstacles. Challenges. Just imagine the impact you could have if you met those needs! Yes, occasionally some tweaking of the requirements is necessary, but it should only be to allow you to give the customer a better solution.
4. Eliminate Pride of Authorship
This is true especially when brainstorming. Engineers sometimes think that their ideas are the best, and all others are terrible. This is NOT a trait of a great engineer.
It’s important to learn that a team is more powerful than its members. Even combined, the power of a 10 person team is stronger than that of 10 individuals.
Consider this: A draft horse can pull up to 8,000 lbs. Two draft horses, working together, can pull 24,000 lbs! Over 3 times the power of 1 horse! The power of teamwork is in the team itself, not any one person.
So the next time you find yourself being negative about another engineer’s idea or comment, take a step back and look at it from another perspective. Ask yourself if you’re being prideful, or if there is objective reasoning that can be used to figure out which is best.
5. You are not perfect. Accept it, Fix it, Get Better, Move On!
It seems that most engineers suffer from a common affliction. They think they’re never wrong. Even when an engineer makes a mistake, they fight it. They start blaming insufficient information, or they otherwise try to support their point. Either way, it’s a bad trait.
Perhaps it’s because they’re so often correct. Or perhaps it’s because being wrong is so frowned upon. Either way, it’s a common trait, and not a good one.
Another thing all engineers have in common is that they’re all human, and humans make mistakes. So, what do you do when you make a mistake?
Accept it.
Simple. As soon as you realize you made a mistake, accept it. Once you own it, you can put it behind you, and focus on fixing it, and making yourself better.
Fix it
Of course you need to fix your mistakes. If you can fix your own mistake, do it; otherwise, ask for help.
Get Better
People often miss this step. Get Better. Take some time and think about how you made your mistake, and what you’ll do in the future to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Move On
If you’ve accepted, fixed, and learned from your mistake, don’t live there. Move on! Find the next obstacle. The best thing about moving on is that you’ll have an opportunity to redeem yourself.
Share Your Thoughts
Do you have any more tips for being a successful engineer? If you do, share them below in the comments section. We’d love to hear from you.
5 thoughts on “5 Tips to Being a Successful Engineer”
Thanks for this Amazing post.
I have found that the non engineers of the team are just as valuable as the engineers. Experience is very valuable. My mentor was a non engineer and always had a great ability to solve problem.
Great Tips! These tips are really very for me and those who want to become a successful civil engineer. Simply want to say your post is as amazing. The clearness to your publish is simply spectacular and I can assume you’re an expert in this subject.please keep up the enjoyable work.
I like that aspiring successful engineers need to accept new projects to have opportunities to grow. I like how you suggest that taking the initiative is the key to get better. If ever we will need you to guide us if we plan on making our own engineering services company.
Success doesn’t come in one day, we have to spend many nights and days with consistent hard work. Keep trying!!!!!