Engineering Continuity or Calamity?

There are a lot of these articles flying around right now and I don't really know what the answer is because the first thing that I learned coming out of school was that I wasn't prepared to take the engineering world by storm. I have a good friend that says it takes about ten years of real engineering experience before you can be trusted/counted on to make a solid, reasoned decision based upon the facts available. It isn't feasible in my opinion, to expect an engineer coming out of school to be ready to do anything besides calculations and to suck up information and experience like a sponge.

Therefore, the way to a better prepared workforce is to have a good technical career development program that young engineers can grow into and learn from senior engineers (total shocker, I know). I don't think current business practice is trending this way though...

The best way to promote the profession to me would be to illustrate the responsibility and sense of pride that you can take away from a career in engineering. Not many people can tell their children things like I helped build/design this widget or I ran/designed that plant we are driving by. That is easily the most rewarding part of the job for me.

In engineering, or in any of the sciences, there are few if any "child prodigies", people who, right out of school are ready to tackle problems without supervision. Yet, apart from the "engineer in training" designation, how many mentoring programs are there that are really worthwhile? I think (thus the caveat - this is OPINION, folks) that if you want a good practicioner, the best are like garden vegetables - the ones you grow yourself are best. Now, where are the good MENTORS to come from?

Hello

A system that seems to work well follows. Contact the schools, identify those interested in engineering, take them under your wing, establish a mentor program, team the engineer and the student and put them to work. Promulgate a program that provides a record of accomplishments. There must be a big space for recording ethical standards.

Good luck

TeamSarge

Welcome aboard! Concur on the "big space for recording ethical standards"! BUT - I was actually hoping it wouldn't come down to a matter of luck...I was kind of hoping for skill and perserverance doing the trick...

Hmmmm.... I don't see any 'shortage.'

I'm an experienced digital design engineer looking for work. I have many years experience - in fact too many. I can't find a job because no one wants to hire anyone that's "not young." If your resume shows that you got your BSEE and MSEE in 1978 you're pegged as 'not young.' No one will talk abouty it, but, hey, I'm not stupid. I can read between the lines.

Contact me if you're not prejudice and you have some good EE work you need done well.

Signed,

Not Youung, but Darn Good

yogis@comcast.net

Most of the articles I've read have more of a "sky is falling" tone than is strictly necessary. A lot of these articles quote hiring managers and not the engineers themselves. The good companies will vet their potential hires through the engineering department, but an increasing number of companies are gutting these same engineering departments since they are not perceived by upper management as revenue generators. This leaves hiring managers who may know little about the position to wade through a pile of resumes that do match A to A and B to B to their openings and conclude that there is a shortage of candidates where in actuality someone with 20 years experience in a similar technology or process will be able to pick it up much more quickly that someone just out of school.

I am a big fan of mentoring programs having had an informal mentor myself, but in recent years it becomes harder to do this. It is becoming more and more rare that a new engineer will come into a company with a large central engineering department with a pool of potential mentors that have been with the company 10+ years. It is becoming the norm that downsizing and outsourcing have produced a situation where a new engineer needs to sink or swim, and in any case will likely change jobs in two years anyway.

And I think we come down to the biggest weakness to most of these problems. Continuity. An engineer popping into an elementary school once a year is really not going to inspire someone to be an engineer. A mentoring program where the mentor and/or the young engineer will be together less than two years does not provide the interaction required to build a good knowledge transfer. When everyone is too busy doing billable work, how much time other than some informal lunchtime discussion is really going to take place?

What is the solution? Companies need to realize that "older" does not mean "obsolete". An open mind when it comes to matching requirements with skills also helps. Older workers can help their case as well by keeping up on documentable training even if it on their own dime. Younger workers entering the field should keep in touch with their classmates and coworkers as they change jobs through professional networking sites. You never know when someone you worked with eight years ago is perfect for that new opening in your company, but you lost contact over the years. Another thing is to pass on the knowledge you have acquired to younger engineers and even your own nephews and nieces. I think that TV shows like "How it's Made", "Modern Marvels" and "Unwrapped" also help in regards to showing the younger generations what engineers do, unfortunately most of them focus on the production aspects of these machines rarely showing engineers. Watch them with your children or your friends' children and explain the engineering behind what they are seeing (without boring them of course). This might even help when an engineer does go into a classroom. Showing one of these videos and then explaining the type of work needed to get one of those "cool" production lines designed and running might get enough of them thinking.

The bottom line is that I think we should always be trying to bring new people into the engineering field.If we didn't think it was a great field to be in we wouldn't be there ourselves, but I don't think the situation is as dire as the press is proclaiming.

We are living in some electric trying times. In 1968 someone decided to put a psyco-eval clinic on every corner. From those came the "I am really OK because someone stole my bicycle when I was 7 yrs old, so smoking grass, LSD, and cocaine are ok to use because now I can handle it. The shrink said so." Many of these people went to school for 10 years to get a 4 year degree and now "I are an enjuneer." Mentoring is the best insurance policy you can get. Place them close to you so their thoughts and actions can be evaluated. Care to guess how many of these people are walking around. Clinton was voted in twice.

Our engineers visit the schools regularily Bridges are built, signs are constructed sidewalks are poured, out buildings are built under the watchful eyes of engineers.

The kids will advertise to build your next out building. You purchase the materials and they will build it.

Can these people be trusted/ In time yes, however, they must be continually challenged. If they need recognition send them to Vegas.

Work with large companies who operate outside the United States. Send these young folks and help them learn. There is no better feeling than to watch that "I understand now" light come on. They begin to walk taller, talk with more confidence and volunteer. Beware the volunteer.

Usually all the problems fall aside and you have an old guy buying the beer.

TEAMSARGE