What Keeps You Motivated?

love the work............putting bread on the table.

I like Samuel Flormans's 'existentialpleasureofengineering'as an explanation of why we engineer.

I like knowing that the steel will machine because i approved the chemistry modification; that the cooler in the satellite will work because I forbade the choice of an "outgassy" grade; that the seatbelts will hold the child seat in because of the quality system we deployed. etc. etc. times many decisions per day times many engineers in many companies in many countries...

Perhaps the only thing better than a cat with a crossbow is an engineer who has children to keep the brood safe. When that airplane lands safely, we can all say "yay team."

Because we did our best.

When we compromise our standards, well, people can die.

Job satisfaction is merely a perk. We engineer because we want the best for the world.

Lord knows the world can use our best.

milo

If I can do something like this-

* It is the motivation to make a earning that motivates people to go to work.

*It is the freedom, performance, successful performance gives the so called job satisfaction, a major motivational factor to perform.

*If the performance is recognized and you get rewarded, then this recognition and reward takes up the next step motivation.

*The misery to many people occurs at the recognition and implementation of ideas stage leading to frustrations and job quits.

The motivation to continue in a particular job in spite of set backs like lack of promotions, increments etc is mainly on grounds of poor external market or demand that every one will be waiting for the pause of hard times. In this situations wisdom based on reality is the motivation factor.

*It is all about trends and opportunities prevailing.

*The tendency to survive is the basic motivator for all our pursuits and luck is also an indirect motivator.

I originally got involved with chemical engineering because as a kid I saw an oily substance being discharged from a factory into a river in my hometown. I decided I could be of more help fixing the twin problems of waste and pollution than fretting about them or carrying signs of protest. I could do more on the inside than the outside.

Since then I've saved millions (at least) of man-hours, tons of material wasted, BTU's lost, fishes being poisoned, and kept people happier and healthier because of what I helped make, or because of what wasn't made/wasted due to inputs from me and others like me.

Along the way, we serve customers as good stewards and as a result make money. Along the way, I try to motivate others to also contribute their best so we can all accomplish our diverse goals. It's also fun to compete as competitors in the market!

What Keeps me motivated is the ability to fill my head with new stuff, and knowledge each and every day!!

I agree, i'm maintenance eng'r (electrical baised), with each new day/week coming up with new challenges. hardest challenge i find is that folk with no engineering knowledge, they take to much for granted - history is forgotten with aviation, road vechiles, shipping, communication etc. without people like newton, tesla, brunel etc where would the world be?. what keeps me motivated is the same as wissam and getting stuck into a challenge and resolving it (personally or team effort). >>> nothing more satisfying then seeing something working as you want - destroying when operatives abuse it in small fraction of the time and wreck it <<<

I don´t understand what this discussion has to do with pneumatics?

Anyway, my motivation is the process of creation. I visualize something in my mind or someone gives me a problem to solve or the process can be optimized, I don´t know, any trigger will do. Then, analyzing the problem and finding a solution. Putting the solution to work and watch it work for all to see.

The tangible aspect that engineering gives you is great. You see your work in action. Things work, because you made your choice and your best effort to make them work.

Money is not the main motivation if you are independently wealthy. If you are, you "work" in your field of expertise for distraction.

If you are not rich, you WORK to support your family with the MONEY you earn.

Tim in Mexico,

Obvious practical truth of course. Money is the best motivation factor that can get needs gratified. And we all got to run for making it. No match to money.

Absolutely not a match for money, think about feeding your family your titles or degrees. Or possibly driving your latest contribution to work?

Personally I would much rather buy what my family I need with the money earned for the work I have done.

Once most people climb down off there "soap box", I'm sure they would think the same.