It comes with no surprise that the engineering field these days is starting to get flooded. Fresh graduates come by the truckload yearly, and a huge bulk of them is equipped with skills foreign to some. In the raging torrent of the competition, what is needed to stay afloat in the tides?
Here are seven of the traits to develop to stand tall in our already overcrowded field.
Maintain a great attitude
Fiddling with the numerous engineering tools we possess requires not just skill but a sound mind as well. A good engineer doesn’t carry with him to work the filth from his bad day outside. He is a master of secrecy in hiding his negative feelings.
Become transparent
The engineering field is never subjective. In making reports, a good engineer must be a sharp shooter in terms of his data’s accuracy. No time for poems for these pros, even for bad news. And who has time to sulk up? For engineers, bad times must always be followed with wearing his thinking cap to come up with a solution real quick.
Demonstrate maturity
Great engineers have long removed the kiddie wheels and taken the driver’s seat of their emotions. Every reaction counts, since they are the very faces of their respective companies’ values. They have also installed filters within their minds’ circuitry to tune out any noise that may come to them, be it noise from rumors or negativities from their peers.
Remain flexible
Scalability is just one of many things that make inventions great. And engineers must learn to make their own engines scalable as well. They must embrace changes in both the technology they work with and the people they meet. Engineering is never a field of stagnancy, and great engineers must always hone their swords.
Remain accountability
A device is only as good as its functionality, and so is an engineer in terms of outputs. He must be as obsessed with correctness as he is with the smell of the lead from his solder. But with clarity comes openness to mistakes as well. Only through troubleshooting can one find the errors in his work, and this step must be taken just as heavily as its creation.
Get their hands dirty
Great engineers must never be daunted with getting a stain or two in executing his work. Often times, engineers are sent to plants, mines, or even streets to fix utility poles. And one doesn’t need a gown to strut the workplace. A great engineer can go on all fours and crawl inside crevices if need be just to find the root of the issue.
Develop great talent
Engineering also opens opportunities for us to work with not just resistors, but living, breathing people as well. And in doing so, the engineer must fit his subordinates to roles that will enable them to bloom and develop their passions like pieces on his chess board.
Written by guest writer Francis Bautista
