There is a saying, “If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.”
It’s given that engineers are a smart bunch. When it comes to technical knowledge and real-world applications of science, these professionals are at the top.
Which is why there should be a competition among engineers in the company to maintain the quality of the work and for them to grow professionally. But if you feel that you are beyond the skills of everyone, you might have to let go.
Professional growth is essential in every engineering job. Nobody wants to stay stuck with their potentials, so it’s recommended to follow the saying mentioned above by taking action: leave the company.
But before you do that, keep in track the following signs that you are too smart for your job and need to find something more challenging soon:
You’re bored.
“If boredom overwhelms you such that you need sugar and caffeine to stay awake, you’re in the wrong spot,” says Liz Ryan, CEO and founder of Human Workplace in a LinkedIn post.
Boredom might just be the greatest indicator of being too smart for your job, but this does not mean that you are not doing anything – it only means that you do your job fast and efficient that you run out of things to do.
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You don’t have to try hard.
“It could be a sign that you’re too smart for your role if you’re finishing you assignments and taking on more,” says Ryan Kahn, a career coach, founder of The Hired Group, and author of “Hired! The Guide for the Recent Grad.
When you are not putting much effort and still get the engineering tasks done, it’s a sign: you need a more challenging role or job to keep you growing professionally. Especially when you think that your skills are consistent in outperforming everyone all the time, you are considered to be overqualified for the job.
You’re not learning anything.
Same job, same tasks, same learning. Engineer, it’s time to move on or move up within the organization.
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When you find yourself in the position of not learning anything, it means that you have peaked the learning curve. There is no new intellectual stimulation that challenges you at work.
Your boss doesn’t have a vision.
“You can’t grow your flame working for someone who has no idea what a vision is or where to get one,” says Ryan Kahn.
Indeed, when you have a boss who doesn’t have an idea on how to grow the department or even further their own career, it’s a huge problem for you. That’s because with the lack of vision, your boss can never offer you opportunities that you long for as an engineer.
You keep silent in meetings, afraid to be known as a know-it-all.
“You have a tendency to not speak up during meetings because you’re concerned that people view you as the office know-it-all or that you’re always trying to be in the spotlight,” says Michael Kerr, an international business speaker and author of “The Humor Advantage”.
Source: Tumblr
Nobody wants to be a know-it-all but it happens that you are always the one contributing the golden ideas, you are indeed above everyone else – including your boss – and there is not much to learn from their contributions.
You have skills superior than your boss.
“We all make mistakes, but if you find yourself consistently finding errors in your bosses’ work or opportunities to elevate their work, could be a sign that you’re too smart for your role,” says Ryan Kahn.
It is as clear as day: if you can do the work of your boss or even better at it, it’s either you deserve a new boss or become the boss.
Source: Business Insider
