10 tips for success for engineering
students a career in engineering is very
interesting and at the same time very
challenging engineering students are
shaped to take major leadership roles
worldwide only if they take steps to
succeed the ways to success in
engineering are not different from any
other domains we were interested in
finding out what current engineering
students could do to put themselves on
the fast-track to career success here
are the best tips provided by blogger
Edward crawley a professor of
engineering and director of the Bernard
M Gordon engineering leader program at
MIT most of which would work for any
career aspiring college student
1. identify the people who inspire you and
find out what makes them tick
if you love Apple products Steve Jobs may be
your idol or perhaps you love the Segway
and its creator Dean Kaman you can
easily find out a lot of information
about jobs and Kaman or just about any
other prominent person in technology so
use it to look into what's helped these
people and their companies become so
successful then emulate your good traits
in your personal scholastic and
professional life
2. develop a portfolio of projects participate in every
hands-on experimental learning
opportunity that a balanced schedule
allows this way you'll have something
you need to show a perspective employers
or venture capitalists when you graduate
while other students will only be able
to list their courses in addition you'll
be far more likely to retain the
knowledge you've gained in classes
because you'll be applying it and in the
process boosting your communication and
interpersonal skills
3 learn the value of networking when it comes to being a
leader whom you know is almost as
important as what you know
attend lectures on your campus and introduce
yourself to the speakers check with your
school's Alumni Association to get a
list of alumni from your program
connect with undergraduates in addition
to email you can use LinkedIn or other
social media tools to connect online but
remember there's no substitute for
traditional face-to-face meeting so if
you can find a way to meet in person
that's always best
4. work in teams as much as you can whether it's
creating a solar-powered car
participating in a sport or writing for
the school paper get involved with an
organization that requires a team effort
to produce great results throughout your
career you can be sure you'll work in
teams and the skills you develop in
school will help prepare you to lead
teams when you graduate
5. seek informal leadership roles
you're always a leader whether you're
officially in charge of a team or not
sounds counterintuitive but you can lead
from any position in any organization by
influencing how people work together and
how they make decisions usually people
think that the leader is the president
or the manager but if you learn how to
recognize and deal with various
leadership styles from any position in a
team you'll be seen as a leader when you
take on your first job or internship
6. find your flaws and fix them as with any
skill leadership needs constant
improvement when you are part of a team
try to create a way to get feedback from
team members group leaders and
professors when you have concrete
feedback on how people view you you can
work to improve your skills including
communication and leadership plus you'll
learn how to accept and give
constructive criticism that's absolutely
necessary for your future career
7. take a business class as an engineer it's not enough for you to be
technically proficient you need to have
business savvy if you're going to be a
leader you need to understand what a P&L
is also known as an income statement
read organization charts know how to
negotiate contracts and be familiar with
the my rated other functions that every
top engineer needs to know otherwise you
won't understand what to do when an
accountant lawyer or middle manager gets
in the way a business course or two can
take you a long way and these classes
are often easier to pass than your
calculus course
8. take design and other humanities classes there's a wide
world out there beyond problem sets
laboratories and theory take a visual
design course so you'll know to
represent ideas graphically take a
cognitive science course to learn how to
how people interpret the world and
understand it take a literature course
to develop your knowledge and appreciate
appreciation of the classic books which
will help you write and communicate more
effectively
9 make your summers productive employers place tremendous
value on practical experience seek out
internship opportunities actively and
early in your academic career try to
demonstrate through your internships a
series of evolving leadership
experiences and use the internships to
build your portfolio of actual projects
slash products
and lastly number 10 recruit and develop
your personal board of directors as an
undergraduate you might feel alone when
confronted with hard decisions about the
courses to take jobs to apply for or
even balancing school work and your
personal life we've all been there you
won't feel alone if you develop a
personal board of directors just for you
just as a company has a board that
guides the organization you can stock
your board or the professionals from
organizations and companies as well as
former teachers and knowledgeable family
friends here's an extra pointer be sure
to nurture your board of directors keep
in touch with them provide them with
regular updates
ask them for guidance and be sure to
thank them for any help they provide
most mentors industry are happy and
willing to have someone eager to hear
their words and to be have someone you
willing to be coached by them and don't
be afraid of conflicting advice if
members offer different suggestions
you'll have the occasion to balance off
one idea against another and make your
own decision just like at a real company
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