Engineering is much more than just solving equations and designing; it’s about collaboration, communication, and problem-solving within a professional context.

As young engineers enter the workforce, they quickly realize that success hinges not only on technical proficiency, but also on their ability to navigate complex interpersonal dynamics and effectively communicate their ideas.

While mastering the intricacies of engineering principles is undoubtedly crucial, developing professional skills early and deliberately can make all the difference in your career trajectory.

In this post, we’ll delve into why it’s essential for young engineers to prioritize the cultivation of professional skills from the outset.

 

Understanding the Skills Marketplace

Maybe at some point you’ve wondered why is it that someone can work so hard and so many hours, but not make as much money as someone else who works less.

Why are some people so much more successful than others?

If you’re just starting out in your career, you may not realize that the working world functions as a competitive skills marketplace.

“We’re all equal as souls, but we’re not equal in the marketplace.” – Jim Rohn

This means that the more skilled you become, the more valuable you are. The more valuable you are, the more money you can ask for, and the more freedom, flexibility, and opportunity you’ll have.

This is the reason that jobs at McDonalds don’t pay very much, because they don’t take much skill to do.

This is also why a pilot or a brain surgeon makes a lot of money, because their skillset is much more valuable, rare, and hard to master.

You need to start viewing yourself and your skillset more like your own business or brand.  Start building and mastering the professional skills that can propel you forward.

 

Skills are Like Stocks, Invest in Yourself

The famous investor Warren Buffet preaches that the best way to protect yourself against a bad economy or inflation is to invest in yourself and your skills.

Skills are like stocks. They can take a long time to build up over time, but once you gain momentum, things become easier and you begin to master your skills.

As competency with your skills increases, they become more effective and impactful, paying huge dividends exponentially as you progress later and later into your career.

Mastery is achieved through repetition: wax on, wax off.

Practice discipline. Do what’s hard and invest in yourself and your abilities now to give yourself a huge advantage later.

 

Awareness is the First Step in Development

When developing any kind of skill, technique, or talent, awareness is HUGE.

It’s the passageway into competency.

Take a look at this site describing the four states of competency.

Once you’re aware of what a skill actually consists of, your ability within that skill surprisingly drops.

This is because you now realize how much work you need to do to get good at it.

I’m sure you’ve experienced this already, where you think you knew what you were doing until you watched a professional, and then realized you had no idea what you were doing before.

Blindly stumbling through personal development is like going through a maze on the ground without seeing it from an aerial perspective.

Yes, some may develop skills unknowingly, or unconsciously, but it will never be as efficient or as strong as developing skills deliberately.

Once you deliberately start practicing and developing a skill, it goes up exponentially.

Here’s a great resource to begin with “deliberate practice.”

So don’t be a person that likes to “fake it” and stumble through your career, you may never actually know what skills you’re developing.

Remember, awareness is the first step with any skill, or really any anything that you want to master in life.

 

You Have the Time NOW

It was impossible for me to see at the time, but when I first started out in my career, I had tons of free time to work on side projects and/or personal development.

I just chose to spend it in other ways and now wish I hadn’t.

Now, as a husband and father, my free time is extremely limited and I have less options due to risk.

My family and I depend on my income and benefits, so there’s not really an opportunity to quit my job or drop back to pursue another passion.

I feel pretty “fixed” into my situation.

When I get off work, my family eagerly awaits my presence, which is something that I enjoy immensely and don’t want to put off to work on something.

When you’re young, you have much more time than you think, so start working on yourself NOW!

Inevitably, life will happen to you later on with family, kids, or other obligations, potentially fixing you into an income, job, or a situation.

Optimize your time while you’re young!

In addition, you’ll begin to hone your time management skills, which is one of my top ten best professional skills to develop.

Staying on top of where you spend your time will prepare you for if/when you do have a family and need to carefully manage your free time.

 

Work Becomes Easier and More Enjoyable

Learning and developing the appropriate professional skills and practices will naturally make your job easier and more rewarding as a result.

Easier, more rewarding work means less burnout and creates positive emotions, increases job satisfaction and purpose.

As a result, you’ll generate an appetite to learn more and level up quicker.

As your skillset becomes more potent and impactful, you’ll naturally produce higher quality work, leading to more confidence and recognition.

Productivity, work ethic, and the ability to handle more work with less effort will increase.

You’ll make less mistakes in your work, waste less time, and get promoted quicker.

A highly developed skillset is what bosses and the “working marketplace” want and strive for, so you’ll be further putting yourself ahead of the curve.

 

Conclusion

Adapting to the professional working world for a young engineer can be an overwhelming experience. Engineers quickly discover that it’s not just about mastering technical equations or design principles; it’s about understanding the intricate dynamics of the skills marketplace and investing in oneself wisely. As highlighted in this post, developing professional skills early and deliberately is the cornerstone of building a successful career trajectory.

In summary, we reviewed the following reasons why you must develop professional skills early and deliberately:

• The workplace is a “skills marketplace”
• Skills are like stocks, Invest in yourself
• Awareness is the first step in development
• You have the time NOW
• Work becomes easier and more enjoyable

By understanding these principles, you can put yourself far ahead of everyone else who doesn’t have any idea on what to work on, blindly stumbling through beginning their career.