Engineering Career Strategies

Getting an Education

By Butch Shadwell

Engineering is a global competition, with the winners getting the most challenging projects to work on and the most money. If you are an engineering student, the time to join the competition is now. Every class you take provides another opportunity to move yourself a little further ahead of the pack. Getting an education isn't about pleasing your professor or meeting the minimum requirements of a degree — it's about getting everything you need to compete successfully in the global talent pool. Don’t waste these opportunities. If you don’t feel like you’re mastering each new subject at least as well as — if not better than — your peers, make sure you talk to your professor or form study groups to get the extra help you need. Finishing at the bottom of the class will have a direct effect on your earning potential.

Make things — apply what you’ve learned

Unfortunately, much of what you're taught in undergraduate classes is presented out of context. That is, it's not always clear how every new education module applies to real-world design problems. Many schools are beginning to understand that students need much more hands-on experience with wires and components, but most do not yet provide it. So, it’s up to you to get the experience you need. Hopefully, you find this subject matter so fascinating that you enjoy doing it even when it isn’t for a grade. You should be making things that actually function, all the time. The more you design, build and debug systems, the more you will integrate your education into who you are and how you perceive technical problems.

Perhaps the most difficult part of growing up is discovering that “purpose” or calling that turns you on so much that you want to be the best in the world at it. Many people don’t discover their purpose until later in life. Until you do, you should approach your chosen vocation with a dedication to excellence. People sometimes meet expectations, but they very rarely exceed them. You'll never know what you're capable of unless you set extraordinary goals for yourself. Set your personal expectations well beyond what you think is doable. Our profession doesn’t need mediocrity. If your current work doesn't bring out your personal best, then you should find something that does.

Get more physics

Throughout my career, I have worked with many great scientists and engineers, many of whom inspired me to expect more of myself. If I had to identify one characteristic they all shared, aside from their dedication to the profession, it would be a thorough working knowledge of all kinds of physics. If you want to excel as an engineer, cram as much physics into your education as possible. A clear understanding of scientific fundamentals will expand your realm of possibilities when considering potential solutions to design problems.

Take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam

Every engineering student should seriously consider becoming a registered professional engineer. Taking the FE Exam before graduating, or soon after, is the first step toward becoming licensed as a professional engineer (PE). For EEs, registration isn’t always required, but few other credentials directly reflect your personal level of technical expertise. Someday, a discipline-oriented exam will accurately reflect every engineer’s particular capabilities. For the time being, we have the FE and PE exams, so take advantage of them.

Graduate school strategies

One question I am asked at every lecture I do on career strategies is: Should I go to graduate school? The answer is as dependent on your personality as it is on your career plan. With determination, most intelligent folks can teach themselves just about anything. Ultimately, it comes down to time and dedication.

If you are interested in doing high-tech R&D that requires more sophisticated mathematics and scientific principles, grad school may be the best choice for you. And many employers will hire an entry-level person with a master’s degree at a higher salary than someone with only a BS.

On the flip side, however, some employers avoid MS applicants because of their higher price tag. And after a short time in the job market, a degree becomes less important than the ability to see a project through to its conclusion as a product in production. An undergrad who opts to enter the workforce after graduating has an opportunity to get essential on-the-job training sooner than classmates who go directly to grad school. In fact, within his first couple of years on the job, this person might prove himself worth more than an entry-level applicant with an MS.

Compelling arguments exist for continuing your education as well as for going straight to work. An undergraduate education is really just the beginning of the engineer's development. Regardless of what decision you make, by the end of your baccalaureate program you should have mastered enough math and science that you will be able to read and understand everything required to become a valuable member of a design team.

Butch Shadwell is a senior member of the IEEE. Throughout his career, he has worked with numerous technologies across a broad spectrum of fields, including applied R&D in nuclear medicine, opto-electronics, electronic warfare, robotics, industrial automation, machine vision, artificial intelligence, digital television, special sensors, and embedded microcontrollers. For the past nine years he has had a successful consulting practice developing new technologies for more than a dozen companies, as well as other technical support. He can be reached at todaysengineer@ieee.org. For more information, visit www.shadtechserv.com.

Opinions expressed are those of the author, and no endorsement by the IEEE, its officials or its members is implied.