I started my engineering career early in the 70s when I was 22 years old. I progressed through various stages and around the age of 40 I had a senior managerial role. At the age of 46  I decided to do an MBA in order to enhance my management skills. I wish somebody could advise me when I was at my 30s to do that MBA.


​An MBA is a good top up of engineering qualifications and almost in all cases help engineers either to progress at higher ranks as well as to  change career in other areas. Mathematical thinking and management skills can lead to very successful career at all levels.


Savvas

Thanks Savvas, an interesting insight into a successful career.


I am hoping to get a few more tips from other members to help with this topic also.

Thomas,


​An MBA is covering many areas like, leadership, management,economics,human resources etc. Courses that you covered in your PhD can be very well used for securing credits and possible exceptions on subjects that you covered already. Make sure that you keep records of what you covered already. You can also use those credits on your CPD requirement of minimum 30 hours every year.


​Savvas

When I was studying for my first degree a lot of us used to sit around and discuss ideas relating to 'hi-fi' and audio engineering. At the time I suspect we all thought that these were just ideas and 'what did we know?', we were 'just' students anyway. I do remember my (mechanical) engineer father making comments about the young being innovative and having freedom of action, but then he was a parent and who listens to them?


After graduating and getting a job in non-audio engineering I realised that my father was right. My soul and potential patent rights had been 'sold' to an international company in exchange for a salary and the ideas that we had dismissed as students became mainstream in the coming decades. Not only that, the engineers that I worked with were, with few exceptions, competent but not much more, or at any rate kept their genius hidden, (sale of souls?).


I wish I had had the confidence to believe in myself at a young age. I suspect that for many of us that comes, if we are lucky, from the chance of being born to the 'right' parent or working with a good mentor. (Many 'self-made people' are the children of business owners). By the time we learn to be self-confident we are often tied in by other commitments.


If only I was young again! The virtually free cost of developing ideas in software versus protyping with expensive hardware, seemingly infinite data sources on-line, lots of people willing to help for free, Ebay etc. etc. The costs of failing for the young are now minimal. Go for it! Even if you fail I bet the 'corporates' will pay more for your 'soul' than if you didn't try.


My advice then is 'believe in youself'.

Thanks to everyone that has responded to this post so far, I hope that we may get a couple more contributions and then I will be writing these up into a blog post (assuming nobody minds be using their responses).


Reflecting on this post, I think my one piece of advice would be around the value of apprenticeships and work experience when I was starting out in my career.  I was guided down the more academic route toward University, but think I would have preferred a more practical education.

Firstly, to back up Richard and James: Advice I was given and worked really well was to go for an undergraduate apprenticeship, which in my case was also followed after my degree with another job at the BBC where I got excellent hands-on and theoretical training. A mix of practical and theoretical experience is invaluable.


What I wish I'd know was that very few engineers need advanced matths skills - by advanced I mean second order differential equation level. At uni I was, like James, fascinated by audio electronics, but because of my (relatively) poor maths skills concentrated on digital rather than analogue electronics (this was the 1970s/80s when digital audio was almost non-existant). I then spent the next 11 years working in analogue audio equipment design, in fact most top selling recordings of the late 80s / early to mid 90s were recorded through equipment I designed! What I had learnt from a couple of fantastic industry mentors was that innovative engineering design is about often about arranging the right parts in the right order - the maths then helps optimise it.


The other thing I wish I'd realised, and a point I emphasisie more strongly than any other when I talk to schools about careers in engineering. is that engineering is a team game. No one person has all the skills you need for truly great designs, you need a mix - not just of technical abilities but also of personalities. The best teams have both ideas people and "slog through until we get to the end" types.

The advice provided here is well founded. Some fledgling engineers will not have yet developed the necessary drive, determination or courage to achieve CEng status.  If I remember correctly ,at 16 years of age the route to CEng looked almost an impossible task. So start with a funded apprenticeship which has the ability to allow you to obtain qualifications or at least pay enough to fund them yourself.  An apprenticeship will develop the necessary skills and techniques that will help you gain confidence and understanding. The work is varied and sometimes dull, but this is the test to see how you cope with a variety of work situations. Through this approach, you will gain confidence, knowledge and experience which is unparalled. Even if you decide that engineering is not for you, you will have learned some life skills that will bring about positive changes in your life and will be applicable to all workplaces.  Always set yourself a long term goal and continue to aim for it, do not listen to people who tell you that you cannot achieve what you want. Be relentless.


I hope that helps


Gareth Wood P.Eng CEng 

Get a bachelors degree in engineering. Anything less will result in frustration. I am an Incorporated Engineer but having a CGLI does not get my name past the computer CV/resume sorter on online job applications.

I kind of wish I'd taken a year (or more) off study between high school and university, and worked for a bit. I think I would have been a better student for it (I would have known what I was giving up financially to be there, and would also have had extra motivation in terms of wanting a better job). 


I also wish I'd started volunteering earlier - I've learnt a lot from giving time and effort to the IET.  In fact, it is essentially because of volunteering for IET that I am now self-employed, which I love!