Mechanical engineer Michelle Tan MIEAust CPEng shares tips for advancing your engineering career, such as the importance of planning and embracing the hustle.
If you’re a mid-career engineer, you’ve likely reached a level of proficiency in your field, after 10 to 20 years, where you are able to confidently lead others and troubleshoot most technical and management challenges.
These are good skills that can help you take your next step in your career. This could be moving into senior management or starting up your own business, or perhaps you want to opt for a different career path but aren’t sure how to do so or what to focus on.
This article provides insights for those wanting to progress into senior management, however much of it can also be applied to employees at other levels.
Career survival
In most organisations, the number of possible roles reduces as you move up the ranks. I describe it as a game of Survivor – you need to outwit, outplay and outlast.
Some make this transition easily, while some others don’t. Why is that the case – is it luck or hard work? The likely reality is both. But hard work goes beyond actually delivering good project outcomes.
As a senior manager once said to me, “I know people think so-and-so is just a good salesman, but they must be hiding something”. Upon hearing this, I rolled my eyes internally and agreed that the person was good at over-promising, taking the glory and leaving the job as a hero just before the cracks start to show.
Yet upon reflection, I think there’s some truth in knowing how to manage upwards and know how to sell yourself. Like all skills this takes practice, and it leads to the next piece of advice: know yourself and know your stakeholders.
You could be that person with a “sell, sell, sell” mindset, but you have to ask yourself – is that the type of leader you want to be? Probably not if you’re reading this article, and imagine how much more you could achieve for yourself and for others if you continued to invest in your technical and leadership skills.
Knowing what sort of leader you are and who you aspire to be will not only help you clearly articulate your strengths (i.e. selling points) to senior management, but also let you know the type of organisation of which you could be a part – or to create, if you’re keen to start your own business – in the future.
Use your mid-career to get to know senior management and ask for opportunities with more responsibility. If they think you’re worth something, they’ll give you the time and help make things happen. This likely won’t happen overnight though, and you need to be persistent because senior managers can be very busy – but getting the opportunity to make them aware of your aspirations will help you progress.
Planning is progress
Next, take the time to make a plan and a backup plan. It’s debatable whether things get more or less unpredictable as you progress through your career, so this is advice that applies at all stages.
Plans don’t always go the way you think and you may experience setbacks, and so knowing you have other options is key to making sure you keep moving with confidence.
Be strategic with clear objectives for what you want to achieve in the next three to five years, and how this fits in with everything else in your life. Be open-minded, and trust me – you’ll start to feel excited about your prospects.
Finally, take comfort in knowing that you’re not the only person to reach the midpoint in their career. Surround yourself with a variety of people and continue to network, making the effort to meet new people and reconnect with those from the past who will give you perspective and potentially help you identify pathways to progressing your career.
Remember: you are an engineer with valuable experience.
Michelle Tan MIEAust CPEng is an Engineers Australia College of Leadership and Management Board Member, and the Railway Technical Society of Australasia National Deputy Chair.
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