I EEE-USA emphasizes professional development on a regular basis. While many of our members understand the need to develop and refine their non-technical skills, there are others who haven't come to grips with how important those skills really are. I'll use this column to tell you what I've learned about this important subject over the course of my career. From where I sit, I see that engineers are faced with two conflicting realities. The first reality is the importance of our daily work to society.
Engineering is vital to making the world a safe, productive, efficient place to live.
The second reality, however, is that engineering as a profession is not held in sufficient esteem. As a result, that means that individual engineers sometimes feel they are under-appreciated. Professional development that focuses on good communications skills, sound project management, and enhanced interpersonal relationships is a nice starting point and will reap benefits for the engineers who choose to expand their repertoire of soft skills. I have noticed over the years that young engineers repeatedly encounter the same scenario. Armed with a new degree and a set of hopeful expectations, they go to work for a corporation, an engineering firm, a government agency, or enter academia to begin their careers.