Three Recommendations from the ASCE National President Randy Over on Career and Personal Development

Anthony Fasano posted 2014-03-10

The following is a summary of Session 14 of my podcast, The Engineering Career Coach (TECC) Podcast with Anthony Fasano, PE. I will summarize the main points in this post here; however, you can also listen to the show through the player below or by subscribing on iTunes. I offer a career-changing tip at the end of each podcast session.

In this session of the TECC Podcast, I interview ASCE national president Randy Over, PE, FASCE, and ask him to share some key pieces of career-management advice for engineers.

Among other points discussed in the show, Randy came up with three key strategies that he recommends all engineers implement in their careers:

1.     Create your own professional network. You cannot wait for people to help you with this. It is totally up to you to get out there and build a network that will yield opportunities for you in the future.

2.     Decide what specific field of engineering you want to focus on. Once you select a specific niche, you can really focus on developing your expertise in this specific discipline. For example, Randy has chosen the specific field of construction claims to focus on. This will be harder to do earlier on in your career, but as you progress and gain more experience, your interests will become clearer.

3.     You must sell yourself. No one is going to ask you if you want a promotion. You have to put your foot forward. If you want something, set a goal and go after it. You must distinguish yourself from someone else by working a little harder and later. I added an example of when I volunteered to attend agency meetings on my own time as a young engineer to see firsthand how experienced engineers were able to gain project approval.

Some other key points that Randy mentioned include:

  •  The importance of career planning—it allows you to visualize the future so you always stay motivated and moving toward new goals.
  • How being curious in your career as an engineer will fuel you to search for new and exciting problems to solve and opportunities to engage in.
  • How certain projects can change your career and life forever, if you seek ones that allow you to live your passion and impact the world in a big way.
  • Randy says that there is no specific line between work and your personal life when you do what you love. You should try to blend the two together in a positive way, and on the show, he gives examples of how to do so.

Please comment below and offer any pieces of career advice that you can share with other engineers based on your experiences to date.

This is a guest post by Anthony Fasano, PE, author of Engineer Your Own Success. Anthony found success as an engineer at a very early age and now writes and podcasts to help other engineers do the same. Visit Anthony’s website at EngineeringCareerCoach.com for free engineering career advice and other resources.