Chris and Jeff discuss priorities and burnout, and we learn a thing or two about Chris’ future plans.
Chris isn’t sure what he’ll be doing in a month, but says it probably won’t include hosting The Engineering Commons podcast. (A collective gasp rises up from the audience!!)
Jeff quizzes Chris for a bit about his career objectives, and the role podcasting plays in advancing his personal and professional interests.
Exploring a wide variety of opportunities, and steeling himself for the possibility of massive industry changes, Chris has developed a number of online venues (in addition to this podcast), including The Amp Hour, Engineer Blogs and Chip Report TV.
Chris currently considers himself a “starter,” but not a “finisher.” Jeff thinks he’s being too hard on himself.
Apparently the human brain loses plasticity as it gets older, making it harder to forget the old information, and thus blocking the absorption of new data.
According to a recent survey from the ASME, the average male engineer earns $96,000 annually, while the average female engineer earns $77,000.
Based upon a recent search of available positions on Indeed.com, the average electrical engineering job is going for $84K. California jobs average $94K, while those in Ohio are averaging $80K.
Jeff mentions an old movie, The Seven Year Itch, in noting that it’s not unusual for individuals to grow dissatisfied with their career situation approximately 7 to 10 years after graduation.
Our episode on economic value with Professor James Trevelyan highlighted the differences between skills taught at school and those used on the job by practicing engineers.
A Money Magazine article about setting priorities appears focused on financial decisions, but has some applicability to career decisions.
Jeff recalls getting stymied by the chore of correctly assigning priorities to all the tasks he listed in his Franklin planner.
Jeff and Chris discuss options for the future of this podcast, including the possibility of finding a new co-host. Chris has posted a video about podcast creation.
There will be a three week break until the next podcast, due to some scheduling hiccups. However, Chris will still be co-hosting our next episode, which will discuss leadership.
Individuals interested in possibly taking a run at co-hosting this podcast with Jeff can send email to admin -=at=- theengineeringcommons.com.
Thanks to Elf Pvke for the photo titled “Bloomington, IN, 5/10.” Podcast theme music provided by Paul Stevenson
Chris and Jeff discuss why engineers are sometimes seen as cold, heartless bastards who refuse to be team players. Oh yeah, and how that might be linked to a lack of empathy.
A recent journal article claims that engineering students have less empathy than students in other fields of study. Chato Rasoal, Henrik Denielsson & Tomas Jungert (2012): Empathy among students in engineering programmes, European Journal of Engineering Education, 37:5, 427-435.
Our guest for this episode is Jim Heilman, who appeared previously in our episode on recruiting. He thinks that the whole empathy thing with engineers is a perception problem.
Employers don’t usually ask about empathetic skills when looking for technical personnel, although the ability to “listen” is considered important.
On the whole, women are more empathetic than men, and empathy tends to increase with age and level of education.
We also tend to more empathetic toward those that share cultural and geographical backgrounds. Thus, we may have to work at being sufficiently empathetic towards those with different values and traditions.
Jim believes employers assume all candidates to be sufficiently empathetic, even through the evidence would indicate otherwise.
Taking candidates out to lunch is a common ploy to see how potential employees treat others, especially those who are not in positions of authority.
Chris recalls a quote by Samuel Johnson, “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.”
A study out of Case Western Reserve University indicates that firing up the neuron network we use for empathy causes our analytic abilities to be suppressed. Anthony I. Jack, Abigail Dawson, Katelyn Begany, Regina L. Leckie, Kevin Barry, Angela Ciccia, Abraham Snyder. fMRI reveals reciprocal inhibition between social and physical cognitive domains. NeuroImage, 2012
Chris wonders what the biological advantage might be in this trade off between empathy and analysis.
Jim has noticed that women seem expected to show more empathy than men, especially by other women.
There seems to be a gap between the knowledge skills and characteristics that a graduate engineer is expected to hold, and what skills and characteristics these engineers actually have.
Jim feels that engineers may be getting unfairly criticized, as a lack of empathy seems widespread in a number of industries.
This episode covers a few of the various ways in which time influences the work of engineers.
Chris has been busy refactoring electronic schematics; Jeff is preparing for a mechatronics course he will be teaching.
Despite our perceptions of time being quite variable, we often talk about work we need to do, or the distances we need to travel, in terms of the quantity of time that these tasks will consume.
As Albert Einstein put it, “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT’S relativity.”
Nearly all analysis problems one faces in engineering school are unaffected by the issue of calendar time. On the other hand, many real-world engineering activities are heavily dependent on meeting time deadlines.
One method for judging the temperature dependence of reaction rates is the Arrhenius Equation.
Accurate time estimation is important for project management.
Chris likes the concepts of Agile Management. One of these involves predicting one’s progress for the next two weeks.
Team cohesiveness is always important for acquiring honest assessments of a project’s status and future timeline.
Seasonal issues play a big role in the areas of maintenance and purchasing. Far reaching events, from Chinese New Year to Speedweeks, can influence engineering schedules.
Time is money. Need we say more? However, the conversion rate between these two assets can vary widely.
Some ways to get things done more quickly:
Make social connections, both inside and outside of your employer’s organization.
Plan ahead, even when it’s inconvenient or uncomfortable to do so.
Pay the price, when you’ve got the budget and you’ve run out of other options.
Ask for help… EARLY!
Broadcast progress on a regular basis.
Manage expectations.
Time can’t be managed; its passage cannot be accelerated or slowed. We can only control where our attention is focused.
Some projects just won’t go away, not matter how much you wish they would fade into oblivion.
Chris is anxiously awaiting delivery of his new CNC equipment. More about this in the next episode!
Thanks to Matthew Kirkland for the clock photo, taken at the Old Town Hall in Prague. Podcast theme music provided by Paul Stevenson
Chris and Jeff discuss priorities and burnout, and we learn a thing or two about Chris’ future plans.
