Will COVID-19 Reshape the Manufacturing Workplace? It Already Has

Contributed by: Rob Fritz, CEO Tech Soft 3D The COVID-19 pandemic is transforming what work looks like and how it gets done in a variety of industries, and manufacturing is no different. Looking at the products and solutions that support manufacturing and some trends that are taking shape around them helps reveal the changes that are already taking place. Cloud solutions were already ascendant even before COVID-19 reared its ugly head, and the pandemic has only reinforced the value of anywhe...

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Five Tips for Selling Your Ideas to Senior Management

Contributed by Darr Greenhalgh, senior manager of customer solutions at MSC Industrial Supply Co. You may have the best idea in the world, but if you can’t persuade senior managers to buy into it, you’ll never have the opportunity to implement it. Over my career in supplier consulting and manufacturing, I’ve seen plenty of good ideas crash and burn in front of decision-makers. In fact, I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t happened to me a few times. At this po...

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4 Cornerstone Skills Engineers Need for the Future of Work

The job market has changed a lot in the past decade, and today it’s changing faster than ever. With the growing influence of the impending fourth industrial revolution, new disruptive technologies will continue to alter the employment landscape—especially for the engineers at the epicenter of this shift. Artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud-based and quantum computing, additive manufacturing and nanofabrication, advanced automation and robotics—these disruptive ...

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Engineering and the Gig Economy

Freelancing. Contracting. Moonlighting. Side hustle. Whatever you want to call it, if these words describe the way you work, then you’re part of the gig economy. “Gig economy” is the term for the growing labor market that centers around independent freelancers and contractors working a succession of short-term projects and tasks instead of—or in addition to—traditional full-time employment at a single company. These “gigs” have specific start and end p...

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5 Tips for Evaluating an Engineering Firm Before You Join

Are you ready to grow as an engineering professional? If you’re thinking about switching  to a new firm, you’ll want to do your research to ensure you find a strong fit for both your talents and needs. There are a number of strategies you can use to learn about a firm’s brand, and its reputation in the marketplace. No matter what stage of your career you are in, these key strategies can help you evaluate a firm before you send in your résumé. What’s...

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Are You Underqualified for Your Dream Engineering Job? Maybe Not

Everyone has a dream job, but what if you find yours and don’t quite meet the laundry list of requirements in the posting? As seasoned job hunters know, the descriptions and qualifications included in postings are really a wish list for the employer’s ideal candidate, rather than being set in stone.  So, the question becomes: if you seem underqualified, should you still apply? Am I Underqualified, or Unqualified? While it can be a fine line, there is a difference between bein...

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How Much Do Software Engineers Really Earn?

If you’re a software engineer, chances are that at some point you considered Silicon Valley for your career. Even if you aren’t considering moving there, it’s a good bet that the Valley is still the first place that comes to mind when you wonder where the best software engineering jobs are. While it’s true that Silicon Valley and the Bay Area in general offer enticing salaries—an average of $110,554 USD per year, according to Glassdoor—many engineers may not ...

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Personal Branding: Skills They Don’t Teach in Engineering School

When you first decided to become an engineer, developing a strong personal brand probably wasn’t anywhere on your to-do list. However, in today’s highly competitive world where expertise is easily showcased and sought after, personal branding has become an important pathway to success — and the engineering field is no exception. A few years ago, Hinge conducted a research study about service professionals who had mastered personal branding and were reaping the benefits. We d...

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Supporting Women in Construction, Engineering and Manufacturing

Women face severe underrepresentation in construction, engineering and manufacturing, with just an 8.9 percent share of the total U.S. construction industry alone. Only 1.3 percent of operating engineers and construction equipment operators are women, making these occupations the tenth most male-dominated in the country. The problem is that even when companies in these fields manage to attract women, they often fail to retain them over the long term. Occupational sectors (such as construc...

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Be Prepared to Ace the Technical Skills Assessment

By: Tom Goettl, vice president of George Konik Associates Congratulations! You’ve just been invited to interview for an engineering job at a company you’ve long admired and have had on your job search short-list. You’re excited about the challenging role and the possibility of collaborating with other brilliant engineers on revolutionary products.  Then, you receive the interview schedule and your heart races uncontrollably when you read the words “Technical ...

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The Lost Art of Mentoring

When I started my first full time engineering job fresh out of graduate school, I was excited and eager to jump right in to show that I could be a valuable asset to my new company.  Not only was I enthusiastic, but I had just finished up six years of engineering study – I was ready!  I had also taken several courses in finite element theory and application, which was still a relatively new technique in the early 1980s, so I was confident that I could make a difference right a...

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Debunking Myths Around Employment Background Checks

Background checks are required for most positions, especially for engineers working on high value or highly confidential projects. But does every engineer looking for a job, or company looking to hire, know everything they need to about employment background checks and how they work? Possibly not. In an effort to help rectify some of the common myths and misinformation surrounding background checks, the HR solutions company CareerBuilders recently conducted a nationwide survey on what both jo...

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Lack of Women in Tech is Hindering Industry Growth

A recent survey discusses some of the ways women who work in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields face tough barriers to their work and advancement. According to respondents to an industry-wide Women in Technology Survey conducted by international non-profit technology association ISACA, 48 percent of women said the lack of mentors in their field has dissuaded them from a career in technology, while 42 percent cited the lack of female role models as a problem. Further...

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5 Ways Writing Case Studies Helps Build Your Career

Open just about any publication related to engineering – or read a blog, or attend a conference – and it will likely contain case studies. Engineers have an abiding passion for helping their colleagues learn from their own experiences – and like many people, they enjoy showing how smart they are. The case study does that. What is a Case Study? First of all, what’s a case study? Essentially, a case study is a story – a story about a project. It describes th...

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Not Connecting with Career Opportunities? Why Your “Why” Matters

Do you dream bigger dreams for your career than you’ve been able to realize so far? Do you want to move up to a higher level, gain the opportunity to solve new problems, or maybe build your own business? You may be finding that it’s difficult to gain the attention and support of the people who are able to help you access these opportunities. This could be the person you report to in your organization, or someone with venture capital to invest, or maybe someone who could mentor you...

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What You Need to Know About Entry-Level Mechanical Engineering Jobs

Mechanical engineering is a broad field, offering jobs for mechanical engineers in almost every industry. This breadth of opportunity makes careers in mechanical engineering appealing to new engineering graduates and young professional engineers.  Some of the top industries hiring mechanical engineers today include engineering services, R&D and several sub-sectors of manufacturing. To help you determine in which industries you might want to pursue an entry level mechanical engineerin...

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