Problems with engineering

摘要

I spoke to a young engineer recently. He was confident, proud and effusive; ebullient in fact. There's nothing wrong with that. He told me he hasn't used much of his electrical engineering degree and doesn't look like doing so anytime soon, all of which means it's probably too late. His career and remuneration have advanced too far to unscramble the egg, and others are ferociously nipping at his heels from the graduate ranks. To return to technical, he'd have to sacrifice salary and status. The "use it or lose it" maxim applies particularly to engineers. In the time he's been fluffing about doing 'strategy" work, his competition has passed him on the inside lane. Although he continues to impress his peers and employer, it's not through his mastery of engineering but simply by application of a curious, rigorous and disciplined mind. Talk to him and he didn't learn these during his degree. Rather, they were the genetic traits he inherited from his mother and father and honed in high school. At university he learned principles to unlock limitless possibilities of the physical world, which he hasn't to date.