<p>Hello, the engineering school I will attend in the fall offers an Engineering Leadership Certificate and I wanted to know if they are worth attaining if you have add extra classes to your workload as well as stress. Also, isn't being a leader an innate talent so can it really be taught? And another question, do you think employers will value it and do you think it would be valuable for me to attain? Because my goal is to become a leader in whatever field I enter, even though I'm not exactly sure what that means so any advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>Lydia</p>
<p>In my opinion it would be better off using the time that the program would consume to actually get involved with leadership on campus. Leadership isn’t something taught, you learn it from experience, as nice as these courses look I’d pick a resume with an org president any day over one who has a certificate in leadership, as that person actually has experience leading a group of people, while the other one learned it from a book.</p>
<p>Leadership can be taught (I’ve been a recipient as well as teacher for way too many years), but teaching has to be combined with hands on experience. </p>
<p>The best of both worlds is doing the training and becoming active on campus in a leadership role. You don’t have to be the president of a club, but you do need to have played some role in leading an effort. </p>
<p>Employers are looking for “leadership” as an indicator that a potential employee has initiative, focus and self-motivation. That you take the effort to earn the Leadership Certificate, above and beyond your degree, is a plus in the eyes of many potential employers. </p>
<p>However, you have to determine if it’s worth your time, or if your time is better spent doing something else (and I’m not talking about $1 beer night!!). </p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Thanks Gator88NE, I totally agree with what you said after I read an article on the IIE website, which stated the importance for Industrial Engineers to take leadership classes as well as be leaders in the field if they want to accomplish their goals in their organization. </p>