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Wow Sakky, you seem to know a whole lot of people in a whole lot of places. It's obvious that you've got a pretty decent network
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<p>Well, my network ain't THAT good. I don't know Bill Gates. I don't know Steve Jobs. I don't know the founders of Google. I don't know Larry Ellison, or Michael Dell, or the founders of Yahoo or MySpace, Facebook, or YouTube. But there are people out there who know some or even all of these guys. </p>
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What should those engineering students with bad networking skills have done to fix that?
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<p>You have to be socially confident and know how to communicate, something that I see is lacking in many an engineering student. In the world we live in, there is no point in knowing what the right answer is if you are unable to convince anybody that you have the right answer. </p>
<p>That's why I think that one of the best things an engineer can do is to take a public speaking class. Join Toastmasters or another similar organization that will force you to learn how to speak in public. Public speaking is one of the most valuable skills you will ever have. </p>
<p>{For the record, no I am not "pushing" Toastmasters membership. Toastmasters is a nonprofit organization so I have nothing to gain by increasing the membership. I just happen to think it's a valuable organization to join.}</p>
<p>If you determine now that you don't want to be an engineer, due to better financial prospects in other non-engineering occupations,you might re-consider whether engineering still provides the course of studies that most closely aligns with your revised ultimate plans.</p>
<p>You're going to be investing a considerable amount of time and effort over the next four years studying something, and in the case of engineering many of this work and specific knowledge is of primary utility to someone who will actually be an engineer. You don't get to do undergrad over, usually.</p>
<p>If you DO want to be an engineer, then IMO the most lucrative paths I've seen are sales, and, whatever the area, getting the right employer. Many corporate jobs subsidize salary with stock options, for key employees at least. If you latch onto a company that does well, these options can actually make you rich. On the other hand, they could come to be worth nothing if you choose employers less fortunately. </p>
<p>The wealthiest straight engineer I know took a chance and hired on to a little startup venture in California, which offered stock of course. He is retired today...</p>
<p>HE also had a PhD in a particular relevant area, which is what made him attractive to that company and worthy of getting such a deal.</p>
<p>Lots of people do well by just slogging through the straight corporate route and succeeding. They get promoted to a level where they are doing very well. But this is not fast, and only the few get there.</p>
<p>i had never heard of toastmasters before, but i looked at the website and there is a chapter at my university. do you really think it's worth joining?</p>
<p>I've considered it. If you're not a strong speaker, it'd definitely be something to give thought to, and even if you <em>are</em> a strong speaker, it can help in your presentation and speech-making skills to join and participate.</p>
<p>My uncle's an exec VP in a major consulting firm and is a member, and my hydrology prof made us all do some Toastmasters exercises when he found out how generally abysmal our presentation skills were.</p>
<p>Sales can pay insanely well. The sales reps that I deal with tend to be paid on commission, so if they are able to land that huge contract with a large company, they can make enough to retire in virtually one sale. For example, when a biotech company is putting up a new plant they often demand customize valves and filtration systems which costs them millions upon millions of dollars. If you are the sales rep for that, money probably won't be a problem for you ever again.</p>
<p>Networking (I call it mouth-flappin) is the best way to tackle this industry. I went to Michigan State (undergrad) and our rival is U-Michigan. Now U-Mich is ranked high in everything, but there is this rumor/old-saying going around that "U-Michigan has the better program and grads but MSU grads get the better jobs". Now maybe it's due to MSU's large placement services but, I will say this...</p>
<p>Whenever I have attended industry functions, I know when someone is the MSU grad. They are the ones alll loud, cracking jokes, drinking up the free bar ALL WHILE slipping their business card in your pocket. You give us a technical problem and we are not gonna give you the textbook answer, we will just say "I'll make it happen and can we talk over here in the next room about it".</p>
<p>I hate to bring a street term into a college forum...but you will have to do a little...umm...hustling in order to build that network.</p>
<p>Any firms that sell stuff that engineers have a choice to use in whatever these engineers design will have sales engineers.</p>
<p>These sales-engineer employers are the companies that make components of designed systems. In the past two weeks, I've been to presentations in my office from Centria, Simpson Strong-Tie, and UniStrut. I imagine that TONS of companies who make electronic components go out to elec design firms to hawk their wares, and TONS of companies that design motors and pumps and such that go to mech design firms to convince THEM the their pump or motor or whatever is the best one out there, etc etc etc... Thing is, these sales engineers have to have a ridiculously solid understanding of how their product works, because the design engineers are going to grill them on it. They have to know what specifications pertain to their products. They have to know what's going on with all the products that they've already put out into the real world. They have to be up on the changing technology, and, in the case of structural, at least, the ever-changing building codes as they pertain to their products. They have to have good presentation skills, too. They have to be good salespeople, and they've got to be good engineers, because their clients are engineers.</p>
<p>If they do their job well, I'm going to remember them next time I need to choose a specification for a joist anchor, or a facade system, or a structural tubing system, because you SPECIFY those component choices in your design, and if I specify their company's product, their company's going to get sales. If they do a lousy job, I'm going to make a mental note that their sales engineer has no clue what they're talking about, and I'm going to avoid that product.</p>
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i had never heard of toastmasters before, but i looked at the website and there is a chapter at my university. do you really think it's worth joining?
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<p>I don't see the harm. Membership is dirt-cheap, and provides you with a chance to build an extraordinarily valuable business skill.</p>
<p>Another way to go is to take a public speaking class at your university, if it's offered. Take it P/NP if necessary. </p>
<p>Another option that recently occurred to me is to become a campus tour guide for your school, where you will be forced to talk publicly in front of strange crowds. The (slight) drawback is that you will be basically doing the same speech over and over again, so you won't develop much 'speech variety'. But the first few times you do it, you will learn a lot. You could also be a docent for a local museum, or other nonprofit organization.</p>