The goal of National Engineers Week is to increase the understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers, ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce. We asked some of our engineers about the skills that help an engineer be successful, the best career advice they’ve ever received and what type of person is successful in an engineering role.
A senior engineer with Weasler Engineering, Lee Wangberg talked about the best career advice he ever received. “Don’t separate success and failure into two categories,” he said. “You can pressure yourself too much by thinking you have to only succeed. It is okay to fail. Every time you succeed, there are many failures that came before that success. Those failures are the tools that move you toward more success in the future.”
Wangberg believes the key to an engineer’s success is effective communication. “Every project begins and ends with human interaction, so you must be able to understand your audience and communicate with them in a manner that they can understand and relate to,” he said. “Critical thinking and problem solving skills are also essential. As an engineer, you must be able to identify, analyze and solve different problems in various situations. This is where your technical knowledge, along with all previous project experience, including successful and not so successful results, will come in as guidance towards a solution.”
Wangberg offered advice for individuals considering a career in engineering. “Being an engineer is great for someone who likes to solve problems, because in that process you never stop learning,” he said. “Every day it seems like I come to work and learn something new that I didn’t know the day before. I enjoy the ability to grow my mental “toolbox” and explore innovative and creative solutions to different problems.”
