Are Engineers People?

When you think about rising in your profession, about getting ahead that is, when you think about doing better engineering work, designing more fluently, selling more effectively, managing more productively where do you start?

Although there is only one correct answer that you can give to this question, let's look at a few other possibilities first. I think that the majority of young engineers would say something like this: "Well, I'd see if I couldn't get some more training in machine design. That's what I'm doing now." Nine out of ten electrical engineers would say, "When I was in school we had some transistor courses, but we didn't go far enough. You know that field is changing fast. What I need is a course on the fundamentals of solid state. I'm going back to school for some more physics." That's the kind of answer I gave too, shortly after getting out of engineering school. Others will surely say, "Everything is going onto computers these days. You can't get ahead unless you understand more about them." Also, it's becoming popular now to give this kind of answer: "Technical training isn't much good unless you can apply it in business situations. I'm going to work nights on a master's in business administration."

What's wrong with these answers? Nothing, really, as far as they go. In fact, they show real alertness to the problem of our rapidly changing and expanding technological base. Most engineers that I know today are keenly aware of...