Here is the full text from Michael L. Bussler’s
“Vantage Point”
article which appeared in the September 14, 1995, issue of
Machine Design Magazine.
Avoiding the Scrap
Heap
Although there will always be
a need for engineers, there will soon be fewer of us.
Computer Automation is getting set
to do to the engineering profession what the industrial
revolution did to farming and agriculture. Just as machinery
replaced workers on the farm, software is replacing engineers.
And the onslaught of technology has only just begun to reduce the
number of engineering jobs available. Although there will be a
need of engineers, there will soon be fewer of us.
For those interested in staying in
the profession, keeping current with new technologies is more
important than ever. Here are some observations I’ve made and
tips that could help:
Luddities
still exist.
Don’t let disparaging remarks or back stabbing from
other engineers stop you from developing new hardware and
software tools. They’re probably afraid your work might
take their jobs away, just like Luddities in England at
the turn of the 19th century feared what the
industrial revolution doing to their jobs as farmers and
artisans. Hoards of Luddities haunted the English
countryside, making sneak attacks on factories with brick
and sticks. The sneak attacks today come from in-house
engineers who oppose new technology for only one reason:
They know that if it works, they’ll no longer be
needed.
Engineers
need people skills. We often talk about how the information
revolution is forcing liberal arts and business majors to
come to terms with technology, but it is having an
analogous effect on engineers. They must become as
comfortable working with people as they are with
technology. With design now becoming more of push-button
process, providing service to the customer [whether
outside or inside the company] becomes more important,
and that takes people skills. Today, it’s even more
important than ever to understand and fill the needs of
your customers.
Align
yourself with company goals. The reason new technologies are
accepted is because the enable the company to reach its
goal more effectively or save money. If, as an engineer,
you subvert acceptance of a technology out of fear of
losing your job, only one of two things can happen.
Either the technology will succeed anyway and you will be
left out in the cold, or another company will implement
the technology, gain a competitive edge, and your company
will lose business. Either away, you stand to lose your
job. If, on the other hand, you try to understand the
business objectives of your company and meet them with
improved technologies, you will make your company
stronger and improve job security.
Understand
your corporate culture. During my first days on the job designing
heat exchangers, I got the feeling the task was going to
be difficult and involve a lot of repetitive calculation.
I already knew from Computer Science 201 [Carnegie-Mellon
University, 1969] that this work could be automated. But
before I rushed to computerize the task, I spent time
learning the intricacies of heat exchangers design, the
company and the industry. Eventually, I created software
that automated the design process and saved the company
time and money. Had I made my move before understanding
the business and establishing myself in the company, I
would have gone down in flames.
Companies will always need
engineers, but they won’t need as many. Those remaining will be
high-level professionals who understand engineering as well as
company objectives. They will have the people skills to translate
engineering theory into customer needs, then go about filling
those needs. Finally, they will lead their companies in pursuit
of every new technology that can help it to improve business,
especially technology that threaten their own jobs. All you… (one
sentence is missing).
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