New Blog-site Launch - Starting up an Engine[er]

http://startingupanengineer.com/

Be Careful of What You Wish for...

....in your Engineering Career.

This a guest blog post by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Anthony is a civil engineer, engineering career coach, best-selling author and founder of Powerful Purpose Associates.

Anthony is giving away a special webinar for Starting up an Engine[er] readers on his Powerful Purpose Associates website. Read until the end of the post to find out how to get it.

So without further ado, please take it away Anthony!

Engine[er]

For my entire life, I have always wanted a pet Siberian Husky yet to this day I still don’t have one. Why you might ask? Because every time the thought of getting one creeps into my head, I immediately consider all of the consequences and responsibilities that will come along with the dog. These consequences and responsibilities would not allow me to achieve my career and personal goals which include traveling and therefore I pass on getting a dog – every time.

Now let me give you an analogous example of a situation as it relates to your engineering career development. You’re a hard-working engineer struggling to achieve work-family balance in your life because of the amount of work responsibilities you have and hours you work in a week.

However, the reason you are working so many hours is because you desperately want to become a partner in your engineering firm. Why?

So that you can make more money and possibly work on some more interesting projects, and of course work more hours! Do you see the problem here? You are working so hard to achieve something that is going to put you further away from the balance you want to have in your life. The reason engineers do this is because they have no measuring stick or system in place to tell them whether or not a decision they are making or a position they are pursuing is right for them. That measuring stick or that system is very simply your CAREER GOALS.

Your career goals act as destinations for where you are headed in both your engineering career and your life overall, giving you a target to move towards. I always like to use the following analogy to describe this idea best. Let’s say you get into your car to drive to a project site that you have never been before; you need one critical piece of information to get there – the address!

Without the address you’d be driving in circles for a long-time, however with the address you can easily use your GPS or google maps to quickly find the best route to your destination. Think of your career goals as these addresses. To take this analogy one step further, when you come to intersections in the road, the decision whether to turn right or left is much easier when you know where you are going. These intersections represent decisions that you have to make in your career every day. Questions like: should I get an engineering master’s degree or an MBA, should I work for a smaller engineering company or large one, etc. When you have clear career goals, you will be able to confidently answer these questions because you will know which route will lead to your goals the fastest.

Your goals should act as a foundation for every single decision you make in your engineering career and life. Engineers of all experience levels should have clearly defined career goals and should revisit their goals a few times per year.

So how do you set clearly defined goals?

You must start with a brainstorming process where you list your values, including everything that is important to you in your career and life. Once
you have done this, you should go through a series of questions that will include where you want to be in your engineering career, WHY you want to be there, and of course - how do I get there? This is an in-depth process and too much for me to cover in this post, which is why I am going to give all Starting up an Engine[er] readers a free copy of a webinar I recently gave for my Institute for Engineering Career Development that details the entire goal setting process including detailed steps and examples. Please watch this webinar in its entirety as it could change your engineering career and life forever!

My goal is to travel around the world and help engineers develop their careers, which is why I am not quite ready yet to get my Siberian Husky. My goals make it easy to remember this every time I get the doggy urge. I ask you to please consider setting your career goals today so that you don’t end up chasing something in your career that brings you more hours of work, more responsibility, maybe even more money, yet it doesn’t bring you any closer to your true goals.

As mentioned above Anthony Fasano P.E., is giving away a copy of his previously recorded webinar entitled Goal Setting for Engineers: Setting Yourself Up for Continued Success in Your Engineering Career just for Starting up an Engine[er] readers which provides a step-by-step process and examples for setting clear career goals. Get it at PowerfulPurpose.com. The steps in this webinar will help you to ensure that you set goals that are in alignment with your true desires to help you create an exciting and extraordinary engineering career.

An Englishman's Home is his Castle - Planning Relaxation

A relaxation on planning laws is just around the corner; but what do they mean to us?

Well, David Cameron is going to announce that local planning laws are going to go through a year long holiday. That's nice. What's a holiday then? #selfemployed

The fall out of this announcement was splattered all over the Internet yesterday, and many of the comments were generally negative ones. As expected.

"all well and good if you have got the money to extend..", "looking forward to a year of shanty towns being built in people's back gardens"...etc.

So what does this 'relaxation' entail?

We are not ready to Reddit

Engineering blogs are pretty boring aren't they?

They are numerous, and they tell us an awful lot about what is currently going on, in and around the engineering world. They frequently drag up the past and regurgitate history in yet another's view point. Bloggers spend time replicating each others posts [unintentionally I'm sure] and grabbing more visitors.

But to what end?

Keenly analysing my blog viewing figures, I quickly realised that you guys a gals needed tidbits of engineering whimsy or inspiration from time to time. To tell you the truth; I don't blame you, I'm with you 100%.

Why you need to be a Mentor

Off the back of last weeks post, which we spoke about the importance that graduates and students alike, seek out the right mentor[s] to help speed up the process of learning - Starting up an Engine[er] will use this weeks post to appeal to our potential engineering mentors.

That's you. 
Me. 
That's all of us. 

For as long as I have been an engineer, or the very least been what I call a 'sentient engineer' and therefore able to form my own opinions on why engineers...well, engineer - I have thought about what it is that we 'sell' to the public.

Blog Talk Radio Interview - Social Media and Engineers

"Ivor talks to Glen Cooper - structural engineer - Avatar Engineering - 1 year old & using social media!
Glen shares his why & how he uses social media."

Listen to internet radio with LinkedLocalNetwork on Blog Talk Radio

Engine[er]

Why you need a Mentor

Engineering like almost any professional career out there, survives due to a vast amount of educational resource which enables all us engineers to down load our knowledge into our students and apprentices skulls. It helps us all to fulfil our most important responsibility. Legacy.

10 Clever uses for a Structural Engineer

What?! You don't need a bridge or olympic stadium built in your back garden? Free your mind man!

Do not worry though, there are a multitude of 'other' uses for engineers; apart from construction that is. Here is a list of 10 of them:

1. The A-Team. If you've got a problem, and you can find them, then maybe you can hire - an engineer.

Engineering Graduates - Please Wait Here. No Crossing.

We thought that we might inspire a few engineering graduates this week with a story. [sod this, we want to inspire ALL GRADUATES!].

FIRSTLY HERE COMES THE DOWNER [apologies]: It's tough out there, in the job market place; even for the guys and girls who have great degrees from fantastic universities. Even for the lucky few who have managed to find super networking opportunities. 

The reality check is

Engineering Price Wars - The Cost of a Competitive Behaviour

One industry where Price Wars are prolific is of course the aviation and airline industry. There are historic conflicts which come and go for no one particular reason apart from for business sake. Virgin was driven almost to the brink and beyond during the 90's when British Airways went to war with Richard Branson's new airline start-up, Virgin Atlantic. Since then there have been many more spats, and a noteworthy one was again between BA and Virgin in 2009, which benefited no one, apart from their passengers.

Price wars are defined by a vicious reduction in prices in order to secure more business than their competitors.

So, an unsustainable price war is waged for a short period of time, for the purposes of enticing new customers, or ruining your competitors business altogether.

I think we all understand this. Or do we?

Turbo boost your CV: Start your own business

Just recently I calculated my hourly pay based upon the total time that I spend on and in my business [on average 60hrs per week - I'm working now you know!]. This rate includes the little extra that I earn from employing a few sub-consultants on my projects too.

I won't give the exact total but after expenses my salary amounts to a little under an engineering graduate +2/3 years of experience.

It doesn't sound a lot; and that's because it isn't.

Yeah but, no but, yeah but...

An incredibly fascinating topic for engineers is the 'what if' scenarios which add fuel to our design musings.

In the relative safety of our offices, we are capable of envisaging the problems that may arise from the design decisions we make. As we grow and experience more project time

Finger Art by Engineers & Architects II

Cathedral and Abbey Church - St Albans, UK

Kingsgate Bridge - Durham, UK

The Ironbridge - Shropshire, UK

  

The Millau Viaduct - Millau-Creissels, France

Our second lot of #doodleengineer entries. It's all a bit of fun, so please keep them coming in! Only 11 days left!!

Previous Posts: Doodle Engineering Competition, Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle

Engine[er]

Finger Art by Engineers & Architects I

Nelsons Column - London, UK

Grand Central Station - NY, NY

The Shard - London, UK

Sydney Opera House - Sydney, Australia

Texas State Capitol Dome - Texas, USA

The Hacienda - Manchester, UK

Our first lot of #doodleengineer entries. It's all a bit of fun, so please keep them coming in!

Previous Posts: Doodle Engineering Competition, Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle

Engine[er]

To Engineer is Human [Henry Petroski]

"...a failed structure provides a counterexample to a hypothesis and shows us incontrovertibly what cannot be done, while a structure that stands without incident often conceals whatever lessons or caveats it might hold for the next generation of engineers." Henry Petroski. Professor of Civil Engineering and History.

25 Years ago, the BBC in partnership with Henry Petroski released an hour long engaging documentary on engineering and engineers.

Engineering 60sec Pitch III - Thinking Laterally

Here you will find more networking ideas for an engineering business elevator pitch.

"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." ~Victor Borge

Good morning my name is [insert name], I’m a structural engineer and we are [insert company name].

I thought that we all needed a bit of cheering up this morning. So here is a joke.

Ye Olde Networking [Social & Business]

Being a business owner or perhaps the person who has been made responsible for business development, then you would have probably come across the word, ‘networking’. You can’t help but think of carpeted conference suites and buffet breakfasts when you mention it… but today I have something slightly different for you. 

The High Road has it's own special type of obstacles

In life as it is in business, very often the well trodden path is the route to success for the majority of us.

Obstacles in the way of progress have already been identified and our journey accurately mapped out. 

We all experience life's challenges differently

Wiggle wiggle wiggle

It's a reminder!!

A week has passed, and so far we have received 7 #doodleengineer sketches. Fabulous. See last post here

Today we decided to #fingerartist you up an reminder of how easy it is to enter...
























Of course you can simply search up your favourite structure or building on the Internet and sketch it directly into your tablet or smart phone for us. Beats travelling.

Watch out for our weekend post.


Engine[er]

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:St Stephen's Hill,St Albans,United Kingdom

Doodle Engineering [Competition]

• Are you interested in architecture, engineering and structures?

• Are you an engineering or architectural finger artist? Or fancy yourself as one.

• Do you have a smart phone? Or do you know someone with one who will let you borrow it for 5 minutes?

If you answered yes to all the above, then we have a FREE competition which we would love you to enter. In line with the re-launch of this blog in 4 weeks time [August 1st], we also are running a small 'engineering doodle competition'.

All we ask of you is to download a sketch/doodle app onto your smart phone [we use this one - it's free] or borrow a friends smart phone.

Then sketch for everybody, your favourite building, skyscraper, bridge, iconic structure [name it if you feel it is necessary to help us to recognise it] and send it into Starting up an Engine[er] as a jpeg file. Please include your name, and the general field of employment that you are in [for example Structural Engineer/Bridge Engineer] so we can give you the recognition that you deserve!

You can also send in your doodles out to @AvatarEngineers by attaching the Twitter hash-tag #doodleengineer to your works of art. Or even submit them onto our Facebook site.

My favourite. Stunning lines.

We will publish and retweet the photos as they come in, and the most loved 3 sketches, as determined by us and by reading your comments and RT's, will be asked to write a small bit of text about the structure depicted by you. Then we will showcase the sketches and any information which you are happy to divulge about yourself [bit of free PR and marketing]. There will also be a small gift as a reward - more about this later. 

The deadline for getting in your sketches is Tuesday 31st July. Good luck and please spread the word!


A reminder can be found here

Engine[er]

7 things that Good Engineers DON'T do

1. Stop asking questions or looking for help. We can't possibly know it all, nor can we have solutions to every single problem a contractor may throw at us. Therefore the opinions of other experienced engineers [and graduates] will be a constant source of new ideas and confidence for us all.
2. Cannot admit when they are wrong. Much like the previous point, as we mature and gain experienced, some of us will find it very difficult to accept another persons point of view, or design opinions. Even if it is more suitable than our own. Admitting we are wrong can be very humbling, and it helps us build a more trusting relationship with those who seek to help us.

England Vs Italy [engineeering]

England's journey in the euro's has once again come to an abrupt end. Well we atleast can get back to our lives and not get caught up with false hopes.
As a pre-match analysis we decided to pit the English against the Italians in an engineering competition [with a civil/structural bias].

Here's what we come up with:

The England Squad [4-4-2]
1. Charles Babbage [Goal Keeper]
2. James Brindley [Right Back]
3. Sir James Dyson [Central Defender]
4. Sir Thomas Bouch [Central Defender]
5. Chris Wise [Left Back]
6. Robert Stephenson [Right Midfield]
7. Sir Henry Royce [Central Midfield]
8. Isambard Kingdon Brunel [Central Midfield] Captain
9. Paul Westbury [Left Midfielder]
10. Sir Sydney Camm [Striker]
11. Sir Benjamin Baker [Striker]
Manager - Sir Isaac Newton

The Italian Squad [4-3-1-2]
1. Luigi Bezzara [Goal Keeper]
2. Giovanni Battista Caproni [Right Back]
3. Juanelo Turriano [Central Defender]
4. Antonio Meucci [Central Defender]
5. Enrico Forlanini [Left Back]
6. Piero Puricelli [Right Midfield]
7. Guilio Ceretti [Central Midfield]
8. Leonardo da Vinci [Attacking Midfielder] Captain
9. Secondo Campini [Left Midfielder]
10. Giovanni da Fontana [Striker]
11. Aldo Costa [Striker]
Player Manager - Leonardo da Vinci


Match Predictions
Both teams have a great strength and depth to them. The English team includes the highly talented mechanical engineer Babbage in goal. Babbage was considered one of the fathers of modern day computer. His unwavering concentration and steadfast principles are what make him the perfect choice to be England's final defender.

England's back 4 are made up from the civil and canal engineering power house Brindley [responsible for designing and building the Bridgewater Canal], and Bouch [a civil engineer who's reputation brought to him a great many innovative bridging contracts - who also unfortunately was made infamous for being the engineer who designed the Tay Bridge which collapsed in 1879. Every English team needs an unpredictable defender ;)]. The final central defender Dyson has been selected to hoover up all the loose balls [sorry for the pun] and a natural leader for the back 4. Finally the left back position is a new addition to the squad - Wise, a co-founder of Expedition Engineering. Wise was selected for his experience combined with a spirited attacking tenacity. He also partners very well with our first midfielder - and gold medal winning new boy on the block, Westbury. Westbury is another recent addition and worked his way through the youth squad to be here in this vital game. The left side could be left open and exposed by a heavy Italian attack. Together though, both Westbury and Wise are a potent and youthful attacking force.

In central midfield we find 2 giants of engineering. Royce the 'midfield engine' needs no further introduction, and combined with our tenacious and formidable captain, Brunel - they pair up as one of the most feared and hard working midfield's in the Euro2012 Tournament.

On the wide right and responsible for maintaining an active supply to the strikers we have Stephenson. His ability to 'rocket' up and down the line distributing the ball is powerful.

Finally the sharp shooting duo of Camm and Baker. Camm an aeronautical engineer has a history of delivering just when England needs it. During the Second World War, Camm designed and built the RAF's Hawker Typhoon  [goal!] , Hawker Tempest [goal!] and the Hawker Hurricane [GOOOOAAAAL!]. The well respected Baker also has goals in him. He was responsible for the creative bridge engineering solution - the Forth Bridge. Probably one of the most important civil engineering goals in history.

Managing the team is the 'Father of Modern Physics' - Newton. He is not a proper engineer [he is a scientist and mathematician - which makes him a brilliant tactician], but without Newtons inspired contributions to the worldwide discipline of engineering, then our lives could have been a lot more complicated. So we have him on our side.

All in all the English have a solid squad of engineers which are all capable of being creative, working as an effective team and have incredibly important skill sets in engineering.

The Italian squad are a different proposition all together. Many of them are mechanical engineers who have track records in building war machines and transporters. Creativity is rife within this squad, and they probably represent one of the most innovative and lateral thinking groups of engineers in the Euros.

In their midst the Italians have the 'Father of Modern Motorways' and designer of the German Autobahn - Puricelli, the inventor of the helicopter - Forlanini, and one of the pioneers of the worlds first jet engine - Campini.

Heading up the Italian squad are 3 of the fastest, deadliest and most creative attacking engineers in history. Firstly the English defence have to deal with Costa, a mechanical engineer and famously the head of the Ferrari Formula One racing team. If they can survive Costa, then what comes next is the designer and inventor of the first mechanical torpedo - built and ustilised in the 15th century. Fontana's torpedo's would skim the surface of the water and set fire to his enemies ships.

Last and by no means least, we find the Player Manager Vinci. Vinci represents probably the most prolifically talented of all the players mentioned here so far.

Strangely though, the Italian squads mightiest weapon may very well prove to be their biggest weakness too. Along the same lines that Christiano Ronaldo of the Portuguese football team is one of the top 3 players in the world right now - his efforts seem to engulf the whole pitch, spreading himself to thinnly at times. We believe that Leonardo da Vinci would also suffer from this insatiable desire to do every bodies jobs for them.

Therefore if Vinci has a poor game or takes on too much, we predict an England win with 2 goals to 1. Camm and Brunel to score for England.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the football, safe in the knowledge that you will be spared the uncertainty and no longer stress filled.


Engine[er]

It's a Catastrophe

With the re-launch date of our blog looming, we are feeling confident enough to forewarn you of the up and coming opportunity to win a free gift.

The first 50 visitors to subscribe to our blog 'Starting Up an Engine[er]' will receive a 'trumps' style card game.

The game pits historic construction and engineering disasters against one another. You may well recognise the examples as some of the ones we featured on our highly successful #EpicFAILS blog posts several months ago.

Have a great weekend and watch out for our weekly blog post this weekend.

We are still trying to decide whether to first wait for the result of the England game or not.... #Euros2012


Engine[er]

Engineering 60 Second Pitch II - Pile Relief

Another racy little 60 second elevator pitch for those Engineers out there, who are still looking for ways to connect with non-engineering businesses.

Note: This post was inspired by Richard Salmon. Please follow him on Twitter :-)

I hope you have success with it, and please let me know how it went!!

Good morning my name is  [insert name] , I'm a structural engineer and we are  [insert company name] . 

As a follow on from last week’s request for chimney breast removal referrals, this week we are doing a special run on pile relief for our clients.

It sounds amazing, but some of you may not be aware, that the majority of soil upon which foundations are built in the area of St Albans [and in general Hertfordshire], are clays. Surprising is it not?

The combination of naturally formed clays and nearby trees means that sometimes, traditional mass concrete foundations are so deep that they become impractical to construct. Therefore, painfully expensive piled foundations may have been specified as the next best thing.

Not necessarily. One of the weapons in our arsenal to help relieve our clients of their piles, is a concrete raft foundation. This effectively spreads heavy loads across the whole footprint of the building.

If you hear of anyone having trouble with piles, then please prescribe them a meeting with [insert company name] .

My name is [insert name], and we make the pain of piles disappear, for good :-)

Engine[er]

Engineering 60 Second Pitch I - Boobies!!

Finding ways to educate ordinary business folk of the many ways to refer our structural engineering businesses to their contacts can feel rather dry and boring . But from time to time - I like to titillate my audience with something a little racy. Enjoy, and please let us hear about your 60 second pitches.

"Good morning my name is [insert name here], I’m a structural engineer and we are [insert company name here]. 

For the last few weeks I have been labouring under a slightly different career pass time, and it’s turned into a bit of an obsession of mine.

I HAVE BEEN OPERATING ON 'BREAST REDUCTIONS'  :-)

You see, structural engineers are also employed to help facilitate the removal of home owners redundant CHIMNEY BREASTS.

Over the last 2 weeks I have worked on [??] separate breast     reductions or removals. Approximately [??] of them since the beginning of this year. 

More often than not my clients incorporate a chimney breast reduction or two within their plans to extend and update their homes.

Some can be very straight forward, but if the breast is particularly large or nestled on a party wall - quite often a structural engineer is called in to design the support.

So if you hear of anyone complaining about an unsightly or a space hogging breast in their lounge or dining room, then ask them to give us a call.  

My name is [insert name] and we are

[company name], breast reduction specialists."

Engine[er]

NEWS!! We are closing this site down...

Blogging about my engineering experiences, and what I have learnt as I kick started my own business is coming to an end...

Yes you heard me right. I am going to shut down this blogger site in around 6-8 weeks time.

Then launch a new site!!

Many apologies, I didn't mean to scare you :)

Since I started this blog I have managed to publish 86 blog posts, received 186 comments along with many emails wishing me luck, and we have been visited by over 25,000 of you fantastic people.

That. Is. Awesome.

I have also grown my business large enough to support my modest needs, and employ 3 part time sub-consultants. It has been a BLAST!

Aside from my other side projects, my thoughts and energies are now zooming in on my new blog site which I am having built. We will continue to challenge our industry, and deliver useful hints and tips for those of you who have dreamt of running your own consultancy some day.

I will be using the relaunch as an opportunity to give away some free gifts to those who subscribe to 'Starting Up an Engine[er]'.

AND I am inviting you all to contribute to its success too. So if you have an idea for a post, or you wish to try your hand at inspiring over 3,000 engineering and architectural visitors every month with your thoughts and insights... then please email me. I have a place for you - [right here].

The biggest change to the blog format will be the frequency and time of postings. It is our intention to increase the amount of posts per week and make sure that you have something to read by Wednesday of each week.


The Engine[er]

Why Blog? [please forgive my language]

Not so long ago we were all being told that we can all blog! Yeah you can blog! Do it, even if you are the guy or gal who can't be bothered to write your own shopping list. "Get online and join in on the OUTRAGEOUS fun!"

We are now being told that if we are businesses and professionals looking for a personal branding make over, that we should be blogging too. "You have a voice, use it for business sake!" Start a blog dammit!

The benefits which being sold to us are;

1. Being able to reach out to your customers / future employers.
2. Build a following.
3. Get more hits?
4. MORE HITS PEOPLE!

Sound good don't they? [sarcasm level set to kill]

But it begs the question. Why are so many blogs *%$& then? 

I mean, why have I got to read through a tonne of detritus, and self promotional material before I reach that useful and important message? Can't I just have the message? Please?

Apparently not. You are made to suffer the whole post right up and until you are ready to give up, and then we tease you with a glimpse of what you are here to learn. 

The morsel of knowledge, if cleverly delivered, will give you a boost towards the end of your week. It might even make you smile [your smiling now, and not because I spelt you're wrong either]. 

You may even be considering sharing the message you learned with some colleagues. But you don't want to look stupid or uncool - so you probably won't do that. You are still waiting for the message.

So what's my message this week?

Just recently I read a blog post which asked the question: Is blogging the new career boost? [click here] It's a good post actually. 

In true blogging style, the original question was answered in the first few paragraphs, and then glossed over in lieu of a more self promotional line of inquiry.

"What can I tell you about what I know, without sounding too preachy". I'm doing it right now. 

The blog post writer believed there to be three distinct reasons, or 'blog styles' which you may need to consider before embarking upon your litery career. They are:

1. Knowledge Advancement. The blogger suggests that by researching subjects in which you intend to present to your readership, that you the blogger, go on a journey. This journey increases your knowledge of the chosen subject. I tend to agree. It's called learning. It happens all the time in university, and in consultancies the world over. You don't need to blog to do this though. So you probably will want to do something else, won't you?
2. Relationship Building. If you are able to flash a glimpse of your real character to a highly fickle and time stricken audience through your writing style, then great job - you will make loads of friends. If your writing skills are not yet developed enough to demonstrate to your readership that you are genuinely trying to help them - or have a real opinion which has got to be shared; then be prepared for a few years of trial and error. Relationships are two-way connections. Therefore you will be looking for some feedback. If you're writing self promotional posts which do not generate a reaction or a comment - then stop and think. Can you really afford to write for hours a week, every week for a year or two? My point is that if you do not quite yet possess the necessary writing skills to share, and to build relationships, then you might want to think again. 
3. Demonstration of Skill. Look here, I know something that you don't, and I'm about to ram it down your throat for 10 minutes. Afterwards, you may not agree with me and probably never read another one of my posts again... or... you are about to learn something cool. My thoughts are this. If I need to understand anything new or refresh my memory on a particular area of engineering, I will automatically reach for official documents, design standards, and best practice guides which have been tested and pier reviewed. I'm not going to be designing structures on the basis that the technical content of a blog post I read somewhere seemed genuine enough. Nor do I think that you should. This is neither a good reason or a sustainable reason to begin writing a blog. 

So I don't agree with the above reasons for writing blogs. What do you think?

The MESSAGE:

[Here it comes. This is the big pay-off. So far you have been in a zombie like trance, just waiting for the punch line. Your dedication is admirable] 

Why do we Blog? Because some of us love to write, some of us fancy reading it.

Blogging was going on long before monetizing was an option. Simply posting messages into a big black void, was akin to writing a secret diary in the early days. Blogging communities were not enticed by notoriety [but it did happen]. It was [and still is] a simple way to express ourselves.

So when did blogging ever become an effective form of marketing for companies? I believe that it never has... 

Blogging still is what it always meant to be. A channel for creative writers, and experts who enjoy sharing cool stuff in their lives and industry factoids.

Use blogging solely as a marketing strategy [personal or otherwise] at your peril. Readers will see right through it. 


It would be fun to see you on our new LinkedIn Group called - Blogging for Engineers. 

Engine[er]

Are you being served?

Structural Engineering. It's becoming way more competitive out there in the market place.

Graduates think that they have it bad. Recently I was out bid for some work which [assuming they were spending the same amount of hours as I would] the engineer would have been working for £15 per hour.

I read recently that graduates can expect between £11-£18 per hour straight from university now a days... you do the maths.

Anyway, that's enough about my woes. Lets hear all about you. What have you been doing lately? How can I help you?

When was the last time you asked one or your clients or potential clients those questions? Can you recall recently, when you took an interest in the lives of your business collaborators and partners?

This is what makes the difference in business. That gooey feeling that you get when someone has just taken time out of their busy day to either help or cheer you on into the weekend, it's great isn't it? It feels awesome when someone does that for you. So why shouldn't you do the same for others?

Just recently I picked up 3 engineering projects from new clients during a phone call - straight after being told that I was not the cheapest quote which they had received that day. Why?

I spoke to them. I took the time to understand the problems which they were facing, and discussed their possible alternatives. I described to them in English - not Engineerish, what I would be doing next if they appointed me. I illustrated how I would be delivering value to them by being their professional engineer. I did not do this by undermining the competition though, I helped them understand what it is that a engineer could do to assist in the successful delivery of their project.

If you are responsible for finding more business for your consultancy, or speaking directly with potential clients, then I urge you to absorb this next statement:

The more we allow the magnitude of our fee's to dictate whether or not that we land a project or gain favour - the longer it will take for us as an industry to demonstrate the value that we as professional engineers bring to their projects.

Please find better ways to be competitive.

Have a great bank holiday weekend. Long live the Queen!



Engine[er]