Arizona Technology Roundup

The study I mentioned in my previous post contains a subtopic worth discussing: Classifying Engineers. The study classifies two types of engineers: dynamic and transactional. The qualities of each are as follows.

Dynamic engineers:

• Are capable of abstract thinking and high-level problem solving using scientific knowledge
• Thrive in teams
• Work well across international borders
• Have strong interpersonal skills
• Are capable of translating technical engineering jargon into common diction
• Lead innovation

Transactional engineers:

• Possess engineering fundamentals, but not the experience or expertise to apply this knowledge to larger problems
• Are typically responsible for rote or repetitive tasks

These lists provide some good guidelines for assessing how engineers fare competitively. In order to remain competitive, engineers should consider where we lie on the scale between Transactional and Dynamic and continuously progress toward a more Dynamic position. In an effort to become more dyanamic, engineers should seek opportunities to expand our breadth of capabilities or improve upon specific ones. Ideally we'll do both.