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How important is project management to a career as an engineer?
This is part of our professionals series where we ask professionals what they think students should know
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13 answers
Carol Hunsicker
Manager Business Transformation
4
Answers
New Jersey, New Jersey
Updated
Carol’s Answer
Dear Student,
As an engineer, you may be called upon to work in many kinds of situations.
Small projects, in which you may be the only resource. You will need to develop a project plan for yourself, as well as delivering the product.
Group projects, where you may find yourself acting as the Project Manager, and well as a contributor.
Large projects, with the support of a formal project manager or even a PM team, where you will need to understand the fit of your efforts to a possibly much more complex program. (Yes - they can become mind blowingly complicated!)
In all cases, the fundamental skills of project task planning, sequencing, dependency identification, estimating effort, resource needs & duration, communications & reporting, risk management and prioritization will enable you to be more successful, and a more valuable contributor.
Certifications can be helpful, but even without that formality, you will benefit by learning & practicing the skills daily in your studies and your work. You can also use these skills to be a more effective solution designer, by understanding and vetting out paths are most likely to work well.
Explore PMP certification.
As an engineer, you may be called upon to work in many kinds of situations.
Small projects, in which you may be the only resource. You will need to develop a project plan for yourself, as well as delivering the product.
Group projects, where you may find yourself acting as the Project Manager, and well as a contributor.
Large projects, with the support of a formal project manager or even a PM team, where you will need to understand the fit of your efforts to a possibly much more complex program. (Yes - they can become mind blowingly complicated!)
In all cases, the fundamental skills of project task planning, sequencing, dependency identification, estimating effort, resource needs & duration, communications & reporting, risk management and prioritization will enable you to be more successful, and a more valuable contributor.
Certifications can be helpful, but even without that formality, you will benefit by learning & practicing the skills daily in your studies and your work. You can also use these skills to be a more effective solution designer, by understanding and vetting out paths are most likely to work well.
Carol recommends the following next steps:
David C Byram
Mechanical Design Engineering / Educator
36
Answers
Palm Coast, Florida
Updated
David C’s Answer
Hello Student,
From personal experience, I can tell you that understanding and having a role in the project management aspect will help you establish goals, set deadlines, determine possible workarounds, and set the responsibilities of all in your group. It will also make you much more of value to your employer and future employment opportunities. Below are some good articles that will provide other advantages. Without it you may be limiting your scope of engineering ability.
https://engineeringmanagementinstitute.org/learn-project-management-enhance-engineering-career/
https://www.engineering.com/story/5-benefits-for-engineers-who-understand-project-management-principles
Designer Dave
From personal experience, I can tell you that understanding and having a role in the project management aspect will help you establish goals, set deadlines, determine possible workarounds, and set the responsibilities of all in your group. It will also make you much more of value to your employer and future employment opportunities. Below are some good articles that will provide other advantages. Without it you may be limiting your scope of engineering ability.
https://engineeringmanagementinstitute.org/learn-project-management-enhance-engineering-career/
https://www.engineering.com/story/5-benefits-for-engineers-who-understand-project-management-principles
Designer Dave
Jo-Anna Gallegos
Project Manager
3
Answers
Sacramento, California
Updated
Jo-Anna’s Answer
Knowledge or certification in Project Management is invaluable. The theories and concepts behind the study can be useful in any personal or professional pursuit. In Engineering, there is so much focus on design and technical aspects of the work people can forget to drive toward the end result.
Pascal Bruyere
Project Manager - Mechanical Engineer
7
Answers
Sunnyvale, California
Updated
Pascal’s Answer
I would not worry about project management while you are developing yourself as a mechanical engineer.
initially you will probably work on projects that will have a project manager, and even a lead engineer to give you specific tasks.
In fact I know some MEs who always work within the framework of a project manager, and only manage small side projects or sub-projects.
Project management skills is something useful but you can develop that later, after you are established as a competent ME.
In fact, some MEs become project or program managers (like me), often called Technical Program/Project Manager, and don't really do any design any more. However they have the skills to understand, lead, influence, drive many aspects of the design. They can also work on several projects in parallel instead of just one.
Something you will see is that project managers will assign you tasks and ask you how long it will take: you will have no clue but you need to say something and you will probably be wrong, likely over-optimistic. As your experience develops, you will be less and less wrong, and better assess the risks (see Tom's answer) . Then if and when you do more project management, you will also better assess project duration.
initially you will probably work on projects that will have a project manager, and even a lead engineer to give you specific tasks.
In fact I know some MEs who always work within the framework of a project manager, and only manage small side projects or sub-projects.
Project management skills is something useful but you can develop that later, after you are established as a competent ME.
In fact, some MEs become project or program managers (like me), often called Technical Program/Project Manager, and don't really do any design any more. However they have the skills to understand, lead, influence, drive many aspects of the design. They can also work on several projects in parallel instead of just one.
Something you will see is that project managers will assign you tasks and ask you how long it will take: you will have no clue but you need to say something and you will probably be wrong, likely over-optimistic. As your experience develops, you will be less and less wrong, and better assess the risks (see Tom's answer) . Then if and when you do more project management, you will also better assess project duration.
Tom Gillespie
Senior Director Franchise Leader / Retired US Army Warrant Officer
12
Answers
Heath, TX
Updated
Tom’s Answer
Dear Student,
The use of project management skills can be invaluable to engineering profession. Main areas would be risk management to help avoid costly delays or costs to correct failures; stakeholder communications are critical to understanding how to communicate effectively in terms the stakeholders can understand; and communications plan to discuss issues with customers in a defined way to eliminate any miscommunications of engineering issues. One area to focus on would be to understand the three-point estimating technique that provides the estimated duration by using an average of optimistic, pessimistic and most likely when defining uncertainty for activity especially engineering when you must define the potential impacts to completing engineering functions based on three potential outcomes.
The use of project management skills can be invaluable to engineering profession. Main areas would be risk management to help avoid costly delays or costs to correct failures; stakeholder communications are critical to understanding how to communicate effectively in terms the stakeholders can understand; and communications plan to discuss issues with customers in a defined way to eliminate any miscommunications of engineering issues. One area to focus on would be to understand the three-point estimating technique that provides the estimated duration by using an average of optimistic, pessimistic and most likely when defining uncertainty for activity especially engineering when you must define the potential impacts to completing engineering functions based on three potential outcomes.
David Sulli
Manufacturing Engineer and business owner
22
Answers
San Diego, California
Updated
David’s Answer
I consider knowledge of project management to be important for any engineer. The Project Management Institute offer tests for and recognizes certificates that include:
CAPM: Certified Associate in Project Management (Does not require direct experience as a project manager)
PMP: Project Management Professional (Requires a certain minimum hours of prior project management experience)
Many companies employ project managers or engineering managers who act as project managers. I obtained CAPM certification because I wanted to know what tasks should be completed for the more involved projects in which I expected to be involved.
These are certificates that are typically obtained after an engineer has years of experience.
CAPM: Certified Associate in Project Management (Does not require direct experience as a project manager)
PMP: Project Management Professional (Requires a certain minimum hours of prior project management experience)
Many companies employ project managers or engineering managers who act as project managers. I obtained CAPM certification because I wanted to know what tasks should be completed for the more involved projects in which I expected to be involved.
These are certificates that are typically obtained after an engineer has years of experience.
George Karatzis
Engineering
5
Answers
Irving, Texas
Updated
George’s Answer
Generally speaking, the more relevant skills you can master, the better. I find that the skill set of a good project manager helps engineers see the bigger picture, develop some leadership skills, and broaden their experiences. All of which are good for your career.
George Karatzis
Engineering
5
Answers
Irving, Texas
Updated
George’s Answer
Recognize that leadership is not a title. You can be a leader from any position. Be positive, set the right example, and take an interest in helping others be successful. People will notice that you stand out from the crowd and more formal people leadership opportunities will follow.
Ram N
3
Answers
Dallas, Texas
Updated
Ram’s Answer
Project management is important because it provides the direction to projects and helps us get to the finish line . It helps us understand the overall scope, hurdles, dependencies, risks and rewards so we can plan accordingly and navigate to be successful.
Jim Cigler
Engineering Manager
2
Answers
Sacramento, California
Updated
Jim’s Answer
To answer the question as posed - my opinion is that many elements of the role of an engineer will revolve around managing projects. While you don't necessarily need to be an experienced project manager or hold a PMP - understanding the basic concepts of project management will serve you well in an engineering role. You could do this formally (such as a college class) or informally with online learning opportunities. Every company has their own take on project management and how they perform it; but the underlying fundamentals are the same. Understanding that any project is made up of multiple milestones - and as an engineer you may be responsible for some of those milestones. Knowing your role in the bigger picture is paramount to being successful both individually and as a team. It is very likely as an engineer you will be involved in many projects over the span of your career!
Carl Manson Jr., PMP
5G Program Manager - Verizon
76
Answers
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Updated
Carl’s Answer
Thanks for asking that question. I can tell you from my career experience, it is extremely important. I was an engineer for a number of years. I can recall vividly when I decided I needed a better understanding of project management. I was working with some brilliant engineers in providing input on developing a workflow system for our Network projects. Essentially we needed an intake system for field engineers to submit antenna transmission data for our wireless network and serve as a central repository. These engineers had all the knowledge in the world but the project had trouble gaining traction. There weren't any formal mechanisms in place to define the scope of the project and drive the project to completion. Project managers provide formal mechanisms of project initiation, planning, communications, implementation, monitoring, risk management, and closing out a project. Even if an engineer isn't the project manager, it is important for the engineer to understand concepts of project management so they can understand their role in the entire project. With these formal mechanisms, project managers are able to provide status updates to key stakeholders, understand the risks to timelines, scope, and quality and work with the team to mitigate those risks, and provide tools such as dashboards to monitor the status of the projects. My personal background includes a Master's degree in Project Management and a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. While it is not necessary for everyone to get an advanced degree or a professional certification, an engineer equipped with project management acumen will be a benefit to any project.
Brian Schunck
Director, Intelligent Software Systems at GoPro
31
Answers
San Diego, California
Updated
Brian’s Answer
It is an essential skill in moving beyond an engineer into team lead and management. If you manage anyone, even just a few team members, you need to know about schedules and tracking. As a practicing engineer, you will be expected to use tools to update the status of your projects. For example, JIRA <https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira> is widely used in software development and other fields and you will be expected to use it or something similar in your first job and later.
william rankin
Project management
2
Answers
Baltimore, Maryland
Updated
william’s Answer
Project management fundamentals can serve you well in all aspects of life, not only your profession. Specifically in engineering, utilizing PM methodologies will help you understand how to manage your work flow based on critical path tasks and milestones, keeping your days organized while driving towards your goals/deliverables. While having a PMI certification is not necessary in engineering, it would be highly recommended to take a few project management basics courses to at least understand the foundation of the PM principals.
Outside of engineering, PM methodology can be literally applied to everything we do! For example, if you buy a bookcase that needs to be assembled: you need to define the scope (what bookcase would you like? What dimensions will fit the room where it will be placed?), initiate the project (buy the required product that will fit your needs), define the milestones and tasks associated in the critical path (do the shelves need to be painted before assembly? Do the outsides of the bookcase need to be assembled first, or does it go together level by level?), and project close out (make sure all instructions were completed, and final checks done on the bookcase).
This is a very high level basic example of how PM methodology can be applied generally to most actions we take day in a day out. Having a good foundational knowledge will serve you well in whatever career path you take.
Outside of engineering, PM methodology can be literally applied to everything we do! For example, if you buy a bookcase that needs to be assembled: you need to define the scope (what bookcase would you like? What dimensions will fit the room where it will be placed?), initiate the project (buy the required product that will fit your needs), define the milestones and tasks associated in the critical path (do the shelves need to be painted before assembly? Do the outsides of the bookcase need to be assembled first, or does it go together level by level?), and project close out (make sure all instructions were completed, and final checks done on the bookcase).
This is a very high level basic example of how PM methodology can be applied generally to most actions we take day in a day out. Having a good foundational knowledge will serve you well in whatever career path you take.