Navigating the Engineering Organization

Transitioning new engineers into professionals who can blend in and contribute to the technical organization is, at best, doubtful. Trained in the "nuts and bolts" of a technical subject, new engineers have little to no training on the "soft" skills of how to work within an organization. This robust guide shows new engineers how to quickly operate and succeed within their new engineering organization. Navigating the Engineering Organization: A New Engineer's Guide focuses on the group behaviors of technical organizations. It provides a rigorous organizational framework to operate from and delivers guidance using a dual approach of academic insight and professional experience. Through numerous case studies, the book presents actual experiential guidance and offers a method on how to extend the insights covered in the book and turn them into a valuable personal model, valid throughout the engineer's career. It helps readers understand quickly the unique values and expectations within their new engineering organization and guides them in discovering the proper ways to respond to these expectations. They can then act on these insights to deliver successful results, now and throughout their careers. The approach and goals found in this book provide a building block to help all new engineers cross the "Great Divide" from student to professional and succeed in their new engineering organization.

Robert M. Santer, Ph.D. has over 40 years of domestic and international industry experience in the aerospace and automotive fields as an engineering management professional and product analyst. His specific experience covers aerospace engineering, automotive design, product engineering, research, technology planning, innovation methodologies, organizational development and technology communication strategy. He has international automotive design and production experience in both Europe and Asia. Dr. Santer holds a Ph.D. in Industrial and Operations Engineering (Engineering Management) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He also holds a Bachelor's in Aerospace Engineering and a Master's in Engineering Management, also from the University of Michigan. In addition to his industry role, Dr. Santer has taught the U-M College of Engineering graduate / senior level course in engineering organizations at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, covering the foundations of engineering organizational structure, operations and analysis.

1. Introduction: The Territory Ahead. 2. The Impending Problem: From Student to Engineering Professional. 3. Embracing a New Mindset. 4. Establishing the Essential Engineering Framework. 5. A Tour of the Inner Core. 6. Navigating the Formal Organization. 7. Understanding Human and Hard Resources. 8. Exercising the Technical System. 9. Searching for the Hidden Organization. 10. Ubiquitous Communication. 11. Final Preparations: Integration and Ethics. 12. Crafting the Roadmap: Creating Your Personal Guide. 13. Coming Attractions. 14. Some Final Thoughts.