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After working with engineers and IT
professionals for over ten years, I have noticed a
consistent pattern in career paths of these types of
professionals. The career paths are generally similar in
that the first three years are spent breaking into their
career fields, learning skills, gaining additional
training, and establishing their professional
reputations. Between three and seven years, they begin
taking on supervisory roles such as team lead, group
leader, or functional supervisor. From seven years to
around ten years (often as late as twelve years) into
one specific career path, engineering/IT professionals
have established their skills, and are honing their
leadership skills.
Somewhere around the ten-year
mark, however, they face a choice that seems to be
consistent across industries. These professionals often
face a choice between the skills-based side of their
professions or taking the management track. This time of
choice can be a very difficult period for professionals
since the decision they make will directly impact the
rest of their careers.
Each track offers different
benefits and opportunities. The professional who chooses
to take the skills-based career path would expect to
advance his/her skills to the specialist/expert level.
Engineers or IT professionals who take this path might
eventually gain patents in their work, earn a reputation
as a national expert in a particular skill or hone in on
a special direction of their skills that requires
advanced education. Many times, professionals who choose
this track become consultants who provide special
knowledge in specific skill areas.
Benefits of selecting the
skills-based career path are more inwardly focused than
the management track. Rewards for choosing this path
include opportunities to work on the cutting edge of
technology and emerging trends; opportunities to delve
deeply into development of new technology; and
study/research opportunities that are available only to
high experts in a specific niche. Many return to
academia to gain a PhD in their particular area of
interest. Monetary rewards vary but are greatest in the
consulting arena where specialists command very high
rates for their expertise.
A good example of an engineer who
chose the skills-based track is a former client of mine
who designed elevators. He was an expert in elevator
design, held several patents and was known well
throughout the small industry of elevator companies. One
of his early accomplishments included design work on the
visitor center elevators of the Hoover Dam. When he came
to me for services, he was transitioning from design
leader to consultant in order to maximize his earning
potential. He was also ready to start thinking of
partial retirement and wanted to work less while still
pulling in equal income.
This particular client had faced
the decision around the twelve-year mark in his career
to continue on the skills-based track or go toward
management with one of the large elevator manufacturers.
His true love was design and not managing people, so he
selected the skills-based track.
The management-based career track
offers different rewards and a more traditional career
path. Professionals who select the management track find
they move away from the day-to-day use of development
skills and spend more of their time managing tasks,
teams, and business operations. They lose touch with the
particular skills of their industry and concentrate on
bigger picture tasks. Professionals who choose this
career direction often decide to obtain an MBA around
the ten-year mark in order to boost their travel up the
management ladder, a ladder that ends at the top of the
corporate structure as CEO, CIO, or President.
The rewards of the management
track are more capitalistic in that the salaries are
progressively larger, the benefit packages riper, and
the obtuse status positions are more obvious on the
management track. Individuals who select this track tend
to be less interested in "how things work" than in
"winning". The management track is the most traditional
and well-known, thus often is what is selected by
professionals regardless of whether they have the
abilities or desire to be managers.
Professionals facing this fork in
the career path often experience feelings of confusion
and anxiety without really knowing why. Career coaching
can be very valuable at this point to professionals who
are facing a change in direction and are not sure which
path to select. Professionals who work with a career
coach will come away with a clear view of their personal
career style, their goals, and can be confident in any
decision made concerning the direction of their career.
Life is full of decisions. Many
have to be made on the fly, by the seat of the pants,
and with fingers crossed. Career choices generally carry
the luxury of advance timing and the opportunity to
consider all options completely. Are you facing a fork
in your career road? Take your time and consider all
your options. Make your decision based on what is best
for your career, your personality, and your life.
Published in 25 career books,
Alesia has been cited by Jist Publications as one of the
"best resume writers in North America" and quoted as a
Career Expert in the Wall Street Journal. Serving as the
Resume Expert for over 50+ organizations, she has
numerous media appearances to her credit and is a
frequent keynote speaker.
http://www.rezamaze.com. |
