EngineerHer

I advocate strongly for women in engineering to view training holistically. I know, I know, “holistic” is a word that’s thrown around fairly randomly. And it’s so much easier to garner enthusiasm for a course on a new shiny bit of equipment than on spreadsheets. Or understanding financial controls and regulation.

But beyond a certain point in any organisation I’ve worked with, you need that holistic education and training to progress. Technical knowledge just isn’t enough, no matter how central to your role it appears to be.

But why?

Well here’s the thing. Look at the senior managers in your organisation. How many of them come from engineering backgrounds? And the ones that are engineers, many of them probably have experience in other departments outside of engineering. Meaning they’ve picked up the education and skills needed in those other departments.

Now, ok, sure, engineering departments tend not to be the biggest in the company. So it’s natural that there wouldn’t be a massive representation at higher levels. Fine.

But that’s no reason to not explore the options. In fact, a decent understanding of how engineering works would be extremely useful in operations, quality, R&D, EHS… even finance could do with some comprehension of it.

Don’t limit yourself too early or too often.

Fine, but what to look at?

Honestly, one of the first areas I’d recommend is finance. Understanding how the financial year works, how reporting and calculations work, even how the information and data is gathered and processed, is extremely important.

For example – when you’re raising a purchase order, how does that get processed? What’s the essential information to include and what information makes finance’s and procurement’s lives easier? Most organisations have sophisticated systems to gather the necessary information and force you to add in what they need. But there are nearly always other fields that are optional, and understanding when they are useful can be really helpful, while taking up very little of your time.

Equally, most engineers can, or indeed, must have a decent knowledge of EHS regulations. Or at least the procedures relating to them. But EHS is an area where it’s always possible to learn more and to put that learning into practice. I know – many organisations preach til the cows come home about improving EHS, but then funding takes forever to approve when it’s not output related… Understanding the legislation and regulation behind the requirements can help build the case.

And of course, in certain areas, a deep understanding of quality processes is essential. Confusing sometimes, but essential. Knowing the regulations behind the procedures can help you figure out what’s a requirements, what’s a nice-to-have and what has little to do with quality at all.

How to acquire this knowledge

An awful lot of engineers acquire this sort of knowledge through the sort of mess, catastrophe or downright disaster. There is another way though.

Most organisations will reference the regulations and legislation they need to follow in their procedures. That’s a good place to start for quality, EHS and production.

There are many courses out there for “finance for engineers” (it’s almost like our financial colleagues think we need special attention! And possibly they’re correct!) Google it and see if there is a free one to start with anyway.

Your organisation, particularly the multinationals, will probably have some sort of learning library where you can access courses in areas of interest. It should be possible in most organisations to gain access to the regulatory frameworks and documents as well.

Professional organisations are probably a great asset that engineers don’t utilise enough. (Looking at myself here as well!) I know Engineers Ireland regularly offer paid and free courses on various aspects of technical engineering and on the more holistic topics I mention above.

You would also be amazed at how much you can learn just through sitting down with someone from another department and talking through the overlaps between their role and yours. Seriously. I learned more about finance as it related to engineering in a chat with a former colleague than I ever did from a course. Mainly because the chat was specific to our situation. Even understanding someone’s perspective can really help when trying to get something across the line. Not to mention how many steps are involved in what is referred to as a “simple” process… And having those chats can also find you allies and tribe members in other departments as well!

Where to start?

I’ve mentioned before in the tribes post about sitting with different groups at lunch time or break time. This can start up a relationship, and prompt a message or conversation some time later starting along the lines of “After our chat at lunch the other day, I was thinking you might be able to assist me in understanding X. Can I buy you a cuppa to have a chat about it?”

Seriously – a cuppa is one of the best investments you’ll ever make…

Google is also your friend, as are some of the blogs on LinkedIn.

You may have friends outside of engineering (oh, the shock and horror!!!) that you can tap for information as well.

You can learn a fair bit before you have to engage with paid courses, so have a think and decide where you’re going to start!