A perspective on engineers during early employment in an industrial organization

M.Ing.Engineering is both an art and a science. Although engineering demands a lot in the way of energy, imagination and creativeness, it offers one of the most satisfying careers with a sense of adequacy and balance that may be lacking in many other occupations. To stay marketable, engineers should promote their problem solving, interpersonal, technical, financial, and communication skills. Most of these factors, however, are not necessarily part of an engineer's formal education Motivated employees with the necessary competencies and skills are generally recognized as the key to successful organizations. In order to effectively and efficiently manage technical employees, managers should gain insight into their attitudes by understanding their personality traits and core beliefs, and fostering longterm and well-conceived employee development plans. Because people are unique in their needs, values, and systems of motivation, it is practically impossible to tailor jobs and organizational objectives to individual workers. Management education is often a combination of training and experience. The optimal strategy is often not clear. It is the engineering manager's responsibility, then, to optimize the fit between factors of production and worker motivation in order to maximize the performance and productivity of the manager's department or organization. The literature indicates that turnover and motivation of engineers is the product of complex linkages among role stressors, task characteristics, job involvement, job satisfaction, career satisfaction and organizational commitment, to name but a few factors. A problem with having to deal with motivation is that there are no universal solutions. What motivates one person will not necessarily motivate another. Also, much of a person's motivation comes from within him or herself Although the perception.may exist amongst engineers that society in general has little appreciation for them and their accomplishments, engineers themselves feel positive about themselves and their careers. In general, engineers appear to be more involved, more satisfied with their jobs, and more committed to their orgmizations than the non-technical employee. It remains the responsibility of the engineers themselves to change society's preoccupation with glamorous, high-paying jobs, in order for them to be recognized for their contribution to society's standard of living and general well-being. A case study on young engineers is presented to highlight some of the above mentioned issues