Advice for a greenhorn
Advice for a greenhorn
(OP)
I just graduated in engineering and started my first job a few weeks ago at a smaller manufacturing company (70 employees, 5 engineers) and will be in product development. I am wondering if I can get some advice about what to expect in the first year and any "survival tips". I would also be interested to hear about any "good practices" you have on the job. I figure I should start making good habits now. Thanks!





RE: Advice for a greenhorn
conduct analytical engineering analysis of developments . . .
be inquisitive . . .
be calm . . .
speak clearly and concisely . . .
document important work . . .
do not be late with deadlines, budget/cost related requests . . .
many more! Good luck!
-pmover
RE: Advice for a greenhorn
Show some initiative.
Associate with the good people, not just the cool ones.
"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

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RE: Advice for a greenhorn
Actually, keep a bunch; one for each project, and one overall.
Write down what you observe and measure.
Write down with whom you speak, and what was said, as soon as possible after the conversation ends.
Try to be concise and factual.
Omit opinion and conjecture.
Text files generated by MS Notepad work just fine for this; F5 inserts a date and time; use it a lot.
These files are primarily for your own use.
In a month, or a year, or more, you will be able to reconstruct event sequences, gain some sense of what you were doing to justify your existence, and appreciate how much you've learned.
When things are starting to turn bad, I even insert little notes to my successor, so they can avoid making the same mistakes I did. They will have to come up with new mistakes of their own.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Advice for a greenhorn
Start a portfolio of your career and get every result of your work possible from economic, for your company and your customers, to made things easier, better, higher yield, etc. for my customers by "insert your result." Get photos, if you can, of your products at the end user's site.
I would suggest getting published by writing up some of your more interesting projects. Become recognized as a someone who knows which end is up and getting published helps with this.
You're young and have no idea where life will lead so be prepared.
RE: Advice for a greenhorn
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
If it doesn't affect your pay, it doesn't affect your day.
The company was there before you and will most likely be there after you leave.
The wheel was invented a long time ago. Use it where needed and you will look like a genius.
Considering that you are working for a smaller company you should have a great experience as long as people want to work with you. Remember that most people are there to support their family and not to work themselves to death.
RE: Advice for a greenhorn
Keep a notebook. If you ask for an explanation write it down and never ever ask the same person the same question twice. On the other hand there is a problem solving technique called the five whys which does exactly that.
Take all advice your offered seriously. On the other hand much advice you are given will be wrong.
Yeah I'm in a gnomic mood today.
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: Advice for a greenhorn
This one, for example: seeking advice from fellow engineers
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Advice for a greenhorn
TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering
www.bluetechnik.com
RE: Advice for a greenhorn
A quick search turned up this thread731-222867: Near graduate seeks to distinguish himself from others but there are others more relevant as I recall.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?