Communications Your Key to Success in Engineering

Key Part of Your Job Verbally Phone calls Voice mail Meetings Presentations Engineers spend more than 1/2 their work days communicating!

Key Part of Your Job In Writing Engineers spend more than 1/2 their work days communicating! s Memos Reports Letters Specifications

Design a City Well Meet with City Council to define need Work with drafter to develop plans Phone calls to suppliers Write specifications Complete Unambiguous Phone calls, letters to secure funding Present plans, costs to City Council Write Request for Bids Conduct bid opening Review change orders Process payment requests

Key to Getting a Job In a national survey, 166 employers were asked, “What was the most common reason for not offering a job?” 1. Lacked technical qualifications 2. Poor communications skills

Employers Want Skills! From a national survey of engineering employers: 97% ranked writing and speaking skills as “Important” or “Most Important”. (56% ranked them “Most Important”!) 59% identified the graduates they interviewed as having “Inferior” skills. (Only 3% were identified as “Superior”)

But… From a National Research Council report on Engineering Education: “Engineers are strong in analytical skills and engineering science, while weak in written and oral communications.”

Key to YOUR Success No matter how good your design, it will never be built unless you can convince the owners that your ideas solve their problem!

What Can You Do? You have 4-5 years to build skills Take classes Engl 387 – Technical Writing Spch 100 – Speech Communications Spch 211 – Argumentation and Debate Spch 230 – Acting I Phil 110 – Practical Reasoning Join Toastmasters Join clubs, volunteer to lead