Consolidating engineering with business

in #business6 years ago


I had a long talk with a friend yesterday which I'll like to share.

I haven't spoken with him for a while, so when we met, we had a range of topics to discuss. There was a complaint he had, he said "I'm good, but being a boss isn't what I expected."

This friend of mine runs a civil engineering company, with an expertise in high way engineering, geomatics and GIS. He is a very smart middle aged man. I have worked with him a number times on numerous projects, and during this period I was able to assess his SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threat ).

The main challenge he had is managing his young company, and as such have a few staffs, yet difficult for him to manage (he informed me that the secretary planned to resign from the company by month end, because of delayed payment of salaries). I also discovered that he makes poor financial decisions, which increases the debt he owes. He also permit the government and other agencies to accumulate debts accruing to him beyond safety margins.

He is a very intelligent engineer, but has no intelligence in business. I tried reasoning with him, but because of the age gap between us - there were facts I couldn't reveal to him.

As a leader, one has to be able to manage his staffs properly. After spending years in the university studying an engineering degree, one may wonder why an engineer would need an MBA. Pursuing an MBA after the engineering degree is viewed as illogical by some. They ask;

Why would you spend years studying one course, but want to become a master of something entirely different?

If you loved MBA so much why did you bother studying engineering?

An engineer is taught to be a problem solver while in school. This makes engineers stand out in the business world.

Studying engineering teaches a person technical skills that are needed in the industry. Things look straightforward, doing some calculations could even help solve problems.

But in real life situation, when in comes to leadership and management - things do not look so straightforward. With a proper MBA training, an engineer would be able to survive conceptual and technical hurdles. Since MBA teaches how to successfully run a business.

Being innovative and smart to find solutions to specialised problems would not be enough, if you can't get your ideas out in the right markets. Apply technical solutions to real life problems is one thing you learn in business schools.

It is usually best to work for a few years before you decide if you really need an MBA. It's not a decision you should rush into.

If you not yet an engineer, but plan on getting an MBA after you're done studying an engineering course then the you should consider getting an MBA engineering degree. It is a dual degree, where you are taught engineering and how you could run an engineering business simultaneously.

Normally, you might spend 2-3 years in order to get an MBA degree. The case is different for an MBA Engineering dual degree, you can get it during the normal time for studying engineering.

Getting an MBA as an Engineer is actually worth the expense, time and effort when he/she plans to work in a business-related field, in management or leadership roles, or as a company founder. It's not compulsory for all engineers, it depends on what you want.

Note: By getting an MBA after studying engineering, you might not get any additional promotion. This is dependent on the policies of your country though. Also, getting an MBA does not guarantee success.

All images used are under Creative Commons CC0. Images are from http://pixabay.com unless otherwise stated.



Thanks for coming around :)


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MBA Engineering degree? Wow!...Never heard about that before
Good thing I keep learning by the day.
I would love to help your friend out in his Civil Engineering profession since I have some practical knowledge of GIS and Geomatics as a Geoscientist.
I truly agree with you on consolidating Engineering and Business

Nice to see you around. It's really a beautiful combination - MBA Engineering degree :). I recently started learning how to use GIS myself - it makes designs more beautiful.

Great publication.

I don't know alot about engineering but I have gained something today.

Getting MBA Engineering degree is really a good idea. It is be a great addition to an engineer. It will also help one learn how to manage finances as well run his engineering company.

Thanks for dose.

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