The demand for engineering professionals continues to rise: Nearly 140,000 new engineering jobs are expected to surface by 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet as more engineers enter the field and the industry evolves, so too will the job opportunities and needs of employers.
Top Skills for Engineers
To stay competitive in the job market, aspiring engineers and those who want to advance need a strong, diverse set of skills. Although the specific skills required vary by engineering type, the core competencies are similar across disciplines.
According to a Harvard Business School Online analysis of job postings data from Lightcast, in-demand skills in the engineering industry include:
- Technology and computer science skills
- Communication
- Management
- Problem-solving
- Business operations
- Research and critical thinking
- Leadership
The data shows that engineers need various soft skills—in addition to highly technical knowledge—to stay competitive and advance their careers. To meet job demand, they must round out their experience and add business basics to their skill set.
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DOWNLOAD NOWThe Business Side of Engineering
There’s more that goes into building a successful engineering career than just technical skills—engineering has a business side as well. As engineers advance to senior positions, they acquire responsibilities like managing teams, projects, and budgets. To reach those positions and perform their duties effectively, they must have strong business skills.
According to HBS Online’s analysis of Lightcast job postings data, business skills are not only included in engineering job postings but are more versatile than technical competencies. For example, computer science skills only appear in 16 percent of engineering job postings, while communication skills appear in 34 percent, and management expertise in 24 percent.
“Once I was working for a few years, I realized that many careers end up requiring a business skill set,” says Kyle Rosenmeyer, an engineer who worked for the City of Boise before transitioning into a role at technical professional services firm Jacobs. “If an engineer graduating from college ascends from an entry-level position to CEO, with each promotion, they use less engineering skills and more business skills.”
While an engineering degree is critical to success, many science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers rely on business skills to execute daily responsibilities.
“Senior engineers and division and department heads all use more business skills in day-to-day work than engineering skills,” Rosenmeyer says. “My STEM education gave me a way to solve problems and think logically, but I needed to understand accounting tools, financial reports, and markets to compete.”
From understanding financial basics to engaging in creative problem-solving, here are business skills every engineer needs.
Business Skills Every Engineer Needs
1. Effective Communication
Because engineers’ work is so technical, it’s often difficult for other departments to understand their impact. The more they work across teams to achieve business goals and become involved in the decision-making process, the more they need communication skills.
In addition to understanding how to translate technical topics into simplified terms, engineers should consider mastering negotiation skills, which can help them sell ideas and get buy-in across organizations. That involves identifying stakeholders’ goals, building trust among decision-makers, successfully navigating the emotions that inevitably surface during conversations, and knowing how to secure maximum value.
Related: 3 Ways to Create Value in a Negotiation
2. Management Essentials
For prospective engineering managers, it’s important to have a grasp of management essentials. Understanding what motivates colleagues and knowing how to exercise influence, effectively implement strategies, and develop learning initiatives that help their organizations innovate are skills that can take their careers to the next level.
Management skills are vital considering engineers’ earning potential. According to a Lightcast report, the median advertised annual salary of engineering professionals is $110,528, and many management roles earn more than $165,000 per year. Therefore, gaining management expertise can significantly boost engineers’ agency and earnings.
3. Problem-Solving
An engineer’s daily responsibilities typically revolve around solving complex problems. When working on intricate issues, it’s sometimes easy to get lost in the details and set creative problem-solving skills aside.
Creativity in business is beneficial because it:
- Encourages innovation
- Boosts productivity
- Allows for adaptability
- Fosters growth
Yet, despite the perceived benefits, 61 percent of leaders don’t see their companies as creative. As a result, engineers with a design thinking mindset can have a competitive advantage in business.
Design thinking is an approach to problem-solving and innovation anchored around human-centered design. Leveraging design thinking skills to pursue innovation not only helps professionals find creative solutions but identify business opportunities, evaluate market needs, and design new products and services.
4. Business Operations
Business operations is a broad term referring to everything a company does to remain profitable. Engineers who want to contribute to those efforts should develop several foundational skills.
For example, a basic understanding of financial accounting and business finance can go a long way for engineers. That knowledge can help them measure their work’s impact on revenue, control project costs, and better understand their organization’s overall budget.
When Rosenmeyer was managing construction projects for the City of Boise, he says he frequently had to communicate with the financial team to set budgets and track expenses. To gain the right financial management competencies, Rosenmeyer completed the Credential of Readiness (CORe)—a three-course online program that helps professionals learn the language of business—to participate more effectively in those discussions.
“My ability to understand and problem-solve with my accounting counterparts increased,” Rosenmeyer says. “I think they saw that, too.”
In addition to financial accounting, CORe includes courses related to economics and business analytics. When combined, these business competencies can help engineers at any level feel confident making high-level decisions about their organizations' business operations. For example, engineers with well-developed economics and analytical skills can leverage market knowledge and data to identify new opportunities.
Related: 3 Lessons an Engineer Learned from HBS Online
5. Research and Critical Thinking
As technology continues to disrupt industries, the engineers who will advance are those who know how to spot emerging opportunities and validate their ideas. In an increasingly complex global business environment, companies can’t keep approaching issues the same way. Engineers play a pivotal role in researching and identifying new business strategies.
Engineers must consider: What new challenges haven’t yet emerged that’ll be important to find solutions for? Harnessing possible industry disruption can help position their organizations for new growth opportunities.
6. Leadership
Leadership is an essential business skill for high-level engineers. It’s particularly important considering the emergence of artificial intelligence in the technology sector, which has led to an increased number of complex ethical questions being posed to engineering leadership, such as: What biases are there in algorithms, and how transparent are they?
Engineers build products and services that can directly impact society. As a result, engineering leaders must clearly understand ethical implications in the industry. They should approach each problem with integrity and do what’s right for their business. This requires leadership skills and an agile leadership methodology that allows them to quickly and efficiently adapt to a constantly evolving landscape.
In addition to ethical responsibilities, developing a strong leadership style is crucial to effective leadership. To retain employees, satisfy customers, and improve productivity, engineering leaders must communicate their firms’ visions, guide teams, and influence change management.
The Importance of Business Skills for Engineers
By acquiring essential business skills, engineers can better equip themselves to meet changing workforce demands and gain a competitive edge.
“I’m still beginning my career in a large engineering corporation,” says Anthony Alvarez, an engineering student who took CORe. “But now in conversations about the aerospace industry with other employees, I’ll have the opportunity to partake and understand when corporate business decisions are made and announced.”
Do you want to take your career to the next level? Download our free Guide to Advancing Your Career with Essential Business Skills, or explore our CORe program and learn how enhancing your business knowledge can help you become more competitive in today’s job market.
This post was updated and republished on January 5, 2023. It was originally published on November 8, 2018.
