Stop Wasting Your Technical Talent, Part 1

There is a continuing struggle to address the technical talent shortage. Strong, experienced engineers are in limited numbers. Why do we struggle trying to resolve this? Is there something we are overlooking? I believe we are wasting what could already be sufficient available resources.

Creating more interest in the sciences and engineering has been tried for a long time. Schooling is tough yet many good engineers leave the profession after a short time. Some move into management roles. Some leave entirely. Why is this?

Some may argue the technical career path is limited, and financial rewards are not the same. I don’t see this as a root cause. Engineers are motivated by satisfying their scientific curiosity. They like the freedom to explore. While they will change jobs for more money, they will also leave jobs when the personal rewards are insufficient. If we are not sure what motivates them, we can at least avoid things that demotivate them. This two-part article series will share some observations.

The Evolution of Drafting

There was a time when creating drawings was the responsibility of drafters. Use of pencils and straight edges. They needed to be able to think in 3 dimensions. Some like being around technology. Some understand how things work—and how to make them work.

Related:What is the Number One Complaint from Mechanical Engineers?

As computer-aided drafting (CAD) software use expanded, it became possible for engineers to do their own drafting work. This reduces dependence on another resource and potential communication issues. In a sense, it is a “do it yourself” mindset. But is this the rewarding work an engineer spent most of school on? Engineers tend to like to tinker in the garage. To understand how things work.

Removing a drafter from the process creates an issue with drawing review. When we had an engineer and a drafter on a team, each were deeply familiar with the design. When the engineer reviewed the drawing, they understood the intent. It was “easy” for them to catch details because it is constantly on their mind. The conversation between engineer and drafter added value. Removing this connection means the engineer is the only reviewer with a sense of ownership.

Engineers Need Drafters Who Can Think Like Designers

Drafters tend to be one of two types. One who can crank through drawings and update things. The other type who can draft but can also think about the design. As an example, I once worked with a drafter who was part of a pit crew! He knew how things worked. He knew how things broke. Our conversations always made the design better. Thus, I would tend to consider these people as “designers” as compared to simply drafters. Both types add value.

Related:How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Multimeter

Let’s take a look from another perspective. Some people using software are what I would consider a CAD jockey. They are making cartoons. They are not really thinking about the design. They do not have the hands-on feel. They really are not a designer either. As an example, I provided some parts to one of these “engineers” once. They called me and said there was a mistake with my hardware. I was told there was not much space between the parts we provided them. I was confident we did the job right, but was open to the discussion. Looking at the parts, I thought things looked right and I told them as much. They kept challenging me and my design team. So, we decided to look at the solid model (CAD) together. After zooming in on the assembly gap, they showed me that there was a large visible gap. I asked them to measure the gap. The result was what we were seeing on the parts. Their response: “That is much tighter than I expected.” Thus, this engineer was a CAD jockey and not really a designer. Maybe this person was pushed through engineering school to address the shortage, but really was not wired to be a strong engineer.

Related:What is the Number One Complaint from Mechanical Engineers?

In summary, we have drafters, designers, and CAD jockeys. They can all have a role and can bring value. A CAD jockey may not be much more than a drafter but is being paid on a different scale. It is important to realize if you have hired labor or expertise (whether as an employee or as a consultant). Don’t let good engineers do drafting. Don’t let CAD jockeys get paid like strong engineers!

What other areas waste technical talent? Be sure to read about other areas in Part 2.