Episode Transcript
Your engineering career path from beginning to end is not a smooth one. You’re experiencing this now. There are shifts and changes along the way.
There are transitions that help you get back on course. Or introduce you to new challenges. Or push you forward.
Today we’re gonna talk about your mid-career transition. An important change point that redirects your trajectory and has a big effect on your career destiny.
Now that you’ve been working as an engineer for a while, you’re pretty comfortable with the role. You’re used to the kind of work you need to do to meet the mission. You’re beyond the learning stage. And you’re able to apply your skills more easily.
This is a time when you feel good about your work and you’re eager to keep making your contribution.
What can happen though is you sail along, getting farther into your career. And you completely miss your transition point. You don’t make the shift to a more impactful role.
I call it your mid-career transition. It’s the opportunity you have to make a significant change that sets the course for the rest of your engineering career.
Mid-Career Transition – A Defining Moment in Your Engineering Career
Your mid-career transition is the most important one. Because it’s a defining moment. It’s the place where you convert your role as primarily a learner to one as a leader.
Where you move from following guidance to giving it. From team participant to independent thinker. From working to meet the mission to defining it.
Throughout your career, your perception matures from worker focus to leader focus to executive focus. And your mid-career transition is what triggers that. This is true even if you’re on a technical track.
Eventually your concern isn’t “How can I contribute?” but “Where can I take this organization?” But if you haven’t made your mid-career transition, you won’t reach this level.
What I don’t want you to do is get into your late career and realize you missed this step. You want to be aware of the mid-career transition point and how it can launch your engineering career success.
So here’s some guidance to help you experience your mid-career transition point. And to take advantage of the potential it unlocks for you.
How to Anticipate Your Engineering Mid-Career Transition Point
You’ve been following a strategy to this point that has established you as an engineer. You’ve been learning the ropes.
You’ve been finding your unique contributions and strengths. Discovering how to own your career. And building confidence and risk tolerance.
Now is the time to anticipate your mid-career transition point. It’s time to take on a more significant challenge. So be on the lookout for what that might be.
As you approach your mid-career transition point, here are 3 things you can do to prepare:
- Pay attention to your interests. Including the kind of work you like to do, the roles you see yourself taking, and positions that attract and fascinate you. If you have many interests, list them in priority order and narrow down your preferences.
- Work with your mentors to identify your potential roles and positions. Be sure to consider those that stretch you. And tie to your energetic center.
- Investigate your options. Find opportunities that may be open to you now or in the future. Talk to people who do the kind of work you’d like to do.
Once you’re ready to make your mid-career transition, take these 3 actions:
- Share your goals and preferences with influential people. Including hiring managers and others in your network. This’ll ensure you hear about opportunities and garner support you need for taking on a more challenging position.
- Start filling any job requirement gaps. In other words get training and experience that will help you land the position you want. (Remembering, though, that you don’t have to meet all requirements to apply for a job.)
- Follow up on options that most interest you. Apply and interview for positions. Or negotiate for assignments or appointments as required.
These actions are pretty straightforward. But they’re not necessarily easy. I can help you with that. Sign up for a strategy session with me, and we can lay out a plan for your particular situation.
These Can Undermine Your Engineering Mid-Career Transition
Since your mid-career transition represents a significant decision point, it can cause you to be anxious or doubtful. Just know that this is likely to happen. And that it will bolster your courage as you work through it.
Here are a few things to watch out for when making your mid-career transition:
- Pedestal View. In pedestal view you see everyone else as on a pedestal, but you see yourself as a step down.
It’s kind of a variant of imposter syndrome. You see everyone else as knowing more than you and having authority over you, when that really isn’t the case.
To be successful with your mid-career transition you have to change that perception and put yourself up there with everyone else.
- Trances of Fear or Unworthiness. These are states of mind based on the stories you tell yourself from your past.
Trances hold you back and undermine what you want to become. So you must dispel them to make a successful mid-career transition.
- Lack of Mentorship for Making this Transition. Once again, the mid-career transition is something that women engineers often miss due to lack of good mentorship or not being seen as a leader.
You now know about this transition and how important it is. Don’t hesitate to ask for help and push for new opportunities.
It’s Never Too Late to Make a Shift in Your Engineering Career
If you miss your mid-career transition, you might not even notice it slip by. But afterwards you will notice that your career is missing something.
This is what happened to me. Later in my career I realized something was missing. I didn’t make a mid-career transition. So I was behind in challenging myself in more impactful roles. I saw many of my colleagues pass me by before I figured out what was going on.
But if you do miss this transition in your mid-career, it’s never too late. You have what you need to move into a more impactful role at any time in your engineering career.
Even though you may miss out on a couple opportunities, you can still make that course correction successfully.
I invite you to be proactive in anticipating and pursuing your mid-career transition. It’s a key pivot point between establishing yourself as an engineer and launching your career down a more rewarding trajectory.
Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast our topic is self-advocacy and career messaging. So many important insights here. Be sure to tune in for Episode 78.
