Episode Transcript

You have your dream career firmly in mind. Your engineering job is just a piece of that. You also know you have to nurture your career. Give it the care and feeding it needs. 

And invest your time and effort and money so that the return on that investment gets you to your goals.

That’s what we’re exploring today. The best investment you can make in your engineering career.

Every Career Investment Is an Investment in You

The best investment you can make is an investment in yourself. 

That’s how I want you to think of a career investment: it’s an investment in you. What this means is that you’re counting on a return that benefits you.

It means that, as you determine how you’ll invest in your career, you have the mindset that your decisions are based on:

You take into account the input you get from your trusted advisers. But you’re also careful not to base your decisions on:

4 Types of Career Investment to Bring You Meaningful Returns

The most common investment engineers make in their careers is formal education. We’ll cover this and a few other important ways you can invest in your career as well. 

Here are 4 types of investment that bring you and your career sizeable and meaningful returns:

  1. Invest In Furthering Your Education – As you well know, education brings knowledge, skills and opportunity for engineers. You’ve already made a big investment of time and money here. 

And the benefits you’re realizing now are many of the things that women engineers love about their jobs. Like, 

You’re continuing to build on these benefits through your engineering work. But further investment in education might be an option for you. 

Additional coursework, another undergraduate or graduate degree or certificate or licensing program may bring you to a new level in your career. 

And even though it seems like a major undertaking, that investment may be worth what you get in return. It might bring you that much closer to your dream career. 

  1. Invest in Stepping Back to Go Forward – If you find yourself following a career path that isn’t what you hoped or intended, consider pausing and redirecting.

This is another type of investment in yourself. It means stopping what you’re doing now, taking a step back and learning something new. 

You may hesitate here. Because people don’t want to go backwards. It means starting over, in a way. And often a delay in pay. But it’s a good investment and worth the risk if you’re unhappy in your current career path.

For this type of investment the initial pay back is job fulfillment and career alignment. Which is big. Once you’re on the right career path other benefits begin to fall into place. But it takes that initial investment to make this all happen.

  1. Invest in Making a Change to Get Unstuck – If you’re working exactly where you intended but you’ve stopped making progress, plan to make a change.

You’ve already accomplished many of your goals and you’re doing the work you really want to do. But it’s been a really long time and things are getting stale. 

Your job, your goals and your pay are all stagnating. And there’s no more room to move up. So you need to do something about that.

Here’s the third type of investment in yourself. Whatever it takes to get you unstuck. A change to push out of your comfort zone and take on a new role. You may need to invest in:

This change is scary for you because you’re so comfortable where you are. And you’re good at your job. But if there’s no room to grow, it’s not a good place for you to be. 

Investing in a change will get you away from the ceiling you’ve hit and back into forward motion.

  1. Invest in the Right People to Help You – You’re pretty self-sufficient. But an investment in outside help can benefit you more than you imagine.

Because you can’t do everything by yourself, and because you don’t know what you don’t know, investing in the service of others to help you is a really good idea. Others like:

At any point in your career the advice of others inside and outside your organization will catapult your progress. These people will teach you things that you may not otherwise learn.  

And these kinds of investments are worth it because they’ll take you farther than you thought you could go. Beyond what you thought were your limits. 

So define your vision. Identify what you’re looking for and get experts to help you find it. Make an investment in the right people. Because it’ll buy you time and money – and more fulfillment – in the long run.

Make an Investment in Yourself as a Woman Engineer

This is where I can help. I can offer you services on career strategy. Made up of coaching with some teaching and mentorship. Together we can clarify your career vision and strategize how you can make it a reality.

I have the background in engineering to help you elevate your engineering experience, optimize your alignment with the work you love, and maximize the impact you make in your community and the world. 

If this is what you want, I’d love to talk with you. You can sign up for a strategy session with me here. Or apply for my signature program here.

When is the last time you made a significant investment in yourself as a woman engineer? 

Think about what will help you get to that career of your dreams. What kind of investment can you make that will bring you closer to your vision faster? 

I encourage you to ponder this question in your next engineering career self-assessment. Bring it up with your mentors or your boss. Discuss it with trusted colleagues. 

When you make that investment in yourself, things happen for you. Take a step toward self-investment and see how it transforms your career.

Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast I’m bringing back a listeners’ favorite topic about a typical career saga for women engineers. Be sure to tune in for Episode 84.

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