Importance Of Continuing Education In Engineering

The data is clear - Our latest research proves that internships and other experiential learning opportunities are among the most significant predictors of early career success - benefiting the learners, employers, and colleges. Our analysis of Gen Z working professionals reveals a strong correlation between participation in hands-on learning and accelerated career progression, job satisfaction, and higher starting salaries—making experiential learning not just beneficial, but essential. Key Findings: Career Trajectory: Nearly 70% of Gen Z working professionals who participated in experiential learning during college report that their careers are progressing on track or ahead of expectations. Without Experience: By contrast, nearly half of those who lacked such experiences say their careers are moving slower than expected. Earning Potential: Experiential learners earn an average of $15,000 more per year, even after adjusting for industry differences—highlighting a substantial economic return on investment. Taken together, these findings underscore a clear conclusion: students who engage in internships, co-ops, or similar programs have a measurable advantage in the job market. They are more likely to receive job offers, land roles that meet or exceed expectations, and command higher salaries from the start. To learn more: https://lnkd.in/eEunbpPC National Association of Colleges and Employers #DataDriven #CareerOutcomes #ExperientialLearning #InternshipsMatter #GenZCareers #NACEInsights #WorkforceDevelopment #internships #earlycareers #earlytalent

99% of the best engineering teams I’ve seen share one simple rule: → The more you share, the faster you all grow. 🔁 Knowledge flows both ways: ∟ Seniors mentoring > Seniors managing Real growth happens when seniors teach, not just assign tickets. ∟ Juniors asking questions > Juniors guessing No one expects you to know it all. The ones who learn quickest are the ones who speak up. ∟ Sharing mistakes > Hiding them The team that admits bugs and failures up front fixes them before they spread. ∟ Pair programming > Solo struggle Two brains spot more edge cases. You pick up new habits, shortcuts, and ways of thinking. ∟ Writing docs as you go > Documenting at the end Knowledge that’s shared in real time helps everyone, not just future hires. The best engineering cultures are built on trust and curiosity— Seniors who lift others up. Juniors who bring new energy. Everyone growing, every day. That’s how you build teams that last. That’s how you make work worth showing up for.

As a recent graduate and someone early in my career, I’m learning that education doesn’t stop after school—or even at work. Simply completing the tasks assigned to me isn’t enough to grow or stay competitive in my field. The industry evolves fast, and to stay relevant, continuous learning and upskilling are non-negotiable. That’s why I’ve developed a few strategies to keep learning every day, and in this video, I’m sharing them with you: 1️⃣ Follow Industry-Specific Pages and Thought Leaders: Staying connected with trends and innovations inspires new ideas and helps me see the bigger picture. 2️⃣ Learn on the Go: Whether it’s reading an article during gym breaks or listening to a podcast while driving or cooking, finding small windows for learning can make a big difference. 3️⃣ Dive into Online Courses: Platforms like Coursera and Udacity offer targeted courses in many topics. These have been game changers for expanding my technical skills. 4️⃣ Make Learning a Habit: Consistency is key. Even dedicating 15-30 minutes a day to learning keeps you growing and adapting. These habits are helping me stay ahead, and I hope they inspire you to create your own learning routine! Watch the video for more tips, and don’t forget to share your own learning strategies in the comments below.👇🏾

The emergence of agentic AI doesn't eliminate the need for technical knowledge; it changes how that knowledge is applied. The skills that will become more valuable: • System architecture and design • Problem definition and evaluation • Data interpretation • Business impact assessment • AI prompt engineering and guidance The skills that will become less critical for most engineers: • Detailed syntax knowledge • Manual debugging of common issues • Writing boilerplate code • Configuring standard infrastructure Don't fight this evolution. Embrace it and position yourself at the higher-value layers. The best engineers will be those who can clearly define what they want built, not just those who can build it.

Lots of attention is given to upskilling and reskilling. However, it’s just as important to guard against deskilling.   Here are some reasons why:   ✅ Automation bias is real. Studies consistently show that workers often place too much trust in AI, failing to critically evaluate its output. This can lead to complacency and cause critical thinking skills to atrophy.   ✅ Creativity may suffer. While AI excels at many things, human ingenuity remains essential, especially to maximize the value of AI as a thought partner.   ✅ Over-reliance can erode expertise. Delegating too many tasks to AI means workers may lose the hands-on experience necessary to intervene when a system reaches its limits or fails in unexpected ways—i.e., when it’s needed most.   ✅ Accountability matters. Effective oversight of AI requires humans to stay in control. From an #AIgovernance perspective, that means understanding how the technology works – and should work – especially as it continues to advance and evolve.   ✅ Ethical decision-making isn’t easy. Navigating complex situations isn’t something AI can do well (yet or ever). It lacks the nuanced understanding of context, empathy, and moral reasoning required for real-world dilemmas. And we need practice and experience to bring human judgment to bear in a world where change is a constant.   These reasons eventually spiral down into even more pernicious challenges, like job displacement and rising inequality.   Ultimately, that’s why creating a culture of continuous learning—one that encourages and empowers everyone to adapt and grow alongside the technology—is more important than ever.

You don't owe anyone your knowledge... You've spent your entire career collecting knowledge that has provided a successful career. It's been hard earned • Late nights and weekends • Thousands of hours of study and research • Passing technical certifications and/or pursuing higher education degrees Anyone who wants that knowledge can do what you did. So why should you share it? Because the odds are good you didn't do any of that alone. Someone helped you. In the early days of IT a lot of us late in career folks were forced to "figure it out" because everything was new. In many ways no one had done it before, so we really didn't have good playbooks to work off of. We were forced to create them. In my case I always found whatever solution I built was better when I had someone else to work with. As many of us are starting to look at retirement that poses a challenge. When we leave, that knowledge goes with us. We are also in another unique situation. We have the ability to be the person we did not have early in our careers. So while you don't owe anyone your knowledge, I believe that it's in everyone's best interest to share it. 1. You can provide guidance and mentorship to early in career folks that you did not have the benefit of. 2. I have found a tremendous source of personal fulfilment in helping younger engineers find their footing and be successful. 3. I have found that teaching is one of the most effective ways of personal learning. We both get better. 4. While not everyone cares about this, you are leaving a legacy behind in the folks that you teach. You will be "the old gray beard" in their stories when they start mentoring the next generation. Do you believe in sharing your knowledge, and if so what are effective ways you have found to do that?

Roughly speaking, our careers might span 40 years of 40-hour weeks. That's about 80,000 hours, or 4,800,000 minutes. That's a LOT of time. Most of us will experience twists and turns along the way. Some of those changes will be driven by personal interest, others by changes well outside of our control. Consider what the markets looked like 40 years ago versus what they are today. Someone ending their career now started before personal computers, smartphones, the internet... a world that doesn't look anything like the one we now inhabit. You would be hard-pressed to name a modern career path that hasn't been impacted by just those three advancements. So "staying in your lane" or becoming complacent in your field, is an all-but-guaranteed way to wake up un-marketable one day. Skillsets should continue to evolve. Put in the time to keep up. No matter where you are in your career, there’s always room to grow and now is the time to make learning a habit. It’s easy to fall into the rhythm of daily tasks, but staying curious is not only the ticket to staying relevant, but it's also key to keeping a spark alive in your career. There are so many practical ways to stay curious and engaged: ➡️ Attend workshops reflective of your interests (not just your career) ➡️ Take online classes to learn new skills or certifications on your schedule ➡️ Question people with that "spark of life" and ask how they do it ➡️ Attend in-person courses to share in a communal learning experience Keeping intrigue and curiosity alive — stoking it with new interests and hobbies — is one of the best ways to live out a meaningful career, rather than waiting each week for Friday to arrive. Life is short, and our careers take up a lot of that time. Instead of wishing those years away, I think it's better to embrace them and make that time a little more inspiring (and yes, maybe marketable) with lifelong learning. All the best people I know are life-long students, let's join them! #career

Welcome to Melissa's Mentality! My goal with this new initiative is to share some of my tips, insights, and findings as I have grown throughout my career. To kick things off, let's talk about the importance of continuous learning and adaptation. Over my 15+ years of experience, from engineering bridges to steering tech and cybersecurity initiatives, I've learned that staying current with industry trends, technological advancements, and leadership practices is crucial for sustained growth and success. Here’s why: 1. Stay Ahead of the Curve: Embracing new trends and technologies ensures that you’re not just reacting to change, but proactively shaping it. This mindset has enabled me to achieve annual revenue increases of up to 375% and to expand markets globally. 2. Drive Innovation: Innovation thrives on knowledge. By continually learning and adapting, we foster an environment where fresh ideas can flourish and lead to groundbreaking strategies and partnerships. 3. Enhance Leadership: The best leaders are those who evolve. Whether it's refining leadership practices or embracing new approaches to collaboration, being open to growth helps inspire and guide teams more effectively. 4. Create Opportunities: Continuous learning opens doors to untapped opportunities. It allows us to identify and seize new avenues for business and personal development. Join me on this journey as we explore how staying current can transform challenges into opportunities and drive success. Let's learn, adapt, and grow together! #ContinuousLearning #Leadership #Innovation #Adaptation #MelissaMentality #CareerGrowth #TechLeadership

🧠 Generation Effect 🧠 We tend to remember information better if it's generated from one's own mind rather than simply read. Actively participating in learning, such as by teaching a concept or creating a summary, can enhance memory and understanding. --- A while back, I worked on a pretty complex business problem. It was a massive system with lots of technical information and moving parts. As the team grew, my UX team started getting pushback on things we thought were straightforward, and we would get weird questions about things that seemed perfectly logical to us. We eventually realized that our dev team had no idea about the process they were building for. They made these connections in their heads using their own mental models, but these were different from what our users were thinking. There were a lot of underlying issues, but one of the big problems was that our engineers had no idea who they were building for and why it was important. So, I started a series of monthly sessions where I went through the high-level processes and reviewed everything with the engineers. They had an opportunity to ask questions and better understand what the tool was being used for. We started bringing an engineer on research trips as a note-taker to get a first-hand view of how the software was used on the shop floor. When new engineers joined the team, the engineers used this opportunity to explain the process to the new hires, boosting their own understanding and learning. After a year of this, we saw a huge change in the engineers' attitudes. The pushback stopped. The types of questions we got changed. The engineers were able to think about the problem more deeply and provide some honestly unique ideas for the product. Plus, in doing all of this, I definitely gained a deeper understanding of everything I was doing. Check the comments for links to learn more about the Generation Effect! --- 🎯 Here are some key takeaways: 1️⃣ Make onboarding hands-on: Create programs where new hires actively learn about their roles and the company. This could include writing job summaries or sharing what they've learned. 2️⃣ Use real-life training: Design training that involves problem-solving or role-playing situations. This helps the team devise their own solutions and use their new knowledge. 3️⃣ Let learners explain things their way: When teaching complex ideas, ask the team to create their own examples or diagrams. This can help them understand and remember better. 4️⃣ Use methods that help remember: Include activities like writing about your learning or teaching others. These activities allow us to think about and explain what we know, which helps us remember it better. 5️⃣ Encourage teaching among coworkers: Set up ways for the team to share what they know through talks or mentoring. This helps both the teacher and the learner understand things better. ♻️ If you found this helpful, share it 🙏! #UXdesign #ProductManagement #CognitiveBias