Badger Crossroads

Engineering Studies, Careers, and Transitions

Month: September 2016

Write in a Universal Language

September 24, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Let’s face it, engineers may not all be the best communicators. One of the (fine) engineers I work with has a difficult time forming coherent sentences before 09:00. We usually agree to postpone any project discussions until after then and a couple cups of coffee.

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Translation device. Apparently

Take the difficulty of communicating with other engineers, or, heaven forbid, non-technical staff, in your own organization and culture, and then multiply that by several orders of magnitude to communicate with other organizations, across time zones, possibly in second languages. How can we employ some simple hacks to the structure of our language so it does not become a barrier?

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Can An Engineer Be Worth $40,000 a Day?

September 8, 2016 /

In some of my classes, the students are presented with a pretty appealing proposition. Can you make $40,000 per day? While students usually react with some incredulity, some will naturally express interest in the offer. The follow-up question is a little tougher – can you be worth $40,000 per day? Most everyone would be willing to receive that much, but justifying that value honestly, well that can be more of a challenge. Let’s illustrate how that magnitude is something we need to assess and appreciate.

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Life would be all roses and rabbits on $40k a day (Goya’s Spring)

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