TECC 283: How Industry Trends Are Affecting the Engineering Industry

In this episode, we talk to Lawrence Romine, Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Altium, about how engineering industry trends and the future of manufacturing in engineering will affect engineers. Engineering Quotes: Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed About How Industry Trends Are Affecting the Engineering Industry: The biggest engineering industry trend from an electrical engineering standpoint is the rise of the all-purpose engineer. Engineers have had to assume multiple roles that were previously done by multiple people. Electrical engineering is becoming a renaissance role where you must know a bit about everything. In manufacturing, as engineers have been tasked with assuming more roles, they now have less of the ability to absorb the knowledge because the manufacturing is offshore. It makes all the designs that are submitted to manufacture un-manufacturable. Before the 2008 financial crisis, people had jobs where their focus was cost control, which brought about things like product lifecycle management. The focus on cost always came at the expense of design efficiency and speed. After the 2008 financial crisis, companies began to move away from cost control to beat their competitors. The result was that cost control was simply that engineers must do all the jobs that were previously done by multiple people. Engineers now need to design manufacturable designs fast — and without the right tools to do this, they will be at a disadvantage. Electrical engineers are at the forefront of technology but are very reluctant to change. When new products are released, there is always some kickback from everyone in the beginning, until they realize it is a game-changer. Releasing these products must be done when they are high in demand, and they will grow your company tremendously. When marketing your company and product, target the engineers because they will request your product from their leaders, and they will become the decision-makers later in their careers. View your customers as the individuals who are using your product and tailor it to enhance their experience. Electrical engineers who have just come out of school are very underskilled when it comes to developing a product. They are well-versed in theory and can simulate a circuit that will work. When they start their career, they must do their board layouts, sourcing, and second sourcing of their components. It is of utmost importance that they understand the manufacturing process and what is achievable in manufacturing. They must work on their ability to sell an idea. If they cannot sell someone on an idea, they will have a frustrating career. More in This Episode… In the Take Action Today segment of the show, Lawrence talks about not giving up easily when selling your ideas. About the Guest, Lawrence Romine A Naval Aviation veteran, Lawrence has nearly 24 years of experience in the hi-tech industry, holding numerous design engineering, sales, and marketing positions across the consumer electronics space and the semiconductor and EDA industries. Sixteen of those years have been working at Altium, where he has held nearly every position on offer. He is currently the Vice President of Marketing. About the Host, Jeff Perry, MBA Jeff Perry is a leadership/career coach for engineers, building mindsets, leadership, and career intentions to unlock hidden potential and remove self-imposed roadblocks to career and life. For years, he has had the pleasure of supporting engineers and software pros, from new grads to director level. Having been on the front lines in the technical world, he has been able to map out the necessary skills for becoming a quality leader in the field. You can connect with Jeff on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffcperry/ or visit his website, https://morethan-engineering.