Introduction
Career development is a great and significant task that every person has to carry out. The path to be followed when developing one’s career is dependent on the career that one has taken up. Apart from just getting a degree in the area of interests there are various things a person can do in order to develop his/her skills. This paper discuses the development of Mechanical engineer and some of the professional bodies that a mechanical engineer ought to join in order to develop his/her career.
Personal and Professional Development
Personal development includes the gradual development that an individual attains in his/her career life through the various activities he/she undertakes on a daily basis that enables him/her continues learning various new things in that career. It is an all rounded kind of development which involves the mind, the heart, the spirit and the body. Personal development therefore enhances a wholesome development of an individual.
In personal development, an individual may require to be keen on a few areas in order to be up dated and to avoid stagnating in one position. For instance, in the engineering field, it is important to outline your goal clearly as this will make it far much easier to achieve it. Self discipline is important in helping one to develop personally. One ought to point out his/her strengths and capitalize on developing them. Again, an individual should find means of improving his/her productivity.
Professional development on the other hand refers to the skills and knowledge an individual in a certain profession seeks to attain in order to optimize his personal development and to avoid stagnating in one position in his job field thus ensuring that there is a job growth.
Professional development is established through various activities such as completing professional courses, attending professional workshops and seminars and it should be evaluated regularly to determine the qualifications and the ability of an individual. Professional development in the engineering field refers to the planned process of personal growth that facilitates development in every professional engineer to full potential.
The field of engineering like any other field involves a continuing personal or professional development and every individual is responsible for his personal and professional development. The continuing personal development is an ongoing developmental process whereby individuals drive their own learning and development through reflections and taking actions.
It is an empowering and stimulating process that gets individuals working towards their dreams in order to achieve their aspirations. By continuously examining oneself, an engineer views his career from, a wider perspective by giving him an opportunity to develop his own career and challenging him to take time to review and reflect on his personal and professional development.
Continuing personal development is a relatively new concept used by people of all career fields to ensure that they develop in their areas of careers. Continuing personal development is commonly referred to as CPD.
Continuing personal development has continued gaining popularity since most individuals in the engineering field have realized that job security is no longer determined by the organizations they work for but on the skills that an individual has. It is worth noting that continuing personal development is mainly an initiative of an individual whereby he realizes his dream in the field of engineering and puts efforts towards achieving his goal. Continuing personal development is therefore controlled by the learner.
It is an open and holistic training method that is capable of accommodating and balancing various aspects of life. In efforts to achieve the clearly outlined goal, continuing personal development involves regular reflection and evaluation thus giving an individual enthusiasm to work towards his goal. Furthermore, it is possible to achieve continuing personal development whether working for an indifferent or hostile employer and with or without the financial support of an employer.
Continuing personal development enables an individual attain personal qualities such as knowledge, experience and skills necessary in an engineering work life that enables him to maintain marketability throughout his career life. Professional recognition and accreditation begins with attaining the first degree coupled with industrial training and experience.
These are the basic requirements for an engineer without which one cannot start practicing. These qualifications just mark the beginning of a long and extensive engineering career which involves continuing personal development which is a responsibility on the key individual.
A successful continuing personal development plan will involve one carrying out proper prior career planning accompanied by the professional development guide and records. Every stage of career development should have clearly set objectives and aims which should be continually reviewed in order to accommodate and adapt to any foreseen or non foreseen changes.
An engineer has to be a member of a professional body in his field to enhance his/her development. The institute of mechanical engineers is licensed by the engineering council of UK to oversee the operations of the field of mechanical engineering. It is classified as the most outstanding professional organization for mechanical engineers in the country. It is also one of the largest bodies in the field of mechanical engineering in the whole world. In the category, it is ranked as the third largest globally.
The body currently has about 80,000 registered engineers in over one hundred and twenty countries. The body has a variety of events for its members; it organizes a variety of activities for its members. It is centrally organized in the UK with its headquarters in London from where its activities are coordinated. Membership into this body entitles a person to the professional and thorough standards of excellence that is required in the profession.
It has an extensive network with employers, academic institutions and the government thus giving its members an opportunity for sufficient exposure. The membership is subject to a fee and a yearly subscription applicable to all members. It outstandingly provides opportunities for developments and resourceful information for its members.
The professional registration can be viewed as a investment opportunity to the members. By being a member of this body, an engineer stands a better chance of being viewed as dependable by his/her clients. It grants the registered members the capability to show themselves as professional engineers.
Eligibility into this category requires both academic and professional qualifications. The required academic qualification for membership is to have a degree in mechanical engineering; having another degree will be an added advantage as it will mean that one is more skilled.
The profession qualifications include a competence that meets a required standard of experience outlined by the engineering council of UK. The council has also developed qualifications that must be met by those who register through particular industries. The career development offered by the body is to all levels of members in an attempt to improve their careers in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions. Volunteering is also open to all members of the institution on either short term or long term basis (Borowick, 1989).
The membership of the body has a number of categories. On top of the categories is honorary fellow. This is a class of people whose achievements in engineering science are distinguished or people who have offered outstanding inputs to the body. After the honorary fellows is a class of individuals called fellows. These are trained engineers in the mechanical sector who are approved by the engineering council of UK and have as well been identified as chartered or incorporated engineers.
Following the fellow category is the group known as members. The members are trained engineers from recognized institutions who in addition, have finished the duration of responsible professional practice. The members must have qualified academically and in competence and must have been approved as per the requirements of the engineering council of UK besides being chartered or incorporated engineers.
The next group is the class of associate member which is the set of engineers who have met the minimum academic requirement into the body and in addition completed or are in the process of fulfilling the competency requirement of the engineering council of UK.
For individuals who do not undertake the charter or incorporation, they can still be accommodated in the sets of affiliate engineer or companion engineer. An affiliate engineer can be an individual undertaking a course or an individual who is participating or has invested interest in the field of engineering.
The companion is on the other hand a person who has a recognized position in a profession that is related to mechanical engineering or an individual who has contributed valuable services to the institution or to the mechanical engineering field in general. Corporate membership into the institution on the other hand requires academic and professional competency needed by the engineering council of UK.
On top of the institute of mechanical engineers is the engineering council UK. This is the umbrella institution that oversees the profession of engineering. Overall, the engineering council has a record of over two hundred and thirty thousand registered engineers.
The main function of the engineering council is to establish and implement both ethical and competent standards that are internationally appreciated. Its main objective is to ensure that all the stake holders in the field of engineering possess confidence in their acquired skills and experience. The duties of the engineering council UK as explained in the year 2002 include: monitoring and provision of support for the registered engineering institutions of which the institute of mechanical engineering is part.
In this aspect, the council ensures exact and correct implementation of standards and regulations laid down for the various engineering fields. Also in the activities of the council is the developing of academic and training opportunities and mechanisms. Much of this role has been witnessed in the development learning processes like establishment of curriculum content.
The council is also on its own a member of international bodies. The professional levels in engineering are also guided by the engineering council which has got many other and diversified roles. By being a member of a professional body one gets the opportunity of developing his skills in the engineering. It also becomes possible for one to learn from professionals in the field and creating friendship with them. Having friends in your profession as such kind of friendship can be used to develop each other in the career.
Conclusion
The Engineering council and the various engineering institutions’ main goal in registering and licensing engineers is to help them to build on their professional and personal developments in order to have full potential and to be competent in their field.
Furthermore, the engineering council ensures that the institutions as well as the individuals adhere to the internationally set standards of professional competence and ethics that govern the allocation and maintenance of these professional titles. The council thus ensures confidence and reliability among the individuals, by the government and even outside the geographical borders (Aucoin, 2002).
Mechanical engineering just like the other branches of engineering is a professional field that requires high level of competency. It requires institutions to monitor and regulate the services that are rendered by members of the discipline.
The institute of mechanical engineers in conjunction with and under the guidelines of the umbrella body, the engineering council, ensures that competency and ethical values are upheld in the field of mechanical engineering.
Its activities like seminars and workshops help the members to acquaint themselves with the developing technology in the field as well as acquiring experience and further skills. Its licensing role is also as regulatory measure to ensure that only qualified individuals are allowed to practice in the field. The distinct membership classes can as well be seen as motivations to development of individual members as it promotes a healthy competition into development in competency (Megginson, 2007).
References
Aucoin, M. (2002). From Engineer to Manager: Mastering the Transition (Technology Management & Professional Development Library). New York, NY: Prentice.
Borowick, J. (1989). Career Management and Professional Development for the Engineer. New York, NY: Ginn Press.
Megginson, D. (2007). Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. New York, NY: Cengage.