Career Development

Resource Alert!

Use the Schein Career Anchors Inventory to determine your professional motives, values systems, and attitudes toward your career and work in general.

Introduction

CAREER SECURITY AND SUSTAINABILITY

There are several ways to stay motivated as an engineering technology professional. This section offers tools to develop and maintain self-reliance, self-analysis, and self-management skills for engineering technology professionals.

SETTING GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS

4 Steps to Effective GOAL Setting

Step 1: Write down your academic/professional interests.

Step 2: Connect your interests with a potential career.

Step 3: Identify the skills/classes that you will need to take to accomplish your academic and career goals.

Step 4: Set short-term goals that bring you closer to fulfilling your long-term goal.

GOAL SETTING ACTIVITY

The following table can be used to strategically plan your short-term and long-term goals.

https://www.aconsciousrethink.com/10825/goals-are-important/

SETTING YOUR EXPECTATIONS

Increased happiness/confidence when engaged in engineering technology related activities
Expectation of high salary as an engineer (financial outcome)
Feedback from others (praise)
Reduced stress when engaged in activities

SUPPORT STRUCTURES

Formal and Informal Communities

What communities are you aware of (aside from professional societies), or could you engage in to further support your networking and career goals? Listed below are internal and external support structures to consider.

Support Structures

Self-Support (internal structures to stay motivated)

TIME

The time you spend preparing for class and engagement in engineering technology related activities matters.

SENSE OF BELONGING

Find a community of other engineering technology professionals that support you and your goals.

PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT

When you have mastered concepts, celebrate yourself!

Outside-Support (external structures to stay motivated)

Classroom Experience and Climate

Your classroom engagement and satisfaction with instructors will help keep you motivated to pursue an engineering career.

Math Preparation and Performance

Stay motivated by taking the appropriate science and math courses in addition to preparing to do well on college entry examinations.

Extra and Co-Curricular Experiences

Participating in engineering technology related internships and extracurricular activities will help you stay motivated towards your career.

People: Family, Peers, Professors, and Mentors

These groups and their positive attitudes play a key role in helping you stay motived ad setting outcome expectations about engineering technology and provide learning opportunities.

FUTURE PLANS AND CAREER GOALS

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS AND CAREER GOALS?

Transfer to a four-year degree program?
Professional Engineer License?
Professional Certification(s)?

CERTIFICATIONS

This section highlights certification opportunities for engineering technology community college students and professionals seeking career development and growth in South Carolina.