Engineering Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as architecture and engineering or research and development in these fields.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Set scientific and technical goals within broad outlines provided by top management.

• Confer with and report to officials and the public to provide information and solicit support for projects.

• Consult or negotiate with clients to prepare project specifications.

• Present and explain proposals, reports, and findings to clients.

• Perform administrative functions such as reviewing and writing reports, approving expenditures, enforcing rules, and making decisions about the purchase of materials or services.

• Review and recommend or approve contracts and cost estimates.

• Develop and implement policies, standards and procedures for the engineering and technical work performed in the department, service, laboratory or firm.

• Plan, direct, and coordinate survey work with other staff activities, certifying survey work, and writing land legal descriptions.

• Direct the engineering of water control, treatment, and distribution projects.

• Prepare budgets, bids, and contracts, and direct the negotiation of research contracts.

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Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

• Experience: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

• Education: A bachelor's degree is the minimum formal education required for these occupations. However, many also require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

• Job training: Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

• Examples: These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, physicists, school psychologists, and surgeons.

• Svp range: (8.0 and above)

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Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• Engineering and Technology
  Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

• Design
  Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

• Physics
  Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.

• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Personnel and Human Resources
  Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

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Skills

Browse Skills

• Mathematics
  Using mathematics to solve problems.

• Operations Analysis
  Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.

• Judgment and Decision Making
  Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

• Reading Comprehension
  Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Coordination
  Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

• Technology Design
  Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.

• Active Listening
  Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

• Time Management
  Managing one's own time and the time of others.

• Complex Problem Solving
  Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

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Abilities

Browse Abilities

• Oral Comprehension
  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Oral Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Problem Sensitivity
  The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

• Written Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Fluency of Ideas
  The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

• Near Vision
  The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

• Inductive Reasoning
  The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

• Information Ordering
  The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

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Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

• Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
  Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.

• Getting Information
  Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
  Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

• Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others
  Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.

• Provide Consultation and Advice to Others
  Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

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Work Context

• Telephone
  How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Electronic Mail
  How often do you use electronic mail in this job?

• Freedom to Make Decisions
  How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

• Structured versus Unstructured Work
  To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

• Frequency of Decision Making
  How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
  How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?

• Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results
  How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company?

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Interests

Browse Interests

• Enterprising
  Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

• Conventional
  Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

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Work Styles

• Analytical Thinking
  Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

• Stress Tolerance
  Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.

• Achievement/Effort
  Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

• Self Control
  Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

• Persistence
  Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

• Cooperation
  Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

• Adaptability/Flexibility
  Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

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Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Compensation
  Workers on this job are paid well in comparison with other workers.

• Autonomy
  Workers on this job plan their work with little supervision.

• Authority
  Workers on this job give directions and instructions to others.

• Ability Utilization
  Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.

• Working Conditions
  Workers on this job have good working conditions.

• Company Policies and Practices
  Workers on this job are treated fairly by the company.

• Independence-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

• Achievement-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

• Achievement
  Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.

• Activity
  Workers on this job are busy all the time.

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