Major Factors instigating Engineers to Shifttheir Career from

Engineering to Management

Shahid Mahmood1*, Shahrukh2*, Dr. Ali Sajid, Ph.D 3****Director Institute of Business & Management, University of Engineering andTechnology, Lahore, Pakistan *M.Sc. Engineering Management, CASE (Center forAdvanced Studies in Engineering), and PhD scholars, University of Engineering andTechnology Taxila, Pakistan. cda_shahid@yahoo.com 1, shahrukhkiyani@yahoo.com 2 ,alisajid61@yahoo.com 3

Abstract The aim of this research paper was to investigate the majorfactors that contribute to the shifting of career of an engineerto management, the challenges faced by them while working in themanagement field and how this relates to their job satisfactionafter the shift has taken place. Having highly technicalbackground, Engineers have great potential of learning newskills. Respondents of this study consisted of professionallycertified engineers who have accepted the managerial role intheir existing organizations or at any other company. The surveyfound that natural career path and better job opportunity werethe two main factors that contributed to shift of careers fromengineers to management. These results can be used to improve thequality of curriculum and education in engineering schools toproduce engineers with diverse capabilities. A need has also beenestablished to improve Human Resource planning and development inpublic sector organizations to stop brain drain and keep theirengineers motivated and associated with their professional work.

Keywords: Career Shifting, Engineering Management, Engineeringeducation; Human Resource Development; Management education, JobSatisfaction

1. Introduction Shifting of career from a specialized field to another field is acommon phenomenon among the professionals in Pakistan and alsoabroad. Engineers are no exception when it comes to shift ofcareers. Many professional engineers are now becoming Chief

Executive Officer (CEO), Managing Director (MD), managers andmany other positions in the management field. This shift ofcareer is unique, as engineers are technically inclined group andhave a great potential to learn new skills. Accountants, lawyers,economist and human resource personnel are more likely to shifttheir career towards management line, and they are said to bemore successful in doing so (Chow 2007).Maimunah (2003) stated that most of large engineering basedorganizations have been promoting their engineers to themanagement level after certain years of experience, as a naturalcareer path. However not all of the promoted engineers canperform well in management field. Hence organization can never becertain that natural career path into management is a suitablething to do, as management issues are always associated withhuman resources management.

2. Purpose The aim of this paper was to investigate the factors

that contribute to the shift of career of an engineer tomanagement, the challenges faced by them while working in themanagement field and how can this be related to their jobsatisfaction after the shift has taken place.

3. Originality/Value of paperThese results can be used to help improving the quality ofcurriculum and education in engineering schools to produceengineers with diverse capabilities as well as developing betterHuman Resource policies to improve carrier path of Engineers andretain them in their own profession.

4. Literature Review Evetts (1997) defines professional engineers as ‘those who are intechnical field whereby their field of study is in science,mathematics or engineering’. The Wikipedia Dictionary (Anon 2008)stated more than 80 fields of engineering all over the world. Thelargest five of these are; Civil Engineering, ElectricalEngineering, Electronic Engineering, Industrial Engineering andMechanical Engineering.

Altman (2008) has discussed the management consultancy work as a huge business now and more and more engineers are good at doing this. Rivett (1981) has been discussing on the involvement of engineers in management work and the rate is increasing. Ashford (2004) acknowledges that, to be a good manager, engineers must have trans-disciplinary knowledge besides their engineering expertise. Necsulescu (2007) agrees that a large number of engineers will spend a substantial portion of their professional careers as managers. The market is pressuring for a better product to be delivered fast and cheap and these requirements create tremendous management challenges for engineers. Maimunah (2003), states that even though many female are now studying engineering in Pakistan, only 10% of the professional engineer population is female. Maimunah (2003), Evetts (1997) and Powell et al. (2004) agree that many factors influence the female engineers to choose management line as they move forward, after they start family life. Powell et al. (2004) also found that the masculine culture in engineering sectors does not give a comfortable room for female engineers to compete with male engineers. Many universities have been doing research to improve their engineering programs to produce better quality engineers. McMaster University in Ontario, Canada has introduced the Engineering and Management Program (EMP) for the graduates to understand both sides of the picture and how the two sides fit together. Canterbury University in New Zealand has built the Master of Engineering Management (MEM), which is very practical in content and is taught from the perspective of business manageras well as entrepreneurs. Different authors have suggested various factors that can be the possible cause for the shift in careers among engineers. Some of the factors are; always wanted to be in management, the only promotion available, avoiding technical career, natural career progression and good offer to move to management (Croaker 2007, Z. Mustafa et al -2010) Croaker (2007) after surveying 82 people has concluded that majority believes they reach their positions naturally through normal career progression. They do not chase management position,but their individual skills were recognized as being of requisite

standard to progress to higher level of management. He has also derived a conclusion that engineers can also become an excellent Chief Executive Officer (CEO), if they have the knowledge, specific skills and also the attributes of a CEO. Z. Mustafa et al (2010) conducted a survey with a sample size of 31 respondents and concluded that Engineers from Mechanical areasare the most who shifted their career from engineering to management (32.3%) followed by Aeronautic (25.8%). These two groups also share the same five challenges in management: (a) managing conflict at work place, (b) facing bureaucracy, (c) managing changes and mindset, (d) managing people and (e) decision making. 52.6% of the engineers are facing human related challenges in their management work.Dudman and Wearne (2003) stated that people who initiallyqualified in engineering are now amongst the largest source ofthe top executives of United Kingdom companies. In this survey,50% of the engineers classified themselves as employed inmanagerial positions. Engineers’ managerial skills and expertiseare therefore of national importance.

5. Methodology A survey has been carried out using questionnaire to investigatethe factors that influence the shift in career from engineeringto management. Questionnaires used by Z. Mustafa et al (2010) andCroaker (2007) have been modified according to local conditions.The factors were decided after understanding the informationgathered during literature review, using K-Chart (Chart-1) andfish bone diagram (fig-1).

Chart 1: K-Chart (Z. Mustafa et al -2010)

Several steps were taken to carry out this survey namely,gathering information, designing questionnaire, distributingquestionnaire to respondents via electronic mail and in person,obtaining the completed questionnaire, analyzing data, discussingthe analysis results and drawing conclusion. The most criticalstep is designing questionnaire as it is the main source for datacollection. The extraction of questionnaire used by Croaker(2007) and some paraphrasing was done, as it is a validinstrument already. The population was all the Engineers nowserving at managerial positions in various public sector andprivate organizations in Islamabad. The questionnaires weredistributed by mail and in person to 56 respondents that serve asthe sample. A period of 15 days was given to all respondents torespond to the questionnaire. The final total of the sample is 36respondents (64.28% of the targeted number of respondents).However for the analysis, only 33 filled questionnaires qualifiedto be used.

Figure-1. Fish bone diagram showing factors affecting the carriershift from Engineering to Management.

FinanciCarrier

Opportunities

PersonaTechnology

Better salary

Better job satisfaction

Only opportunity

More respect

Good offer

Passion to be a manager

Disliking of tech. job

Following Technical IncompetencyFamily

business

Automation reduces HR

Use of technology in management

Peer pressureDead end in Natural carrier Better controlling Training of

6. Results and Discussion Out of 33 respondents, 96.97% are male and only 3.03% are female.The average of working in technical area and management area are14.53 years and 8.28 years respectively. This is similar toresults obtained by Croaker (2007), where 98% of the respondentsare male, and only 2% are female. The average years of service intechnical line is 12.5 years. 94% of the respondents aregraduates from local universities and 6% from abroad.Most of them have achieved the level of Managers and Chief Engineers (66.25%) and CEO or partners (11.6%). 42% of them also have obtained other qualifications (Masters, MBA, PhD and others)to add value and improve their skills and knowledge.Civil Engineers are the most who shifted their career from engineering to management (37%) followed by Electrical (28.5%) and Mechanical (18.5%). An important finding is that these three groups share the same five challenges in management: (a) managingconflict at work place, (b) facing bureaucratic pressures, (c) managing changes and mindset, (d) managing people and (e) decision making. There are three additional challenges shared by the Civil Engineers; managing budget, managing cross functional work and work environment.

Shift carrier from

Engineering to

management

Table-I: Factors influencing the shift of career fromengineering to management

FactorNo

Category Frequency

(%)

No 4 Natural careerprogression

18 56.25%

No 6 Better job opportunity 4 12.50%

No 10 Other reasons 5 15.63%

No 1 Always wanted to be inmanagement

3 9.38%

No 5 Good offer to move tomanagement

2 6.25%

No 7 Promoting‘technologicaltransfer’

18 56.25%

No 2 The only promotionavailable

0 0

No 3 Avoiding technicalcareer

0 0

No 8 Peer pressure oncompetency

0 0

No 9 Following spouse 0 0

Based on Table-I, it is clearly indicated that many engineersview their move to management as natural career progression(56.25%). This is similar to Croaker‘s finding where 56% of theengineers felt the same way (Croaker 2007). Only 12.5% decidedthat the shift is a better job opportunity whereas only 9.38%always wanted to be in management. These results are similar toZ. Mustafa et al (2010). If we refer to the 80/20 principle in the Chart 2 below, factorno 4, 6 and 10 (refer Table-I for the description of the factors)

are making a cumulative percentage of 84.38% towards the shift incareer from engineering to management. Hence it is important tomanage this perception so that more engineers will agree that theshift in career is the best and very meaningful for them. Theshift in carrier might be beneficial for individual engineers butit is harmful for the organizations and the country, as theorganization get deprived of skill full people.

In Table-II, it can be seen that 84.38 % of the engineers feelthat their job now is more into managerial roles or need tostrike a balance in both. This is supported by Ashford (2004) whostated that engineers not only need to be an expert in theirengineering fields, but must also have trans-disciplinary skillsto be a good managers.

Chart 2: Pareto Chart for factors influencing the shift of careerfrom engineering to management

4 6 10 1 7Factors

Accum %

Table-II: Current work load in management

Category Frequency

(%)

Predominantlytechnical

6 18.75%

Predominantlymanagerial

9 28.13%

Both equal 18 56.25%

From Table-III, 64.5% of engineers are satisfied with their job,after they shifted to management. When Cross Tabulation was donebetween job satisfactions with all the independent variable,there is no significant p value obtained. Hence we can concludethat none of the independent variable is able to explain theshift in career.

Table-III: Job satisfaction after shift of career fromengineering to management

Category Frequency

(%)

YES(satisfied)

21 64

NO (notsatisfied)

7 21

Uncertain 5 15

There is no relationship also between years of service intechnical and years of service in management when RegressionAnalysis was performed on these two continuous data sets. Another observation for these two groups (not satisfied anduncertain) is that they share a combination of the samechallenges at work when they shifted to management as per Table-IV. Again, job satisfaction appears to be the main challenge forboth groups.

Table-IV: Job satisfaction after shift of career from engineeringto management

Category Frequency (Notsatisfied)

Frequency(Uncertain)

Managing conflict atwork place

2 1

Work environment 1 0Facing bureaucracy 2 1Managing crossfunctional work

0 1

Managing changes andmindset

1 0

Managing people 1 2Total 7 5

Table-V: Significant Cross Tabulation among variables

Variables Variables Pvalue

Contingency Coef.

Factorsinfluencing shift

Other qualificationobtained

0.019 0.864

Factorsinfluencing shift

Current work load 0.011 0.776

Current role in organization

Sex 0.001 0.450

Year of service Current role inorganization

0.012 0.584

Year of service Age 0.002 0.682Otherqualificationobtain

Current work load 0.000 0.852

From Table-V, we can conclude that; 1. The shift of career is positively influenced by the other qualification obtained. 2. The shift of career is positively influenced by the current work load.

3. The current role in organization is influenced by gender of the engineers. 4. Years in organization influence the current role. 5. Years in service is positively influenced by age. 6. Other qualification obtained influence their current work load. It is also important to understand the challenges faced by theengineers after their shift to management field. From Table-VI,we can conclude that 27.3% (9 in total) of them are facingchallenges in managing people. If we look at the next two highfrequencies (managing mindset changes and work environment),these challenges are also related to people. Hence in total,48.5% of the engineers are facing human related challenges inmanagement line. Chow (2007) stated that three main aspects to befocused on to be an efficient and effective manager are managingpeople, budget and customer satisfaction. Dudman and Wearne(2003) also recommended that managers must possess skills andtechniques in managing and supervising people.

Table-VI: Challenges based on the four highest factorsChallenges Natural

CareerProgression

(56.25%

Betterjob

opportunity

(12.50%)

Others(15.63

%)

Alwayswanted tobe in

management (9.38%)

Total

Managing conflict at work place

1 1 2

Work environment 2 1 3Facing bureaucracy 1 1Managing cross functional work

1 1 2

Making continuous improvement

1 1 2

Managing changes and mindset

2 1 3

Managing 1 1 2

organizational changes Managing people 5 1 1 2 9Coaching at workplace 1 1Decision making 2 2Delegation 1 1Dual role (technical and management)

1 1

Having management knowledge and applying them

1 1

Achieving target 1 1Managing hope and expectation

1 1

Managing budget 1 1Total 23 1 7 2 33

This study found that 56.25% of the engineers agree that theyshifted their career towards management because it is the naturalcareer progression for them. 97% of the engineers who shiftedtheir careers are male and hence female engineers prefer toremain as professional engineers. Age and year of service doesnot influence the factors of shift of career from engineering tomanagement. 64% of the respondents are satisfied with their jobafter the shift in career. The results are similar to the studyconducted in Malaysia by Z. Mustafa et al (2010). Based on therespondents’ feedback, Civil Engineers is the largest group thatshifted to management followed by Electrical and Mechanical.Another interesting insight is that none of the variables bringsignificant difference in the engineers’ satisfaction after theshift of career. The main challenge faced by the respondents after shifting tomanagement line is managing people. Chow (2007), Dudman andWearne (2003) and Croaker (2007) have discussed on the importanceof having expert knowledge in management for the engineers to becompetitive in performing the role as managers. It is thereforeimportant for the engineers to get themselves prepared by gainingknowledge through trainings and improved qualification to assumeresponsibilities in management field. The Engineering

universities must teach some of basic management courses alongwith technical courses to the engineers produced by them. 7. Conclusion Engineering is a professional career that is recognized worldwideand is preferred by both male and female. Change of carrier fromEngineering to Management can be termed as brain drain as thetechnical experts are no more available for jobs and tasks forwhich they were originally trained/educated. It is a loss forengineering organizations. However there are various factors thatcause the shift of career from engineering to management. Thisshift in career sometimes brings new challenges for theengineers, the most difficult is “managing people” it means thatEngineers are not basically good HR managers. Engineers aremostly field people working in team with tasks; it becomesdifficult for them to acclimatize with the new office environmentwith management objectives. Some of Pakistani engineers due to lack of job satisfactioneventually look for better opportunity abroad, as they get morechallenging and satisfying well paid jobs with the higher chancesof their professional improvement. There is also a trend nowamong the engineers to learn Management skills, universities arenow offering courses in Engineering management and businessmanagement. Some of the respondents also suggested for a review in policy toimprove the carrier path of engineers in the public sector ofPakistan to ensure that they will stay and contribute to thecountry’s development. An effective Human Resource planning anddevelopment is required in public sector to keep their Engineersmotivated and associated with the organizations so that there isno brain drain and they keep serving in their respective areas ofspecialization and do not think about changing their profession.

Acknowledgement: The authors would like to thank the surveyrespondents for sparing time to fill up the questionnaire.

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