Engineers & project Managers
Engineering Manager Basics An engineering manager will be the person responsible for a company’s technical projects, which can range anywhere from renovation to capital investment to research and development work. They oversee the individual contributing engineers in their department, and are responsible for their work, but indirectly; their job is to support their department and make sure their employees have the resources they need to meet their project targets. An engineering manager will also have to manage their department budget, often in terms of overhead as well as capital financing. This department manager will also be responsible for hiring or terminating employees as needed, as well as performance reviews. The job requires understanding of management principles, financial accounting, interpersonal skills and leadership, as well as a general understanding of engineering principles, so that the manager fully understands the work their department is charged to do. Project Manager Basics A project manager is the person in charge of executing a project (or number of projects); in the case of engineers, this is often the design, commissioning and installation of equipment or systems. The project manager must simultaneously manage their project’s scope, cost and timeline – the three key points to any successful project. They’re often working with other employees on a project team to execute the job, and as the project manager, are the ones responsible for collaborating the work and communicating important work to the team, as well as reporting on project status to their management. A project manager is a much more technical placement, as the project manager must understand all of the work going on within the project in order to properly keep it on track. Becoming a project manager often requires specific project management training.