| I very much disagree. To characterize engineering as a social activity implies that this is the foremost characteristic. It is not. It is very much a personal art. It is a science, and it is math. It is you vs. the machine. The engineering part is done alone, between you and the universe. It is you vs. you. It is not about people. Do not misunderstand me, helping your peers and all manner of social skills are used, and are all necessary. There are other parts to this career and it requires balance and diverse skills. But don't say that "engineering is a social activity". Nope. Bollocks. Staying employed as an engineer is a bit of social challenge we need to learn to deal with. Writing good code is not a social thing. Architecting good systems is not a social thing. The right answer is apolitical almost magically unfies people automatically. Mediocre answers are the domain for arguing and politics. People are not the solution. Citing Dilbert: https://dilbert.com/strip/2015-04-24 - people are the problem. Help? Learning? Asking for help is fine, giving and receiving help is fine. This should be viewed as a mentoring or apprenticing and learning relation. But you really need to figure things out yourself or it doesn't count. After the hint, or the explanation, what do you do? You go home, alone, and try to do it yourself. Engineering is a life of learning to DIY. If you can't DIY, then you should, very much, not be giving advice, nor continuing this career. So by its very nature, the core of this field is a very solitary venture. All good tips, btw. I concur with all of them. But I'm just immediately suspicious, on purpose, on principle, of people taking the line social first, maths second. Having drinks with friends is a social activity. It doesn't pay as well. |