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Being Deliberate About Your Future

10/9/2019

 
Earlier this summer at a conference I met up with my first supervisor out of college.

I say supervisor because he hated the term “boss” and worked hard to be a good leader.

He was super-sharp, very driven, and very focused on his long-term goals. I admire all those things about him. Sidenote: he doesn’t know this blog exists, so don’t spill the beans : )

He gave me advice when I was a few years in that I still am extremely thankful he offered.

He told me to not leave design too early.

There’s a natural career path for talented professionals that points to management. It can happen quickly and naturally. If we're not careful, the jump can go right into a role where we are no longer growing our technical depth.

A great entry-level designer is one that is eager to learn and mature.

In time, that designer will work more complex projects, collect some credentials, and serve clients & managers well.

A promotion (informal or formal) can lead to more interaction with customers and project management.

The shift happens slowly, but it's real. It can be easy to get caught up in proposals, mentoring, estimating, business development, managing people, or in a myriad of other tasks.

This is not a bad way to go. It's just not in design.

Great designers can become great project managers and great leaders of companies. The world needs great leaders.

The point my supervisor made was that if I’m not careful, the “blessing” of getting into management early in my career could lead to a shallow technical foundation.

Our value as designers and engineers is based on our ability to serve others with quality, timely help. Once someone shifts from a technical-first role and into a management-first role that technical depth is hard to maintain.

It was timely and important advice.

For some time I debated pursuing an MBA degree. I chose graduate study in fire protection engineering instead. What I began to recognize was that there is a tremendous and unique value to having a technical skillset.

I switched to a new company in 2016 and since then have dabbled in mid-level management. My role has been to grow a small team in fire protection by mentoring and teaching what I know.

I learned that I am terrible at it.

All through high school and college, it seemed that every target was pointed towards the C-Suite. Leadership organizations in particular placed the prized goal as “executive” status with a company.

I think my parents and their generation sees the “executive” concept as having the most glory. I found management to be closer to a mix of babysitting and life coaching than the glamour of Don Draper in Mad Men.

​Leadership involves a lot of things that don’t come naturally to me.

I don’t particularly like rules or accepting past practices at face value. I tend to enjoy operating independently and challenging standards. I really don’t like standards. To clarify - I don't mean NFPA 13 or building codes. I love those little guys. I mean company standards. I tend to not give directions well and I’m also terrible at taking the time I should to help champion others.

These things don’t lend to great management.

What I also learned was that every hour spent managing, proposal writing, or sitting in meetings was an hour I didn’t spend learning.

After some time I made a choice.

I chose to be deliberate about staying in design.

I want to be in the weeds. I want to come across questions that stump me. I want to ask questions. I want to model systems and stocklist and do seismic calculations. I enjoy those things.

The unique value we have as fire protection designers & engineers is the technical understanding we have. We understand systems that help save lives. There’s a real and unique value in that.

If a company is looking for management material, they have options. There are six-hundred US MBA graduates for every one Fire Protection Engineer. Six hundred for every one.

When I first heard the advice, I didn’t know the value that a graduate degree in fire protection would bring to my career. I didn’t realize the wild demand that this industry would have for great designers & engineers. I also didn’t know that I’m pretty awful at managing.

My only advice I can pass forward is to always be sure you’re deliberate about the path you want to pursue.
It is a great goal if you want to pursue management.

A very close friend of mine wants to be CEO of a particular major corporation. I’m pretty sure he’s dreamed about it since he was a kid the way my sister pretend-played weddings. That’s a great and noble goal.

It’s also great if you choose to stick to design and be an expert in it.

We need leaders that can grow and share their technical understanding.

Just be deliberate about the path you take. It’s far too easy to drift and find yourself in a role where you no longer share your greatest talent with the world.


If you enjoyed this, consider sharing with a friend. Here are some similar pieces by Joe Meyer:
Does Your Job Title Matter?
Knowledge is Not Just in Education
Fahrenheit 451 & The Thirst for Knowledge
Heartache of Failure in Life Safety Design
Wayne Ammons
10/9/2019 10:24:41 am

Fantastic post!

Travis Mack link
10/9/2019 01:18:58 pm

Great post as always. As a 30+ year design guy, I am quite happy to be still in the trenches of fire sprinkler system design. It is a field that is always in need of talented individuals.

TG
10/9/2019 04:02:04 pm

Great perspective Joe! This hits home in so many ways for me.

Richard Graham link
10/10/2019 08:15:41 am

I have been reading your blog and subscribe to the emails, but this one hits home for me on so many levels. After almost 32 years in the Fire Suppression Contracting Business I have moved to a consulting engineering firm. I'm still trying to find my way, but I am still learning and I get to teach, but will miss design the most.

Patrick Drumm
10/15/2019 08:39:13 am

Great post Joe, I felt like you were speaking for me. I jumped into project management too early due to company needs. I have since become a freelance designer and I find that I am more techinically educated and can help more systems get designed and installed properely in this role.

Ahkmed
10/16/2019 01:12:45 pm

Great post! What I find in the FP community is the closed mindset of those experienced not willing to help others new to the field ( you know who you are). In other fields there is more amicable sharing of knowledge. This selfish mentality is pushing away future additions to our field and I’ve seen this happen firsthand!

Mr. Meyer thank you for sharing and shaking up the status-quo!


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  • Blog
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    • NFPA 13 EDITION TRANSLATOR ('99-'22)*
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    • OBSTRUCTIONS AGAINST WALL*
    • PLUMBING FIXTURE COUNTS
    • QUICK RESPONSE AREA REDUCTION
    • REMOTE AREA ANALYZER*
    • SPRINKLER DATABASE*
    • SPRINKLER FLOW*
    • SYSTEM ESTIMATOR*
    • TEST & DRAIN CALCULATOR
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    • TRAPEZE CALCULATOR
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