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Question by i4u_rahul: How to adapt to a family business. Mechanical engineer?
I recently completed my mechanical engineering and joined my fathers business. Due to certain critical chain of events, i can’t work elsewhere, i can’t study further- mba or ms.

So i’m kinda stuck here, in the family business with lots of politics and nagging. With no training, no experience, and negligible practical knowledge, i feel like i’ve learn’t nothing at engineering. And its making me feel more and more depressed everyday.

All i’m told is that i need to learn everything. This is a question to all mechanical engineers. Can you learn and expertise in everything that you’ve learn’t in college? Or do you expertise only in a few areas?

In the past 3 months, i’ve realized the scope of a mechanical engineer in the company. From machines- automation, injection molding, plastic molds design, plastic components design, biomechanical science, design of implants, manufacturing, maintenance, HVAC, printing and packaging technology, etc- everything dealing in plastics.

I agree i did complete most of the above topics in my college. But i can’t remember everything done in college.

How much can i regain? I remember the basic principles of pump- but i cant remember every detail of it. So i go back to my books n revise the particular topics. Though it takes me less time to revise than before- the question is- Do i have to revise everything to be technically sound? I dont have to make a pump- i simply have to chose one. Likewise for machines- i want to learn how to chose a machine for a particular job, cost effectiveness, and technical aspect is fulfilled.
(anyone got any books for this one?)

Bottom line is- that my family members are expecting me to do wonders. Since i’m the first engineer in the family, i’m looked upon with cornered eyes, along with a lot of political drama and disputes. Mostly trying to test me, sometimes within my scope, and sometimes completely out of it.

I’m not sure if i explained it properly, but for those who understood me, please advise, how should i go about in my company, and regenerate my learning curve. Cuz the amount of work i did in college, i’m not even doing half of it now. And its making me very uneasy.

Most of my time is spent on the computer, researching on either a new machine, concept, process, or educational site, where i can revise some topic.

I find more fun calculating something, than knowing that its there. We manufacture healthcare devices. So i’m more interested to know why the particular device is designed in that fashion. If a catheter is designed in PVC, i want to know why its not manufactured in PU. I want to know why its dimensions are shaped as such. If we decrease its thickness, can we save costs? What is its maximum pressure capacity? How can i apply ergonomics into its design? What are its most desirable features? What can be an added feature to its design?

These are just a few questions that are racing through my head almost everyday.

Along with the biggest question of them all- how will i manage people, if i know nothing about management.

As of today- my position is on the managers seat. Which to me is fundamently wrong. But since the situation demanded a family member on that seat, i had to fill in. I can’t explain why. But now that it is happening- i’l have to adapt to it, and learn from here on.

But how. Should i revise my engineering skills? Or do a distance learning MBA? If i dont revise my engineering skills now- will it pose a threat to me in near future?
If i dont do an Mba, how can i handle a managers position?

What is the role of a manager + engineer? What should i do to develop a sharp learning curve, and gain confidence? (Which i’m begining to lose everyday- exponentially). How do i train myself. Cuz in the current scenario, i doubt i’l get any training. Everyone’s busy in a critical problem at hand. So i get no time to discuss anything, either wit dad or uncle.

Please help.

Best answer:

Answer by Ted DeadMan
Interesting situation, not far from what most engineers find themselves in.

Engineering school is great background info and teaches you two things
1) Why things happen and the basic science of the world
2) How to learn quickly and apply the info to other items

These are the two things you should have taken from school, nothing more. There are no schools where you could possibly learn everything needed to run a plant since plants are constantly changing are are all wildly different

The best ways to use engineering in the workplace are the concentrate on using basic engineering problem solving. Break down problems into smaller, easier to solve issues (like statics). This can apply to everything. A big production line is just a collection of small tasks or processes, each of which has inputs, outputs and events/happenings.

Most of being an engineer is applying a combination of common sense, basic science, specialized experience and alot of caution.

As far as managing people that is a whole nother game, nothing like doing engineering. This is a “soft skill” that can be learned only through alot of experience, and some people are just plain better at it. Everyone has their style and you just have to find yours. I’d reccomend getting some management books (like self helps) and reading them and discover who you are as a manager. Getting and MBA will not make you an effective manager, they are more about business math and payback and such, not people. To manage people you have to respect them, understand that they are all different and yet treat everyone equally…a tough order. I’ve learned it by watching mainly bad managers and avoiding their mistakes and takign the good things from others. You also have to be ready to let go of things and let others do the work and take joy in it (and be ready for failures)

I’m sure it seems fairly overwhelming right now, I’m sure it is. My first engineering job I felt like an idiot, and have felt that way for a year or so upon each new job, but you get over it

Best thing to do is be organized, have plans, have objectives and try to meet them……

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