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Envelope #5: Be a friend, not a jerk
Andy Lin
April 14, 2022
Hey happy Thursday! This is Back of the Envelope – the place to be to learn a quick thing or two about SE (whether you are a friend or a jerk).
Today, I am going to talk about "amiability" (aka being friendly).
(Estimated read time: 2 minutes and 31 seconds)
According to Bo Jaquess (current SEAOSD president), "amiability" is number two on the list of "what it takes to excel as an engineer." (link)
(Which by the way, I talked about #1 here).
Bo says:
"For better or worse, you must work with other people.
The architects, contractors, MEP engineers, welders, and rodbusters are working toward the same goal as you are: a successful project.
And all are under pressure of some kind, just like you are.
Being 'a pleasure to work with' can be a real factor in your firm landing the next job with that client, as well as your upward mobility within your own firm. Aside from the fact it's just the decent thing to do."
Totally agree. Going to riff off on this and add a few of my takes.
To me, being a decent human/engineer also means that:
1/ You are not a jerk
2/ You are not prideful
3/ You don't react to sh*t immediately
Let me elaborate.