Continuing on with the Interview series where I go and find active posting engineers from all backgrounds and fields on LinkedIn and ask them my 10 questions to dive into their career path while seeing what nuggets of insights, tips and tricks they have to share.

This week we have Jeff Perry who is the author of the book ‘The Intentional Engineer’. LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffcperry/

Interview Mechanical engineer to Leadership & careers coach and Author

1. Can you briefly describe your career path and what led you to choose your specific field of engineering?

So I spent a lot of years navigating career crossroads first hand and mostly alone. I struggled to find purpose and direction as I moved from mechanical engineer to software engineer to manufacturing engineer and engineering leader. Along the way I realized certainly wasn’t the only one struggling with this too. Beyond the technical things I was working on I recognized that I really cared about building people, but I didn’t know how to take my career in that direction and I wasn’t progressing like I wanted to. At that point I recognized that I had an ability to see in others what they couldn’t see in themselves. 

So I became a leadership and career expert coach and trainer for engineers.

I now love combining my industry expertise in engineering and technology with proven coaching and mentoring methodologies to empower engineering and technology professionals to clarify their goals, build personal brands, upgrade their mindsets, and create fulfilling careers and lives. I’m passionate about helping individuals unlock their potential for success and create a life-work alignment that resonates with who they are trying to become.

2. What key skills do you believe are essential for success in your engineering discipline, and how did you develop these skills?

Empathy/emotional intelligence – I spend a lot of time listening, asking questions, and pulling goodness out of people as they are going through big difficulties and seizing big opportunities.

Communication/public speaking – I’ve put in a lot of “reps” through giving countless speeches, presentations, having 1:1 conversations, recording podcasts, and writing blogs, newsletters, and even my first book, The Intentional Engineer.

3. What are some common challenges you face in your industry, and how do you approach solving them?

As an entrepreneur, no one gives you a paycheck. You have to find clients and people to work with. That’s not my favorite part of the job, but I seek to shift my perception around it to notice that when people work with me, they get FAR more value out of the work than what they pay me. I love seeing that come to fruition.

It can also be difficult to help clients when they are in very difficult emotional circumstances. Losing jobs, losing loved ones, going through personal struggles. Everything comes out. I just try and be a support for them and be a light even when they feel everything is dark.

4. Can you share an example of a complex project you managed or contributed to, and what were the critical factors in its success?

When I was still working a corporate job at a mid-sized company, we merged with another company and rebranded everything. I led the project to rebrand all physical materials and get the changes implemented into our manufacturing line. This touched documentation, engineering items, circuit boards, and so much more. Very complex project working across the entire company and managing supply chains, it took about two years.

5. How do you stay current with the latest developments and technologies in your field?

I’m involved in various communities, have my own coaches, and connect with many other coaches and professionals in this space to keep a pulse on what is going on and how things are changing.

6. Did you have a mentor early in your career? How did their guidance impact your professional development?

I’ve had multiple. I had one in particular who was the VP of engineering that encouraged me to take on a side project to do training internal to the organization on culture and mindsets. That was a perfect fit for me, and unlocked a great love to work on the people issues we face even more than the technical ones. That completely changed the trajectory of my career.

7. What practical experiences or internships were most beneficial to you during your studies or early career?

I had a non-engineering internship in New York City working for an insurance firm doing marketing. That was extremely helpful to gain perspective and experience in an industry and role that was unfamiliar to me.

But one of the early things I did was get into undergraduate research. That led to my first job outside of college due to industry connections our research lab had.

8. How important are soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and leadership in your role, and how do you cultivate them?

My role is all about soft skills. I still practice, take courses, work with coaches/mentors, and ask for feedback often from those I work with, talk to, etc.

9. What advice would you give to young engineers or engineering students who are just starting their careers?

Be intentional. What do you want to learn? How do you want to grow? Who do you want to become? Don’t just be opportunistic and accept what is in front of you. Decide what you want and be intentional about creating that reality.

10. What emerging trends or technologies do you think will have the biggest impact on the engineering field in the next five to ten years?

AI is certainly changing things, but I think also just the generational shift as we have a HUGE generation in the Baby Boomers that are retiring over the next few years and seeing the new generation need to step up. The way we go about doing knowledge transfer and cultivating company cultures to create innovation will be interesting to watch.

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