Energy Engineer Interview

As I’ve mentioned before, there are many routes into an engineering career and today’s interviewee is not different, perhaps a more unconventional route that many don’t consider but still a very viable one, today’s interview is with John McClure who’s an Energy engineer.

John and I discussed the differences between the US PE (professional engineer) license and its UK equivalent the CEng status, the former giving the holder the ability to sign off on engineering projects/jobs that fall within their area of expertise and is a recognise license of the holder’s profession’s standard of competence in that field. The later CEng is more about leadership and the ability to drive innovation in technology or methodology in engineering, the holders demonstrate their competence in their field as well, while there might be other differences (one for me to research later) both required a high level of technical expertise and demonstration to achieve.

More on that in another post, please check out John on LinkedIn and have a chat with him! now on to his interview!

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

I had underprivileged beginnings, and so enlisted in the US Navy at age 18. However, I had a lot of raw academic talent, maxing out the score on the entrance exam. I was recruited into the navy’s Nuclear Power Training Program, which introduced me to engineering, with an electrical and electronics specialization. After my military service, I relied on that training to enter the workforce while also going to night school. Playing to my strengths meant leaning into the field of Electrical Engineering as opposed to anything else I might have been naturally inclined toward. 

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

EEs generally need attention to detail, a mathematical/rigorous way of thinking, and a deep understanding of the fundamental principles of the discipline. To be successful, though, soft skills are just as important. Ability to communicate up, down, and across disciplines (and to speak in terms of business value rather than only engineering value) has been the key to my success. How did I develop these skills? I’ve always had this mindset on the technical side – it was innate. As to soft skills, I was self-aware enough early on to see how much value is lost to miscommunication, or technical types being misunderstood, so I focused on being a good communicator. But I didn’t undertake any direct action I can recommend to boost that skill.

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

Probably the most complex project I was involved in, from a technical perspective, involved the adoption of a technology across industry boundaries. Critical to its success was opening the eyes of entrenched industry veterans to realize that the way they’d thought about their operations, sometimes for decades, wasn’t the only way and wasn’t necessarily the best way. Once the stakeholders acknowledge what’s possible, attention can turn toward execution.

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

I deeply dive into research on various technologies as they appear on my horizon. LinkedIn is a good way to stay abreast of current events in my field. And of course the IEEE Spectrum magazine is a highlight every month. While it isn’t exactly “current”, I also study the history of our profession, and read widely about engineering projects from generations past. I look at what were the motivations, the failures, and the paths around obstacles.

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

In college (which remember was night school, and me an adult with a mortgage and family to support) I first learned what a PE is, as one of my professors was licensed. He told the class we should all pursue licensure. I’m convinced I’m the only one in that group who did. I downloaded the roster of PEs in my zip code, filtered to EE, and began cold-calling. I must have tried in the range of 10-20 PEs. Steve DeLory responded. He became my mentor, and we had quarterly lunches explicitly for mentoring my engineering career and my long pathway to becoming a PE. He also introduced me to John Martin, a PE with more similar work specialization to my own. We also had regular lunches and have stayed in close touch.

Both of these gentlemen sponsored my PE licensure application.

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

The military experience described above. The first two years were the most intensive education I’ve ever experienced, and having earned a BS and an MBA since then, I can confidently say those two years of naval nuclear power training are more intense than any university course load.

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

Importance can’t be overstated, as noted above. How to cultivate? Be self-aware. Think of what you’re doing or saying in terms of other folks’ point of view. Given what they know, or don’t know, does what you’re saying make sense to them? Given their goals and values, does the work you’re doing support them? All too often engineers talk as though others fully understand the why, what, how, background, etc of whatever they are talking about. We must recognize this is typically not true. Generally, try to assess your interlocutor’s level of knowledge before sharing information, so you can contextualize it and adapt it appropriately.

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

Be curious and inquisitive. Don’t just study for exams, study for the big picture. Out of school? Don’t stop studying! Learn more – the breadth and depth of your profession. Pursue licensure. Find a mentor! Look at the job you’re in, and ask, will this help me grow or will I stagnate? Earlier in your career it’s much easier to step back and try a different direction, than later on when you have a larger lifestyle to support.

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

This would sound too canned if I say “AI”. But in the EE profession it’s widely considered that power demand, due to both high-performance computing and the move to electrification, will increase globally, and that is expected to keep us busy for a while. Further, AI may change the very nature of the day-to-day work of engineers, but that’s been dwelled on at length by others and I have nothing to contribute to the subject.

Bonus question:
Are there any courses/books/videos/websites that you would recommend young engineers & students to look into when starting in your field?

The Great Bridge, by David McCullough

Any resources that help you prepare for the PE exam

Again many thanks to John for taking the time for this interview with me via a very long Google Meet connection (the longest I’ve done to date), I had never really explored the differences between the US and UK engineer licenses programs until that point, also for me the highlight of this interview has to be his route into engineering which I have to mention my father also had a similar route leaving school at 15 and joining the UK navy who developed him into a Electronics engineer.

That’s it for this interview!

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