{"id":26330,"date":"2024-06-22T16:03:56","date_gmt":"2024-06-22T23:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/the-business-of-engineering-an-interview-with-matthew-loos\/"},"modified":"2024-06-22T16:03:59","modified_gmt":"2024-06-22T23:03:59","slug":"the-business-of-engineering-an-interview-with-matthew-loos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/the-business-of-engineering-an-interview-with-matthew-loos\/","title":{"rendered":"The Business of Engineering: An Interview with Matthew Loos"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"-\"<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

\n

Matthew Loos is an experienced project manager in the civil engineering industry. He works as a project engineer at Jones|Carter in Fort Worth, Texas. In this interview, we discuss Matt\u2019s new book, The Business of Engineering.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It is not very common that an engineer writes a
\nnon-technical book. What inspired you to do so?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"matt
Matt Loos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Have you
\never gotten an idea stuck in your head that you just couldn\u2019t let go of? A time
\nwhen you couldn\u2019t go to sleep because the idea was consistently begging for
\nyour attention?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what
\nhappened to me. The idea for this book hits me right before bed, as most good
\nideas do. I couldn\u2019t go to sleep after the idea struck me. I spent half of the
\nnight writing the chapters of this book in my mind. I had been thinking about
\nthe idea of engineering and how it relates to other career fields, even the
\nnon-technical ones. I was disenchanted with the trifling number of classes I
\ntook that prepared me for the business world. These were the initial thoughts
\nthat eventually led me down the road into thinking about engineering as a
\nprofession going forward.<\/p>\n

As this
\nindustry continues to pursue technological advances, engineers will be required
\nto take on more leadership positions to capitalize on these advances and help
\ncommunicate the advantages of these developments to others. These leadership
\npositions will require engineers to utilize skills not commonly taught in
\nhigher education. This is where the story of the Business of Engineering<\/em> emerges.<\/p>\n

Can you tell us about how you wrote the book?
\nHow much did you rely on your own experience and instinct; how much information
\nand inspiration did you draw from others?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This book
\nwas written with approximately 50\/50 mix of my own experience and the
\nexperience of many others that have walked this path before me. My idea was to
\nmesh my fairly recent experience with the higher educational system here in
\nAmerica with that of my professional experience since graduating with my
\nengineering degree. I do not have decades of experience to draw from so this is
\nwhere the other 50% of the book comes from.<\/p>\n

While studying for numerous business classes in school, I
\nbecame preoccupied with these visionary business leaders. What separated these
\nmen and women from the rest of the engineers throughout history? What made them
\nso successful in the businesses they formed and managed? How could I become as
\nsuccessful (or more so) as these incredible engineers? Needless to say, I came
\naway with more questions than answers. As famous English writer Sydney Smith
\nonce wrote, \u201cWhat you don\u2019t know would make a great book.\u201d This book was my
\nquest for a clearer vision of success in engineering. This book was written to answer
\nthese questions for myself, and hopefully for others such as your followers.<\/p>\n

You talk about a mindset. Is there something in
\na typical engineer\u2019s mindset that you\u2019d like to change and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In short,
\nthe skills that made engineers successful in the past, will not be the same
\nones that will allow them to be successful in this Fourth Industrial Revolution
\nwe are now coming into. A world with AI, IoT, and machine learning. As the
\nglobal economy becomes even more intertwined, the technological skillset provided
\nby engineers will be even more necessary in day-to-day business management decisions.
\nIn contrast, the wildly expanding breadth of technological advances will
\nrequire the modern engineer to utilize common business proficiencies to
\ncommunicate these advances. This is why the mindset of the Business of
\nEngineering is so important.<\/p>\n

You have laid out some practical frameworks for
\nengineers in the book. What are they about and how can they help engineers
\nsucceed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, I\u2019m a
\nfan of books that provide action items for readers follow. Actionable items
\nhelp to reinforce ideas and help readers to see real improvement in their own
\npersonal and professional careers. In the Business
\nof Engineering<\/em>, readers can expect to find real-world frameworks to become
\nbetter communicators, generate creativity in their workflows, utilize deadlines
\nto produce fantastic results, and much more. Each chapter of this book contains
\na theme with actionable outlines to help engineers succeed by seeing greater
\nresults in their professional career.<\/p>\n

Engineering is becoming automatized. We read
\nabout artificial intelligence and machine learning and how they will disrupt
\nthe business. What do you think will happen to engineers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a
\ngreat question! I enjoy discussing the future of our profession with others. I
\nthink that technology is meant to compliment human endeavors, not to
\nnecessarily replace them. I believe that initially, AI will help to bring
\ngreater productivity to the engineering profession. We have seen that in the
\npast the increase of technology brings about an increase in productivity. Once
\nsystems become even more advanced, I do see some engineering jobs becoming replaced
\nby these systems. However, with the reduction of existing engineering jobs will
\ncome new fields of engineering trades not currently realized. I think it is an
\nexciting time to be in this profession and am looking forward towards its
\nadvancement in the fourth industrial revolution.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give to young people who
\nare considering an engineering career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, I
\nwould congratulate them for pursuing such a fulfilling and potentially
\ndifficult career. My advice for a budding career in engineering would be to start
\nwith a base of integrity and healthy respect of others. Once you have these two
\nfoundational attributes, you can move to the next important trait for a
\nsuccessful career in engineering\u2026persistence. Nothing worth truly accomplishing
\ncomes without persistence. If the young readers of your excellent blog are
\nlooking at achieving a successful career in engineering, tenacity will be
\nnecessary in not only completing their degrees but further success in their career
\nas a whole.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a Kickstarter campaign for your book
\nthat runs until June 1, 2019. Can you tell us how it came about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you for asking about this! This is a great opportunity to not only get a copy of the book<\/a>, help in the mission of spreading these ideas, and even grab some great courses from one of the leading engineering management trainers at that Engineering Management Institute. We thought the idea of pursuing a grassroots campaign for this book would be the best way to build up a strong following of like-minded individuals to share in our journey.<\/p>\n

How has the campaign gone so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The
\ncampaign has gone very well! We have met our initial goal of funding after only
\na week and are continuing to spread the word. Our goal is to have well over a
\nhundred backers of the campaign, and we are well on our way!<\/p>\n

If our readers would like to contact you, how
\ncan they reach you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best
\nway to contact me would be to reach out to me on LinkedIn. I am a huge
\nproponent of this site and check it regularly. My LinkedIn link is: https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/matthew-loos-pe-leed-ap-a1172599\/<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n