Transition Skills from General Engineering to Design Engineering

Hey! My name is Jay and I live in Brisbane, Australia and I have decided to start this blog so I can raise awareness of the importance of industry and manufacturing. I am not a professional who works in this sector but my dad was the manager of a manufacturing plant for many years. When I was growing up, I would often visit him and see the men working on the machines below. It was a wonderful sight. Even though I didn't enter into the same profession as my dad, I have developed a keen interested in the sector. I hope you enjoy my blog.

Transition Skills from General Engineering to Design Engineering

9 August 2017
 Categories: Industrial & Manufacturing, Blog


If you are working as a mechanical engineer and would like to get into design engineering, it is important to know that making the transition can be tough, but it is doable. It applies in particular if you have spent a good part of your career as a general engineer. Nonetheless, most engineers who have moved from hardcore engineering to design engineering agree that it is very fulfilling. However, some of the skills you have gained in your career as a general engineer might not be of help when you transition into design engineering. Most importantly, you need the right skills to help you get into an engineering design firm.

Rendering Skills

Working in an engineering design firm means that you will be interacting with 3-D graphic design programs. The programs require excellent skills in rendering which involves the addition of shade, color, and lamination on 2-D frames to produce lifelike images. If you do not know how to render graphic image designs, then you will need to learn the skill, and this will take you a considerable amount of time. Notably, most general engineers do not have this skill; therefore, when the opportunity presents itself to join a design firm, then you will come on top if your rendering skills are already developed.

Excellent Communication Skills

Communication is paramount in any career, including every field in the engineering industry. However, when compared to general engineers, design experts need an above-average level of communication excellence. For instance, when developing consumer products, you must first convince your firm that the product will help clients to solve a particular problem. After getting your company's approval and designing a prototype, you need to convince potential customers that your solution will work, which boils down to how well you can articulate your ideas.

Understanding Manufacturing Processes

Transitioning into a design engineer means that you will find yourself working in both the early or later stages of a design process. In the past, design engineer prepared the plan and handed it over to the manufacturing department for production. However, the problem with this arrangement is that whenever a problem arises with the manufacture of a part of the product, the design is returned to the drawing board. It was not only expensive but also time-consuming. In certain cases, a complete redesigning of a part might be required. Understanding the manufacturing process eliminates this problem because design engineers today play an active role in the production process. 

For more information, contact a business such as Bertazzo Engineered.