Managing Your Own Career

A person cannot always rely on the good practice described above being followed by their own line managers, no matter how enlightened they maybe. For a Manager the management of their own career needs to have the same care and attention paid to it as is applied to that of any other member of the group. 

Career management is something that needs to be done continuously and not just at critical moments in a person s career [A-17]. To meet this challenge some career rules for professionals have been formulated [A-18]. 

What practical actions can sensibly be taken by the individual The key is to have a plan which identifies both short and long term goals [A-17, A-22]. 

Analytical laboratories have absorbed developments in the automation of laboratory equipment that has markedly influenced the way that they are managed for over thirty years. In the last ten years, automation has spread to the synthetic laboratories of chemical companies and is also making a big impact on the way both product research and process development are carried out. These developments have consequences for R D Managers, which are discussed in this Section. 

Adopt management styles to suit the environment and culture. 

---

Who has major responsibility for career management What steps will you take to manage your own career ... 

I would like to broaden the discussion and share with you the Most Important Lessons You Didn t Learn in Engineering School, lessons I have learned during my 35 years in engineering and engineraing management. Some of the lessons were easy to learn otheais were brutally painful. Some of you may have your own lists. As current and future leaders, I hope you learn from the mistakes of others and apply the lessons learned in your own careers. 

Peck (1987) described a patient who was regularly beaten by his father as a child. As a result of his re-enactment, his chosen career was as a homicide detective, where he sought out the most violent crimes. Kets de Vries (1989), in a psychodynamic analysis of famous business leaders, suggests a frequent occurrence of absentee fathers (physical or emotional). The desire to be a leader/manager expresses the desire to become your own father and raise yourself again the right way , with total control over the events. It is hypothesized that this is why control is such an issue for these managers. This is... 

Now, this is not to say that there are "no holds barred" where profits are concerned. Running a business is just like living your life— you must respect the law and deal ethically with your vendors, customers, employees, and stockholders. Managers who break the law usually wind up in court, and managers who treat others unethically quickly get a reputation that harms their business and their own careers. It may take a while, but people who are always testing the limits will find them, but usually not imtil it s too late. 

---