I have been working for a dredging company for close to 8 years now. In that time I have worked my way up to 3 A/E. While I absolutely love working on a ship in the engine department (the environment), I have found the abundance of things we are responsible for to be absolutely overwhelming. I enjoy having a good familiarity with everything we do down in engineering, but I am struggling when it comes to performance due to the great amount of things we must be skilled in doing, and the inability to focus on one subject/machine/skill at a time. I find it near impossible to learn enough to feel confident as I’m never continuing to focus on the project/topic I research.

My question is this: How did you other engineers pick up enough skills to be proficient in all E/R operations? Did you have extensive academy training before starting your career? Did your company(s) have ‘training’ periods where you apprenticed or shadowed another engineer? Or is it mostly just mechanical aptitude and just doing your best?

My skills have all been developed ‘on the job’. I have a decent knowledge of many things down in the E/R, but I never feel entirely confident while performing most specific ‘repair’ tasks as I’ve never specialized in any certain area. There are moments when I have considered training for an electronics role onboard just so that I might hone in on one ‘trade’ at a time.

Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

It starts with teaching your unlicensed watch partner what you know and respecting what they know. I have probably learned more about equipment operation from them than anywhere else. Many of them have been doing the job far longer than you at this stage. Ask questions and listen to answers. The 8 years in your toolbox now must surely contain most of what you need. Your question sounds more like a crisis of confidence.

Read the f’ing manuals!!! When reading technical manuals becomes light reading for entertainment you will be on the motorway to success. No one knows more than the manufacturer, take advantage of that fact.

Don’t take yourself so seriously, we all screw up, none of us know everything about everything or can do everything well. Don’t be afraid to be wrong or make a mistake, learn from those events and don’t take it personally. If you don’t learn and keep making the same mistake or try to cover it up or make excuses for it then your shipmates will definitely, and deservedly, make it personal for you!

Force yourself to focus, focus, focus. Unless you are some kind of genius superman you can’t concentrate on 3 different things at once and do a good job on all of them. Prioritize and take care of what is most critical and delegate when the resources are available. Accept defeat gracefully and call it a lesson.

Excuse all the clichés but if you want to “broaden your horizons” you shouldn’t limit yourself to the narrow path.

First thing, never pretend to know something that you don’t. If you do that, you’ll stop learning because you’ve publically declared you know the subject already. Also, smart subordinates will know you’re full of shit & less likely to help you. So stay humble.

Second thing, the first skills to attempt to master are managerial & interpersonal skills. No matter how much I practice or how many classes I take there seems to always be someone on board who welds better than me. I kind of suck at it. So I get someone else to do it.

Third, always try to do it by the book. If you fuck it up or someone doesn’t like the way you did it then the problem is with the book or your interpretation of it, not with you.

Fourth, being mindful not to violate the first piece of advice mentioned, fake it 'til you make it. Without over thinking it too much, start each job by asking yourself, “How would a good, professional engineer tackle this problem?”, then do it. Do this last piece of advice for a year or three & you won’t know any other way of doing it. Good luck.

The company is the world’s best Vocational Education Equipment supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.