subject: 5 Tips for Avoiding Obsolescence in High-Tech Jobs [print this page] 5 Tips for Avoiding Obsolescence in High-Tech Jobs
1. Understand how you "fit" within your domain.
Identify the processes that are upstream and downstream of your specific work, then learn more about them. The more you understand how the whole system functions, the more effectively you can make your work "fit". You'll communicate more effectively with your colleagues, identify areas of inefficiency, and provide more overall value.
2. Expand your cross-discipline knowledge.
Don't limit yourself to your own technical field. If you're a software engineer, study kinematics. If you're a mechanical engineer, learn about digital signal processing. Learn to speak the numerous "dialects" among different engineering groups. You'll establish yourself as a valuable translator when difficult system-level problems arise.
3. Study the business aspects of your industry.
Learn what really drives things. Hint: it's not always the technology! Learn about product development and marketing. Intellectual property law is a helpful subject, too. Understand how business realities influence the engineering process. You'll provide more value when you look at problems through both an engineering and a business lens.
4. Explore new solutions to old problems.
Don't let yourself become intellectually complacent. Even if you are convinced your tried-and-true solution is the best approach, explore new alternatives anyway. You will keep a fresh perspective on the problem and perhaps even learn something useful that you can apply to another project. Or you may even discover that your tried-and-true solution isn't so great after all!
5. Update and maintain your technical references.
When you're faced with a technical question, it's not necessarily important that you know the answer. It's more important that you know where to FIND the answer, whether it be in a textbook, an article, or a technical expert that you know. Your book on internet technology from 1998 is probably missing a few key developments. Make sure you know where to turn for more information.
