Engineer-A-Business

As I was attending business school after receiving my education as an engineer, I immediately noticed many differences between my previous engineering colleagues and my new classmates.  I attended business school because I wanted to learn the work ethics and responsibilities of the business world as I set out to conquer my dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur.  I was profoundly disappointed to say the least.

I found the work ethic of business school students was seriously lacking in comparison to engineers.  Laziness was not only a tendency, it was a way of life for many business students.  While I pursued my engineering education, it was not uncommon for students to work 60 hours or more in a week throughout the semester.  Students quickly learned that being successful as an engineer meant that they needed to start projects early and make sure that they were of high quality.  When I started business school I quickly found that the work ethic was very different.  Students were accustomed to waiting until the last minute to start their projects.  This almost inevitably resulted in poor work quality.  Work was then graded on a curve and students were seldom given little incentive to improve the quality of their work.  Cheating was also much more common.  After a number of students cheated on an exam and I expressed my frustration, one of my business school colleagues even went so far as to say “Are you saying people don’t cheat in the world?”

In addition to the difference in work ethics, I also noticed that my engineering colleagues held themselves to a higher level of moral responsibility than my business school classmates.  The engineering code of conduct was something that I was exposed to throughout my engineering education.  In business school, professional ethics was not something that was mentioned regularly.  More to the point, it was something that was seriously lacking in the hearts and minds of many of the students I encountered.  The attitude “Do whatever it takes to get ahead” was constantly in the minds of the students.

To be fair, I need to mention that the culture of an individual school can have a profound impact on the personalities and ethics of the students who are attending.  However, it seems clear that members of the engineering and management professions seem to hold themselves to different standards and apply different practices within their respective fields.