I’m good at my job and I know it, yet I’m over six years into my career and I still feel like a bit of an imposter sometimes. I think we could go a long way towards getting rid of that problem with better training and mentoring. Of course, learning on the job and being able to figure things out is part of what makes a good engineer, but the idea that we should all just be sopping up institutional knowledge like a sponge tends to make even highly capable individuals feel awash, behind, and generally lacking in critical skills.

My experience with rover operations has actually been very different. The process of becoming a certified rover driver involves a year and a half of training including classroom sessions, practice scenarios, and shadow shifts that culminate in an exam and, if you pass, an announcement of your new status. When I received my certification I felt competent, capable of doing the job, and accepted and respected by my peers.

I’ve been asking myself lately how we might be able to encourage similar feelings of belonging in new engineers. Classroom training is one thing, but I think that the final step, recognition by your peers that you have the right stuff, is really what pulls it all together. This is not news to the military. Marines must survive 13 weeks of training that culminate in Hell Week before being earning an Eagle, Globe, and Anchor, and Navy SEALs aren’t awarded a coveted Trident until after completing BUDS and qualification training. Perhaps there is a lesson for us there.