Many mechanical engineers reach a point where they enjoy handling customers, vendors and delivery but are not sure if staying only in the design lane is right for their long term career. In this Lounge Access conversation, a design engineer from a small mechanical firm asks Shoaib a simple question: coming from a mechanical background, should he go into project management or stay on the pure engineering side.
Shoaib first clears a big misconception. Project management is not limited to IT and is actually used in every industry where work is planned, delivered and closed as projects. He uses the example of tool design work to show how a short two day engagement and a longer three month engagement can both be treated as projects with clear phases, and how a mechanical engineer may already be following those phases without calling it project management. This helps the viewer see that a move into project management is not about leaving engineering behind but about formally taking ownership of delivery.
The discussion then goes deeper into what project managers actually do compared to what many people think they do. The engineer in the call assumes that project managers only schedule meetings and watch over a team, but Shoaib asks him to look at larger companies in the same industry on platforms like LinkedIn and Glassdoor to understand real job roles. By studying job descriptions for titles such as project manager, project engineer, project coordinator and project associate, and by comparing those responsibilities with his current tasks, the engineer can clearly see where his experience already overlaps and what gaps he still needs to work on.
Instead of pushing PMP as a quick fix, Shoaib encourages a thoughtful approach. The first step is to decide whether the engineer truly wants to move away from a pure technical path into a role that involves more planning, coordination, communication and ownership of end to end delivery. If the answer is yes, then exploring project management learning, gaining experience on projects and later considering certifications like PMP can make sense, especially in bigger organizations that have well defined project roles.
For mechanical and other engineers who are wondering if project management is right for them, Lounge Access offers a space to talk through their profile, target industry and role options directly with Shoaib. These one to one conversations help you move beyond assumptions about what project managers do and build a realistic plan for your own transition instead of relying only on generic advice. To know more about Lounge Access and how to book a session, visit the Lounge Access page.
