Matt Genovese

I wear a number of hats, and one is that of an engineer.  As such, I love talking to other engineers about professional networking.  Why?  Because most of my brethren don't do it, at least on purpose.  Granted, I am trying my best to reach them through door64.com - the technology community I started a couple years ago - but there's still much work to be done.

One non-obvious reason for engineers to network is simply to expand their horizons.  Speaking for engineers, it's easy for us to pigeonhole ourselves, daily captivated in the details of scan chains, assembly code, hold time violations, virtualization, and the like.  But it's rare among engineers to be knowledgeable across domains, which is especially valuable in adjacent industries that supply to or buy from companies in one's industry.  Gaining an awareness of another company's business model, products, and challenges are easily within the scope of a conversation at a networking event, and this understanding can help engineers become more well-informed and valuable in their own job.

In addition, chatting with others about their technology and related issues can yield ideas about their own engineering problems.  More often than not, a seemingly revolutionary idea in one domain is just a reapplication of a solution from another domain.  Networking between technologists can get the brain juices flowing, and since engineers are natural problem-solvers, they may leave the event with a new insight into their own technical challenges.

So do me a favor and encourage your engineering friends to leave the lab and network.  They may just walk away with more insight than they ever saw coming!

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Matt Genovese is the founder of door64.com, a community of over six thousand technology professionals in Central Texas with the goal of helping members become more well-connected with each other and the local tech scene.  He consults on community building, and blogs at BrainshowerConsulting.com.  Matt and his family have lived in Austin for 11 years, and he enjoys Drupal, biking, and chocolate...but not necessarily at the same time.