Jumping off point

Many people who are fashion concious look at engineers and the way we dress, and think we are clueless. Don't we know that we will never get anywhere in our careers wearing jeans and a t-shirt?

Have you ever heard the term management hair? A weird thing happens with some engineers at a certain point in their career. They grow tired of constant challenge and decide to go into management. The way you can tell they made this decision is that they start wearing mangement clothes and get a mangement haircut.

But those who have decided to avoid management and stay in engineering have a delimma. They want to have a good haircut to look good, but it can't be too good a haircut or it will undermine their credibility as an engineer. People will think they have management aspirations on their minds, and have abandonded engineering. Same thing with clothes. If a guy gives a technical presentation in a suit and with gelled up hair nobody will think he actually knows what he is talking about. But if he wears cut off shorts, sandals, and a pony tail -- then people will figure he must know what he's talking about, because otherwise nobody would have let the guy near a microphone.

We engineers believe we got where we are on ability and hard work. Any display of carisma or social awareness undermines that belief. Furthermore we judge other engineers by the same standard. Good engineers got where they are by ability and hard work. So any trait other than ability and hard work are seen as phony, a cover up for stupidity and laziness. It's a statement about substance over style.

So next time you see an engineer and think he is dressed cluelessly, reexamine your frame of reference, and realize it is exactly the opposite.