PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Management engineer
function in a work context:
The identikit of the Management Engineer can be effectively outlined through what reported by Corriere della Sera of 31 March 2006: "An engineer-manager with high technical-scientific skills, able to manage financial and technological companies or to offer himself on the market as a high level corporate consultant. "
There are therefore two main functions that the Management Engineer usually performs.
The first function is that of MANAGER who, in addition to possessing an in-depth, specialized knowledge of the so-called traditional managerial issues, ranging from marketing, corporate finance, strategies, supply chain management, has a strong scientific-engineering background as well as the skills to face managerial challenges using the analytical tools of project management, advanced statistics for big data, modelling and analysis of business processes.
The second function is that of STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL CHANGE CONSULTANT, supporting but also guiding work groups, with manifold and transversal skills, leading the company towards complex improvement, innovation, and transformation projects. They are multifaceted professionals, with solid technical and scientific groundings, providing them the aptitude for problem-solving and for the adoption of an engineering approach to business consulting. They are specialists in the challenges of contemporary business, industry 4.0, environmental and social sustainability, digital transformation, market globalization, organizational entrepreneurship.
Skills:
For both functions, MANAGER and STRATEGIC-OPERATIONAL CONSULTANT, graduates in management engineering must possess both “hard”, i.e., technical, and “soft”, i.e., transversal skills.
In particular, the "hard" skills consists of in-depth knowledge of the main business functions such as corporate finance, marketing, operations and supply chain management, innovation management, strategic management as well as the ability to know how to apply this knowledge for solving business problems through advanced "business design" techniques such as project management, business process modelling and analysis, and statistical analysis techniques of business phenomena.
On the contrary, the "soft" skills associated with the functions described above are: the ability to listen and communicate, to work in a team, flexibility and leadership skills, all essential to be able to cover both the role of manager and of consultant. The conversion of the traditional economy into a circular economy on the one hand, and the digital transformation and opening to global business on the other, have made the role of soft skills even more relevant. The implementation of business transformation projects requires much more than hard technologies and skills. The skills to relate, negotiate, lead and sponsor change are even more crucial, because cultural transformation is the basis of all others.
Professional opportunities:
For both the first and the second function of the management engineer, the placement in the job market of graduates in Management Engineering is wide-ranging.
As a MANAGER, the management engineer finds work in any industrial sector. From manufacturing companies, such as automotive and agri-food, to service companies, such as energy transport and distribution companies. From private companies to public administrations. As an example, in recent years management engineers have been hired by the majority of the largest Italian companies such as Eni, Enel, Poste Italiane, Unicredit, Ferrero, Telecom, Bank of Italy.
Small and medium-sized companies (public and private) also represent a large employment area for management engineers. For example, in recent years, the latter are increasingly finding employment with managerial roles in public and private healthcare companies, in innovative start-up companies, small bio-technological companies, etc.
In the role of STRATEGIC-OPERATIONAL CONSULTANT, the management engineer is highly sought after by the most important international consulting firms, such as Deloitte, PwC, KMPG, Ernst & Young, Accenture, MacKinsey, etc.