Michael Ungar argues that automation professionals advance by taking on challenging roles that force them to understand people and see problems in context. Engineers who combine technical depth with systems-level thinking and interpersonal skills become the strategic problem-solvers manufacturers actually want to promote.
I think moving into those roles really actually made me a more effective employee because it forced me to face the things that challenged me and that I was afraid to face, saying, you know, I'll never be able to do that because I don't understand people. But honestly, within the automation space, the guys in manufacturing, the people you're dealing with, they want somebody that can talk on the technical end and see that process. They don't want you to see just that problem that's in front of them right then. They want you to be able to see how that problem applies across their entire process so you can help them come up with the appropriate solution.
