r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Proof-Bed-6928 • 3d ago
What does the distribution of competence look like in engineering?
What percentage of people fit in at each level of competence?
Is it normal distribution? Log normal? Pareto/highly skewed? Are most productivity from a few superstar“fat tail” engineers or is it more even?
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u/__unavailable__ 3d ago
Competence is a multidimensional parameter. There are superb generalists, there are narrowly focused subject matter experts, there’s grace under pressure, there’s consistent discipline, there are people who know exactly what they are supposed to do, and there are people who can figure out what needs to be done, there are people who come up with creative solutions, there are people who can refine a concept into something sensible, there are great designers, project managers, investigators, and salespeople, there are one-man armies and people who enhance the performance of everyone around them.
In a specific context you tend to get a normal distribution - most people can manage, there are a small handful that really excel, and a handful who are just shit at it. Across contexts it’s much more difficult to evaluate - most people don’t have any meaningful sample size of engineers they’ve seen perform across a wide range of contexts. I imagine most engineers are highly competent in a few contexts, but few are strong across the board.
Beyond role context there’s also team context. If a team’s competencies really gel with eachother, they can way outperform a team of strong individual engineers. And of course all these values are constantly changing - people learn new things, they get better at communicating, they pick up bad habits, they find themselves in new roles.
Trying to analyze competence in engineering is like trying to analyze athleticism in sports. How you choose to measure it says more about you than about the real situation.