All about the profession of engineer-economist

What engineers and economists do "separately" - every person knows. But for those wishing to choose a professional path, it is also useful to know everything about the profession of an engineer-economist. This is a very important and responsible specialization with its own nuances of preparation and subsequent professional activity.

Such a profession as an engineer-economist is at the intersection of "financial" and "technical" profiles of activity. Moreover, it is difficult to say which of these components will dominate. Too much depends on the specific workplace and even on how the employee himself sets himself. Yes, an engineer-economist, even a leading one, will not have to develop machines or introduce new technological processes. However, the technology in the form in which it is used in production will have to be studied in detail.

An engineer with an economic education differs from an "ordinary" economist in that he will not be involved in accounting, auditing and drawing up cash flow statements. Although, of course, he should have a general idea of ​​these points. The main component in the work of an engineer-economist is the preparation of calculations. Analyzing certain technical projects, work plans or actually completed work, he will characterize them using:

• profitability;
• percentage of profitability;
• the rate of increase or decrease in productivity;
• the cost of material resources and labor in production;
• the calculated payback period.

It is useful to study the requirements of the professional standard for the profession of an engineer-economist.All labor functions and basic working actions of this specialist are described there. The main focus is on the technical and economic analysis of activities in the organization.

According to a typical job description, an engineer-economist is primarily engaged in increasing the economic efficiency of the organization. This goal must be achieved without loss of quality. Also, engineers-economists are required to take an active part in the development of new samples of industrial products, in the development of the latest types of work, as well as services. They are:

• prepare initial data for business plans and for planning by structural divisions;
• calculate costs: material, labor and financial;
• analyze the economic side of the organization as a whole;
• work out measures to save labor and finances, energy and material resources;
• are looking for an opportunity to expand the overall output of products, the scale of the provision of services (performance of work);
• help to develop scientific, technical and engineering development plans, assess the feasibility of proposals from an economic point of view;
• improve on-farm accounting;
• improve the state of planning, reporting and analytical documentation.

Such a variety of actions makes one have a very broad competence. An engineer-economist, by definition, is obliged to know all regulations of various levels (from international to industry-specific) concerning his main activity. He must also understand how business plans and other internal documents are prepared, how certain orders of the management will affect its work. You will definitely have to study all the nuances of planning and accounting documentation. You also definitely need to know:

• methods for assessing the economic efficiency of products, technological processes, work performed (services provided);
• the rules by which materials are drawn up when concluding contracts;
• the procedure for organizing statistical and operational accounting;
• production economics;
• organization of production;
• theory and practice of management, organizational structure of the enterprise;
• the procedure for the operation of computers;
• methods of using software tools to simplify calculations and to automate individual stages of work;
• labor protection and safety requirements.

Of course, in order to improve your position in the labor market, you need to study to be an engineer-economist at a university located in a large city. But this is not always possible. You can enroll in the specialty "Economics and Management in Construction" at the Magnitogorsk Technical University named after Nosov or at the Novokuznetsk Siberian State Industrial University. The specialization "Economics and Management at a Heat Power Engineering Enterprise" is available at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute or at the Kazan University of Economics.

Also, training in the direction of the actual "Engineer-Economist" can be passed in:

• St. Petersburg University of Industrial Technologies and Design;
• Samara State University (and its branch in Novokuibyshevsk);
• Northwest Institute of Management;
• MIREA;
• MEI;
• RANEPA;
• Moscow State University;
• HSE;
• Baltic Technical University;
• SPbSU;
• Russian State University for the Humanities;
• Plekhanov Russian University of Economics;
• Far Eastern Federal University;
• Crimean Federal University;
• SUSU;
• UrFU;
• Tyumen University.

What subjects need to be taken depends primarily on the policy of a particular educational institution. The minimum requirements determined by the federal educational standard are positive marks in mathematics and Russian. In technical universities and institutes, physics is most often the third test.In institutions of humanitarian and "universal" training, the emphasis is usually placed on social studies.

An engineer-economist can find work in a wide variety of areas of the economy. But for obvious reasons, such specialists are primarily expected in industry, construction, energy and transport. Some professionals even find a place for themselves in marketing. There, their role is to search for optimal categories of consumers, taking into account the technical and economic characteristics of goods and services. An IT economist typically develops a customized proposal for different customer groups.

These specialists are quite widely in demand in government agencies.... Finally, consulting organizations may also be interested in them. The average salary of a novice engineer-economist is 30-35 thousand rubles a month.