Section Officers:

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Midwest Express Center

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

October 14 – 16, 2004

Visit the SWE website at www.swe.org/2004 for more information and registration.

SPEAKERS NEEDED

Engineers are needed to speak to area high school students about careers in Engineering. The Engineers' Roundtable will be working in conjunction with the Boy Scouts' Learning for Life program to speak to
area high school students about careers in Engineering. This is a great opportunity for us to introduce the engineering profession to high school students and help them decide if engineering is for them. Engineers will speak to classes or at career nights.

If you are interested, please send an email to Kate Gronstal at keg@kirkham.com with the following information:

Name
Contact information
Area of Engineering Practice
Availability (day or night and cities - Omaha, Council Bluffs, Gretna, etc.)

If you have any questions, Kate can be contacted via email at keg@kirkham.com or by phone at 402-952-3862.

OTHER WEB SITES TO VISIT

General info about SWE - http://www.swe.org/SWE/Atlarge/sweinfo.html

SWE On-line Services - http://www.swe.org/SWE/online.htm#email

Engineering/Technical Women's Web Sites - http://www.swe.org/SWE/others.html

http://www.discoverengineering.org/

http://www.engineeringsights.org/

UPCOMING TRAINING SESSION

“Successful Project Management”, hosted by the Nebraska Section of ASME, will be offered on Friday, November 19, 2004. It will be held at the Mahoney State Park Lodge – Nebraska Room in Ashland, NE from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Course Summary: Learn project management techniques for planning, implementing, and completing projects to produce desired results on time and within budget. Use project management tools to set and achieve measurable objectives, estimate project time and costs, determine project scope, manage resource requirements, and control results.

Earn 8 Professional Development Hours

Fee:

$75 – Cost includes course materials, PDH certificate, and lunch.

Reservations are required and due by Wednesday, November 3rd. Contact Tom Rerucha at 402-548-4867 or by email at Thomas.L.Rerucha@ue-corp.com . Payment can be sent to Tom Rerucha, Utility Engineering, 9420 Underwood Avenue, Suite 200,

Omaha, NE 68114.

INFORMATION TO SHARE IN THE NEWSLETTER

We always welcome articles of interest from our SWE newsletter recipients. Such items as:

· News of interesting projects at your workplace

· Links to useful websites

· Requests for volunteers for a career guidance project

· Interesting seminars/speakers in the area

Contact: Janis Pfingsten at Janis.pfingsten@swe.org with any ideas that you have.

10 Tips for Getting Your Work/Life in Balance

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

If you haven't done so already, consider taking our Work/Life Balance Quiz.

Here are 10 tips to help you achieve a better balance in your life. Take a moment to read and reflect on these tips -- and then get your life in balance!

Negotiate a Change with Your Current Employer. Progressive employers recognize the value of good employees, and many are willing to find ways to help current employees deal with short-term or permanent changes caused by family situations. The changes can include flextime, job-sharing, telecommuting, or part-time employment. Your first step is to research your employer’s policies and methods of handling previous requests. Then go to your boss armed with information and a plan that shows how you will be an even more valuable and productive employee if you can modify your current work situation.
Find a New Career. Some careers are simply more stressful and time-consuming than others. If you need more time for yourself or your family, now may be the time to explore careers that are less stressful and more flexible.
Find a New Job. Rather than a career change, perhaps you simply need to take a less stressful job within your chosen career. This change may involve working with your current employer to identify a new position, it may involve a full job-search, or it may involve temping or becoming a consultant or starting a freelancing or other home-based business.
Slow Down. Life is simply too short, so don’t let things pass you in a blur. Take steps to stop and enjoy the things and people around you. Schedule more time between meetings; don’t make plans for every evening or weekend, and find some ways to distance yourself from the things that are causing you the most stress.
Learn to Better Manage Your Time. Avoid Procrastination. For many people, most of the stress they feel comes from simply being disorganized -- and procrastinating. Learn to set more realistic goals and deadlines -- and then stick to them. You’ll find that not only are you less stressed, but your work will be better.
Share the Load. Even though we may sometimes feel we’re the only ones capable of doing something, it’s usually not the case. Get your partner or other family members to help you with all your personal/family responsibilities. Taking care of the household, children, or parents should not be the responsibility of just one person.
Let Things Go. (Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.) It’s simpler said than done, but learn to let things go once in a while. So what if the dishes don’t washed everyday or that the house doesn’t get vacuumed every week. Learn to recognize the things that don’t really have much impact in your life and allow yourself to let them go -- and then not beat yourself up for doing so.
Explore Your Options. Get Help. If you are feeling overwhelmed with your family responsibilities, please get help if you can afford it. Find a sitter for your children, explore options for aging parents, and seek counseling for yourself. In many cases, you have options, but you need to take the time to find them.
Take Charge. Set Priorities. Sometimes it’s easier for us to allow ourselves to feel overwhelmed rather than taking charge and developing a prioritized list of things that need to get done. You need to buck the trend. Develop a list. Set priorities. And then enjoy the satisfaction of crossing things off your list.
Simplify. It seems human nature for just about everyone to take on too many tasks and responsibilities, to try to do too much, and to own too much. Find a way to simplify your life. Change your lifestyle. Learn to say no to requests for help. Get rid of the clutter and baggage in your house -- and your life.

In the end, the key word is balance. You need to find the right balance that works for you. Celebrate your successes and don’t dwell on your failures. Life is a process, and so is striving for balance in your life.

Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search terms by going to our Job-Seeker's Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.

Dr. Randall Hansen is currently Webmaster of Quintessential Careers, as well as publisher of its electronic newsletter, QuintZine. He writes a biweekly career advice column under the name, The Career Doctor. He is also a tenured, associate professor of marketing in the School of Business Administration at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. He is a published career expert -- and has been for the last ten years. He is co-author, with Katharine Hansen, of Dynamic Cover Letters. And he has been an employer and consultant dealing with hiring and firing decisions for the past fifteen years. He can be reached at randall@quintcareers.com.

SWE MEMBERSHIP

http://www.swe.org/SWE/MemberSevices/service.aspx

SWE now offers both prospective and current members significant advances in on-line capabilities including:

Apply for Membership On-Line. Individuals interested in joining SWE are invited to take advantage of this latest web site addition. Featuring a secure connection for credit card acceptance, the on-line application steps a prospective member through the application process.
Upgrade your Member Grade On-Line. For current professional members wishing to update work experience or advanced degrees in order to upgrade their member grades.
Student Upgrade For graduating students wishing to upgrade to a professional designation.
Renew your Membership On-Line. Members of SWE are now able to renew their memberships for the current fiscal year on-line. Simply login with your user id and password and apply a credit card to your membership dues through our secure connection.
Retrieve a Lost Password. No need to contact SWE headquarters when you can't find your password! Simply follow the on-line steps to have your password emailed to you automatically.
Contributions - Support SWE's mission by making a charitable contribution to the project, program or scholarship of your choice.

IMPROVED!

Address Update. Moving, graduating or changing jobs? Update your contact information quickly and easily.
Profile Update. Update your on-line profile with the latest information on your educational and career history.

On-Line Directory. Find colleagues and network through the on-line directory of SWE Members. Note! SWE leaders will find special features tailored to their needs.

SWE's Mission:

Stimulates women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders.

Expands the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life.

Demonstrates the value of diversity.

SWE's Objectives:

Encourage women engineers to attain high levels of education and professional achievement.

Inform young women, their parents, counselors, and the general public, of the qualifications and achievements of women engineers and the opportunities open to them.

Assist women engineers in readying themselves for a return to active work after temporary retirement.

Serve as a center of information on women in engineering.

SWE's Key Issues:

Leadership - Provide opportunities for members to develop leadership and management skills to enable them to achieve their maximum potential and further their ability to attain increasingly important positions of responsibility.

Education - Provide programs to encourage girls and women to enter engineer and encourage members to attain high levels of achievement in their fields.

Visibility - Increase visibility of SWE and its programs to members, the technical community and the general public.

Diversity - Develop programs to encourage and sustain increase participation in the fields of science and engineering reflective of our diverse population.

Resources - Increase the Society's resources for the purpose of supporting high quality programs and services to meet its goals.

SWE GOALS FY04/05

Eastern Nebraska Section

1) LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCY

a. Plan more joint activities with other professional societies so our members can benefit from their knowledge on various professions related to engineering.

b. Provide communications for upcoming seminars/training sessions in the Omaha area for CEU credits.

2) EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

a. Develop a stronger relationship with the local Girl Scout Troops by assisting them with attaining troop badges.

b. Continue a strong community presence within local schools.

3) KNOWLEDGE SOURCE

a. Continue and expand our sharing of knowledge and support of women in engineering and related fields.

4) INCLUSIVE ORGANIZATION

a. Host some self-improvement, relaxation, and/or family organization meetings.

b. Schedule monthly luncheon meetings with members and non-members. Encourage members to bring a co-worker to lunch and provide membership information and upcoming event information.

5) VALUE AND BENEFIT

a. Maintain a strong relationship with both area student groups and encourage them to upgrade by inviting them to participate in our meetings.