The Career Iceberg: What Your Junior Engineers Don't See (And Why They Leave)
The Iceberg Effect
When I was a younger engineer, I would watch senior colleagues disappear into meetings with clients or senior management. They’d return with decisions that shaped the entire project. What went on in those rooms made me feel that I wasn't privy to the process. What did they prepare? Why did some decisions need to be escalated? I never dared to ask. I thought my place was behind my desk, running numbers, minding my own business.
But in hindsight, that silence was a disservice to myself. I didn’t see how my design was only one piece of a much bigger picture. Years later, when I stepped into leadership and client-facing roles, I saw the piece of the iceberg I had been missing underneath the surface. Such as the art of pitching ideas, weighing pros/cons and building a case that served both the project and the client’s broader objectives. There was so much more than ensuring the design was code compliant, optimised, durable and safe. There was strategy, persuasion, negotiation and responsibility far beyond the visible surface.
Why Career Clarity Drives Retention
I’ve had the privilege (and pain) of listening to exit conversations with younger engineers. The lack of clarity was a common theme that surfaced. “What will my career look like in 3–5 years? What are the possible career pathways?” Without answers, motivation drained away. When a brilliant engineer leaves, the ripple effects were heavy. Knowledge lost, projects delivery gets compromised, new hires retrained, teams disrupted. The cycle repeated itself.
What struck me most is that it didn’t take much to shift this. A bit more heart and clarity. Helping engineers see the pathways ahead may be enough to keep them anchored. Guide them on how they could contribute, where they might grow. Talent doesn’t always leave for money, sometimes is because their future in the firm is not visible to them.
The Resource Planning Trap
I’m guilty of this too. When a project is on fire, urgent tasks needs to be done, the instinct was to move resources like chess pieces. Who’s free? Who can help? Get Sarah from one team, Mike from another. Firefighting is sometimes the nature of our work. When deadlines or construction site issues call for it, we may need to make the decision drop everything and focus on delivery, even seek additional hands to help.
How could we make this resource shuffling better? We could frame this differently.
Take 5 minutes to tell junior engineers why they’re being pulled in, what skills they could learn, how their contribution fits the bigger picture. It won’t change the urgency, but it transforms the experience from “random tasking” into purposeful growth. Small conversations compound over time.
What Young Engineers See vs Reality
For many engineers, career progression looks like a straight ladder. Develop your technical skills, move on to project management, then keep climbing. But this view is incomplete. It’s like when we were children, thinking adulthood meant more freedom, not realising it also came with responsibilities.
What’s hidden beneath the surface is far more complex: influencing without authority, shaping strategy, mentoring others, understanding the business drivers, learning to navigate ambiguity. These are the parts of the iceberg that younger engineers often don’t see.
When I was a young engineer, I thought leadership was about decisions appearing fully formed. In reality, it was the messy, building trust, managing relationships, uncertainty and aligning diverse perspectives. That was the iceberg my younger self never saw.
How Leaders Can Illuminate Hidden Pathways
Move Beyond Annual Appraisals Don’t wait for appraisal season. Use regular, short 1:1s to ask small but powerful questions: What kind of problems excite you? Whose role sparks your curiosity?
Create Exposure Opportunities Bring a graduate engineer into a value engineering workshop. Let them sit in on a client call. Even as observers, these moments expand horizons.
Frame Firefighting as Learning When pulling someone into a crisis task, explain the why and the what they will gain. 5 minutes can shift their perspective from frustration to growth.
Share Your Own Hidden Journey Be candid about your career journey. What are the skills that mattered, the twists you didn’t expect. These stories demystify the path.
Connect Them to Role Models Expose them not only to the “next rung” but to lateral, hybrid, and unconventional roles. I love Sheryl Sandberg’s idea that careers are more like a jungle gym than a ladder. Encourage them to see sideways moves, hybrid paths, and unexpected climbs as valid growth. Help them view careers as ecosystems, not just ladders.
The Path Forward
Career pathway development is not just good to have, it's part of the backbone of retention. When people see possibilities, they stay engaged, stretch further, and invest back into the team. Leaders don’t need grand programs or hours of 1:1 sessions to make this happen. Sometimes, it starts with a 5-minute conversation, an invitation to observe/shadow, or a story shared at the right moment.