# Mark Herschberg | Essential Skills for Success They Didn’t Teach in College

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2023-04-21
- Length: 1h 05m
- Episode: 16
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-04-21-mark-herschberg-essential-skills-for-success-they-didnt-teach-in-college
- Listen: https://teampipeline.us/Mark-Herschberg-skills-for-success/

## Summary

Mark Herschberg, author of 'The Career Toolkit' and creator of the Brainbump app, discusses essential non-technical skills for engineers, such as career planning, communication, and navigating corporate politics. He argues that while technical expertise is vital, soft skills like leadership and negotiation provide a higher return on investment for career growth. Herschberg also shares insights on managing personal brand, the difference between leadership and authority, and how to effectively interview candidates.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-04-21-mark-herschberg-essential-skills-for-success-they-didnt-teach-in-college#t=0) Introduction and Mark's Background
- [5:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-04-21-mark-herschberg-essential-skills-for-success-they-didnt-teach-in-college#t=320) The Dark Web and Career Planning
- [10:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-04-21-mark-herschberg-essential-skills-for-success-they-didnt-teach-in-college#t=633) Why Soft Skills Matter: The Rectangle Analogy
- [18:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-04-21-mark-herschberg-essential-skills-for-success-they-didnt-teach-in-college#t=1126) Navigating Corporate Politics and Branding
- [30:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-04-21-mark-herschberg-essential-skills-for-success-they-didnt-teach-in-college#t=1845) Intentional Interviewing and Leadership
- [37:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-04-21-mark-herschberg-essential-skills-for-success-they-didnt-teach-in-college#t=2272) Communication for Introverts and Engineering Degrees
- [52:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-04-21-mark-herschberg-essential-skills-for-success-they-didnt-teach-in-college#t=3159) Brainbump App and Scaling Challenges
- [59:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-04-21-mark-herschberg-essential-skills-for-success-they-didnt-teach-in-college#t=3562) Root Cause Analysis and Final Thoughts

## Topics

- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)

## Most relevant to

established companies

## Mentioned

- The Career Toolkit (product)
- Brainbump (product)
- MIT (company)
- Tor (tool)
- Pipeline Design & Engineering (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Books in the box redux](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-06-28-books-in-the-box-redux) (Oxide and Friends)
- [How Soft Skills Drive High-Impact Engineering Teams w/ Aaron Moncur](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-08-26-how-soft-skills-drive-high-impact-engineering-teams-w-aaron-moncur) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [21: The Tent Is Flat and Everyone Is Wet](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2013-10-02-21-the-tent-is-flat-and-everyone-is-wet) (Embedded.fm)
- [001 - “Learning Never Exhausts the Mind” with Rick Doe](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2021-10-06-001-learning-never-exhausts-the-mind-with-rick-doe) (Let's Combinate)
- [124 - 5 Steps to Becoming a Phenom Quality Pro with Andy Robertson](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2024-02-21-124-5-steps-to-becoming-a-phenom-quality-pro-with-andy-robertson) (Let's Combinate)

## Citing this page

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