In this week's newsletter, Aaron Moncur has a conversation with Zach White, founder and CEO of Oasis of Courage, a coaching company exclusively for engineers. Before founding his coaching practice, Zach started his career as a mechanical engineer in Whirlpool Corporation's leadership development program.
You are the CEO of your own career. And what do we list on the skills that it takes to be successful there? Mostly certifications, degrees, technical skills, we only talk about engineering. Nobody talks about the skills to build your career.
In this episode:
Why engineers need career-building skills beyond technical certifications and degrees
How passive action (reading, podcasts, thinking) differs from massive action that produces results
Why every career challenge is fundamentally a people problem—starting with yourself
How to create career clarity through contrast and experimentation rather than endless planning
Bonus Content:
The 6 Career Mistakes Engineers Make Before They Know They’re Making Them
S3E25 Zach White | How to be the CEO of Your Own Career
Engineering school teaches technical mastery but ignores the skills needed to build a successful career. Zach White explains why engineers must take full ownership as the "CEO of their own career" - a role that requires more than engineering expertise. He challenges the pattern of passive action that feels like progress but changes nothing, contrasting it with the massive action that transforms careers in 90 days. From reaching out to mentors without fear of bothering them to building career clarity through contrast rather than overthinking, this conversation offers practical frameworks for engineers ready to stop consuming knowledge and start applying it.
>If YouTube isn’t your thing, check out this episode and all of our past episodes on Apple, Spotify, and all the rest.
When was the last time you stepped back to think about your career - not just your next task, but your actual trajectory?
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Most engineers are running full speed… but they’re not always sure where they’re headed, or why.
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That’s not a personal failure.
It’s a systems problem. And the system is your life.
We’ve been trained to optimize output, hit deadlines, and keep growing technically. But what about growing intentionally?
Consider asking yourself these questions:
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What if you actually loved the path you’re on?
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Passive Action vs. Massive Action: Why Reading Won't Change Your Career
Engineers love to learn. The problem is that consuming knowledge feels like progress when it actually changes nothing.
I used to be a person who was addicted to passive action. Passive action feels like progress. But it does not actually move the needle on the results of your life or career that matter.
White distinguishes between two fundamentally different types of effort. Passive action includes reading, listening to podcasts, and thinking about change. Massive action means getting into the arena and applying what you've learned. The difference determines whether your career advances or stagnates.
You can read every single book in the freakin bookstore, and not change your life at all. If you never take massive action, massive action is when you actually get onto the court into the arena of your life.
The transition from passive to massive action works like building muscle - it requires practice and repetition. Start with the simplest possible action and do it immediately. Then build the habit through consistent repetition until taking action becomes your default response to learning something new.
If you want to get better at transitioning from learning and passive action into actually getting results and massive action, it's something just like going to the gym. You start today, you make that easy, low hanging fruit decision. Start small, start simple.
After 90 days of consistent action with proven systems, peers notice the transformation. White's clients receive feedback asking what changed and how they're suddenly leading at a different level. The difference isn't complex - it's the daily practice of moving from consumption to application.
The 6 Career Mistakes Engineers Make Before They Know They’re Making Them
Google analyzed thousands of engineering teams and ranked the behaviors that separated high-performing managers from low-performing ones. Technical skill came in eighth. Out of eight. The finding wasn't that technical skill was worthless - it was that once engineers cleared a basic threshold, it was the least differentiating variable in the room. The six habits that create the gap instead are mapped in: The 6 Career Mistakes Engineers Make Before They Know They're Making Them. Read the full article at The Wave.
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