Engineering and management are two different streams of education and you choose to become an engineer or a manager by profession. But the distinction between an engineer and a manager becomes blurred in real-life situations when an engineer is involved in completing a project as he is in effect leading a team that he manages. It would be fair to say that engineering and management married a long time ago, engineers are expected in their jobs to perform some of the roles of a manager, while managers also require the acumen of an engineer as when dealing with technical problems. The very fact that many universities offer courses called engineering management or management engineering reflects the desire of companies to have sufficiently qualified men to tackle the dual challenges of technical projects. Here's a closer look at the differences between a manager and an engineer. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The difference between a manager and an engineer in handling management jobs comes down to the differences in the approach of engineers and managers and how they are oriented when dealing with different tasks. While engineers focus on the work at hand, managers' focus is on the team assigned to them to accomplish a task. Managers look at the budget, the resources available to them and the time limit before they start to feel comfortable. On the other hand, engineers are bolder and focus on the job at hand more than anything else. Engineers make decisions based on their knowledge and skills while a manager's decisions are based on many constraints such as capital, process, his team and Presto. An engineer performs individual tasks while a manager is involved in planning, leading, controlling and organizing. As far as work output is concerned, an engineer's work is quantifiable and can be measured. On the other hand, only a qualitative analysis of a manager's work is possible. His work can be judged more in terms of the financial statements of the company he works with. An engineer relies on his technical skills, while a manager relies on the skills of his team members and gets the job done through motivation. A manager is always people-focused, while an engineer is always technology-focused. An engineer's approach focuses on the how, while a manager's approach focuses on the what and why. An engineer is always interested in the feasibility of a project, while a manager is concerned whether it will add value and lead to customer satisfaction along with profit for stakeholders.