The ASME Professional Practice Curriculum (PPC) provides tools that can help you excel in your engineering education and your career afterward. This career development program is divided into independent modules; each module focuses on a specific topic and is written with a specific audience in mind. Regardless of whether you are an aspiring engineering student, an ambitious young professional, or a seasoned engineer, the PPC can provide the knowledge and training that will help you turn your engineering goals into realities. For details and to log on to other modules, see the website: http://www.professionalpractice.asme.org. We have grouped the titles into different sections below.

Becoming a leader during college

From a student's skilled technical presentations to his or her effective management of a full load of coursework, it is easy to recognize the marks of a leader on campus. To help you become a campus leader, the PPC offers a number of modules that will equip you with skills and knowledge to can give you an extra edge in both independent and collaborative studies. These titles are particularly relevant:

- Mechanical Engineering and Multidisciplinary Thinking
- Product Management
- Leadership Principles
- Leadership Styles and Attributes
- Team Building
- Communication Skills
- Effective Technical Presentations
- Engineering Ethics


Preparing to Graduate

You can also use the PPC to gain valuable professional training even before you graduate from college. Many of the PPC modules help you gain an understanding of the context in which engineering is practiced. They give a multidisciplinary, systems perspective on design, engineering, and manufacturing processes. They also reinforce the cooperative nature of modern engineering, where success is rooted in effective leadership and teamwork. The topics below are worth studying:

- Product Development
- Systems Engineering
- Project Management
- Workplace Diversity
- Mechanical Engineering and Multidisciplinary Thinking
- Sustainability
- Communication Skills
- Conducting Effective Meetings
- Leadership Principles
- Leadership Styles and Attributes
- Negotiation
- Design Series
- Engineering Ethics


Planning and managing your career

After you graduate, you will find that now more than ever before, there is only one party responsible for your career development: you. Given the high mobility of jobs in today's marketplace - where a few years at one job makes someone an "old-timer" - fewer companies are offering much in the way of professional development for their employees. Yet, given the increasingly competitive nature of the engineering job market, it is more important than ever for you to continue your technical education and professional development. To this end, the PPC offers a number of modules that will help you stay ahead of the crowd and at the top of your game. The following topics in the PPC allow you to explore other areas of expertise and to expand or change your career path:

- Graduate Studies
- Introduction to an Engineering Career
- Mentoring
- Entrepreneurs: Business Planning
- Engineering Public Policy: Policy Gear
- Introduction to Intellectual Property
- Patent Law
- High Tech Startups
- Incubators

The Complete PPC Course Listing

The overall range of topics can provide more capability in the various skills you'll need to be a well-rounded professional engineer. You have the opportunity to fill in gaps in your background or to expand your outlook to other areas. Visit the PPC module listing page.