Combining Hard and Soft Skills in the Modern Business World
The Duality of Engineering and Entrepreneurship
Rodrigo Martorell Casc贸n knew how things worked. But he wanted to learn how to apply that knowledge in a business setting.
Rodrigo Martorell Casc贸n (M.A.S. TENR 鈥�22)Rodrigo Martorell Casc贸n (M.A.S. TENR 鈥�22) always knew he wanted to be an engineer. But it wasn鈥檛 until he earned a graduate degree that he realized how much soft skills can matter in the modern business world.
鈥淪ince I was very young, I was really curious about how everything works: how airplanes fly, how light bulbs turn on,鈥� Martorell Casc贸n says. He became interested in Illinois Institute of Technology鈥檚 technological entrepreneurship program because, 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know how to put [engineering principles] into the real world. I wanted to learn how to apply everything I learned, to see if I could put that in practice.鈥�
Martorell Casc贸n received concurrent degrees in 2022: a master鈥檚 degree in industrial engineering from Universidad Polit茅cnica de Madrid and a master鈥檚 degree in technological entrepreneurship from Illinois Tech.
Illinois Tech Coleman Foundation Clinical Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship Nik Rokop says he was impressed with Martorell Casc贸n鈥檚 progress in mitigating the typical friction in inherent skill sets between those that pursue degrees in engineering and entrepreneurs.
鈥淭here鈥檚 this tension as an engineer, that you have to do things perfectly. But as an entrepreneur, there鈥檚 more uncertainty that you have to deal with,鈥� Rokop says.
Those lessons were difficult, but valuable, Martorell Casc贸n says. 鈥淚t was more difficult than I thought. Numbers, the engineering side, is very simple. Applied to the real world, you have to talk to a lot of people, you have to be flexible. That鈥檚 something I struggled with and learned in my degree.鈥�
But it paid off. Martorell Casc贸n is now working as a methods and industrialization engineer for Thales Alenia Space, an aerospace company known for manufacturing satellites. The Madrid office, where he works, focuses on manufacturing satellite transponders.
鈥淚 like the job a lot. And I know how to handle any problems,鈥� Martorell Casc贸n says.
Someday, he adds, he may even use those entrepreneurship principles to start a business himself.
- Learn more about the Master of Technological Entrepreneurship program.