Life is tough and your career goals and aspirations can be derailed which can leave you helpless. At the beginning of my career I struggled to get into engineering after I had poor grades at school. After a couple of further bad decisions I was going down a career path that I didn’t want to pursue and pivoting to a new career path was really difficult and required me to take some risks. Even when things don’t go well you need to develop a strategy to overcome the obstacles that life will throw at you.
Don’t jump into degrees you aren’t keen on
I drank the Koolaid like everyone else where we all are told to jump in and get a degree when you leave school. Sometimes you should take a break to really think about your future as the last thing you should do is saddle yourself with student debt on a degree that won’t provide any value to your career.
When I finished my diploma in manufacturing engineering, I still wanted to be a mechanical engineer and thought I could transfer to a mechanical engineering degree. Sadly, that never happened and I panicked as I believed you needed to get a degree, so I went and did an Honors Degree in engineering management. I realised down the line I really don’t want to be a manager and want a technical career. I did learn a lot of useful things and have actually used those skills in my career like 5S, Fishbone analysis, Pareto charts, SWOT,PESTEL,TOWS and various other management tools in my engineering degree so not everything was negative.
If you want to pivot and it falls through don’t jump in to get any other degree as it could put you in a path that might make it difficult to switch career paths later on. If you do face the same scenario as I did, take some time and figure out a strategy to overcome the disappointment.
Use online sources
One of the great things about the internet is that you have access to near infinite information at your disposal. Online courses such as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) can be a good source to brush up your knowledge and skills. These courses are usually free and are provided by universities worldwide. Maybe you are like me who sometimes couldn’t focus on class or struggled to study for exams.
I decided to use MOOCs to learn more about mechanical engineering principles as I wanted to become a mechanical engineer so bad but could never get into courses for one. I found different universities had various teaching styles and found some that made me understand physics and maths better than I did at school. Some MOOCs do charge for a certificate if you pass the tests but to be honest if you are like me I only cared about the knowledge I would gain than a bit of paper, so I never bothered.
I also used Kahn Academy to also improve my maths and physics skills, and I found the tutor doing the lessons broke things down for me to quickly gain confidence in my skills.
Finally, Youtube can also be a great source of information, and you can find videos on almost any subject that is relevant to your goals and ambitions. Plenty of engineering tutorials that may be better taught than in a classroom.
Try studying to achieve a goal
I sometimes spent days in a coffee shop doing maths problems so that I could feel more confident in applying for mechanical engineering roles. I remember one time I got a mechanical engineering job, and I felt I was an imposter as I didn’t get a mechanical engineering degree, so I spent extra time learning.
I dislike studying but if it’s to achieve a goal that isn’t to pass a test, I am willing to do it. Having a goal to incentivise you to study may help you stay focussed and I don’t mean just to pass and exam. A tangible goal that means a lot to you for example you want to be good at mathematics so you can do complex coding for simulations. You will begin to see the results as you start to apply your improved knowledge which will encourage you further.
Personal projects
I learned new engineering skills by carrying out personal projects as I am more of a practical person and prefer to learn by doing. One of the projects I was working on was a robotic vacuum cleaner out of a Dreamcast console. I had gotten the parts and assembled it but if didn’t quite work as expected. However, I learned about various electronic components, wiring and being able to calculate motor sizes to drive the robot. I had to read up on calculating horsepower, torque, velocity based on mass of the robot. If this was just to pass a checkbox at school, I wouldn’t have been as motivated but because I wanted to build a robot I wanted to learn.
Other projects were a clock in the shape of the Red Faction logo, converting broken speakers into storage boxes, custom computer table and I was working on an ant weight robot but shelved it as I was too busy at the time.
Carrying out personal projects will not only teach you new skills, but you have evidence to a future employer that you are willing to learn and that you have acquired certain relevant skills. Also, I do believe having an end goal can help motivate you into learning and improving yourself. If you want to be an engineer learning practical skills is valuable as you should be assembling or help assembling your prototypes so that you gain experience and keep improving.
Jobs
This can be easier said than done in the current climate but getting some work experience under your belt no matter the industry is valuable. When I graduated there weren’t many engineering roles available and due to my poor qualifications and I wasn’t even getting interviews. To make ends meet I would get some of the most dead-end jobs around, which helped bring income but also motivated me. If I didn’t knuckle down those jobs would have been my future, while I will never knock such jobs, I always wanted to be an engineer. I found those jobs grounded me and made me realise I had to act if I wanted to achieve my dream and I will always be grateful to those employers for those roles.
Career fairs
Just like networking events you should be attending career fairs for graduates so that you can see what types of roles are currently available and build your own network. Some companies who attend those events can provide you advice in terms of qualifications you need and what type of courses you should attend.
When I had just finished my degree, I went to career fairs for graduate schemes and after talking to various companies I had found that I lacked in a lot of areas which was why I wasn’t being successful in even getting interviews. This was strangely encouraging as I now knew my glaring weaknesses that I needed to fix and thankfully I found a course that taught me the skills and gave me the experiences I needed to move on.
Having others see your CV or career goals from an employer’s point of view can be invaluable to overcome disappointments in your career. Sadly, in interviews the rejection letters/emails are generic and not helpful which is why I suggest attending career fairs could give you the feedback you need.
Networking
Just like career fairs, networking events can be a good way to learn more about your potential career move. If you are unsure what do but are interested in a particular field you can go to companies and get career advice on what to do. Who knows you may meet your future boss there.
When I initially did some freelance work as I wanted to move from manufacturing to mechanical engineering, I would go to networking event not just to sell my design service but to seek mentorship. I got some useful advice in how to market myself, how to boost visibility, how to even use networking events to my full potential. I didn’t get projects from those events but I would say the advice I got was truly valuable.
Conclusion
Setbacks in your career will happen and thankfully there are ways to get yourself back up and get back on track. Everyone’s challenges and circumstances are unique therefore you have to think about how to overcome them. Hopefully these