Pursuing a career in engineering is a dream for a lot of youngsters during school days. India happens to be one of the countries that has seen Engineering as the most popular choice of career over many past decades. We have seen a large number of individuals of Indian origin grow to massive heights and seen themselves achieve immense success around the globe in the most renowned corporations. These achievements and global recognition has inspired us Indians to believe and push ourselves beyond our boundaries with no compromises. 

Dreaming of pursuing a fulfilling career in Engineering is one thing, but achieving it in reality is quite another. We do not lack enthusiasts who would have decided about “Being an Engineer” during early schooling days, neither are we short of institutes that offer number of branches of Engineering. We may have seen many of the people we know achieve good deal of success, but haven’t we seen many fails miserably? 

In this article I am going to put forth a “to do list” that may help a host of youngsters do it the right way.

1. Ask yourself, “Do you really want to be an Engineer?”

Like any other fields of career, Engineering has its own share of academic and professional challenges. Not all of you may necessarily “Be a good fit” in terms of ability or capacity to handle the journey. What is even more important is experiencing Happiness whilst learning technical stuff in school or pre university courses. If you have established positivity while realising the same, just go ahead. If not, you may be better suited for a different career. 

1. Make sure you start to train yourself early.

Engineers need a strong base in maths and science.so plan to improve your abilities around these subjects. Enrol in activities that will give you an edge when college admissions spring up. Sharpen your skills in physics, mathematics, statistics and solve as many problems as you can as a sheer routine. It is highly recommended that you take part in as many creative exhibitions and science competitions and be a part of clubs relating to science and technology. This practise will most certainly benefit your acumen and enable you to think beyond academics.

1. Choose the best college available

This could well prove to be the defining factor in building your capacity as a technical professional and later put you in the poll position when it comes to placements. It is comparatively straight forward to possess an engineering degree in India but a very challenging task to be absorbed by your “dream company”. In order to get yourself into the best scenario possible, you need to prepare well in order to get into the top institutes in the country or abroad. Getting into the IITs or NITs may end up being a distant dream for many due to the sheer number of seats available dwarfed by the outrageously high number of applicants. If you aren’t lucky to get yourself into such institutions, do not panic!! There are a host of other private institutions that will most certainly absorb you and offer you good placements as well. The pay packages or designation may not be as lucrative in comparison, but you may eventually get there if you persevere. 

1. Be in sync with the real trends in engineering and make yourself more knowledgeable to the current environment.

Technological environment has its own pros and cons. One of the most challenging ones  that we can categorise as both is that,  it can all change as we breathe. Gone are the days where trends used to sustain for decades and choosing a branch based on the current scenario was a safe bet. It is a different “ball game” now. If we fail to practically understand the changing environment, keep ourselves involved with the industry of interest, and keep in sync with the skills required to “board the train” when it arrives, we could lose out big time!! 

1. Work or Study further?

One of the major dilemma students face post graduate courses in engineering is “Is it a good idea to work after my B.E (or equivalent) or pursue further studies (M.Tech, M.S. or equivalent)? 

My answer to you is that it depends on your preparedness to take up certain responsibilities as a technology professional either in the company that absorbs you or in your own start-up. 

One of the advantages of starting work immediately is that you get “relevant work experience” in your resume, which happens to be a stumbling block to many job applicants during recruitment. The pay package may be on a slump as days pass by, but I recommend you to treat the first two years of your professional life as an “Internship”. This will bring more perspective to your plans and you will get a “worms eye view” of the challenges and trends in your industry. You will be better placed to decide upon your next area of study in case you would like to study further.

On the other hand, if you happen to choose to study further post graduation, make sure you know which field of study would suit you the best personally and will be able to sustain and contribute for years to come. Most individuals go for “scope” strategy, which I understand why, but it is paramount to consult and understand what would be the “best fit” and then decide on your course. 

The advantage you will have by deciding to study further would be that you will have the privilege of not having to sacrifice three years of your work life when some of your peers may be mandated to study further in order to get promoted. The disadvantage you may have is that, the three years of studies maybe the crucial period where the others land themselves a job and you lose out because of lack of openings in the future.

1. Try to be multi-dimensional and improve critical soft skills

Going by my personal experience in training engineering students in recruitment, I have often found out that most graduates and post graduates lack vital communication skills, presentation skills, personality, ability to manage stress and social skills which become evident during job interviews or one on one sessions. You may end up being ignored or deemed “not employable” by top organisations if you are not able to work on the same in the nick of time. 

In addition to this if an employee offers a lot more to the organisation in terms of management skills, leadership, personality that reflects learning and improving others around him/ her, he/ she is bound to be an irreplaceable asset. Keep this in mind.

1. Have NOW under CONTROL and FUTURE under CONSIDERATION

As an engineer, it is very important to focus on capitalising on today by understanding consumer needs and offering them the best one can be offered and at the best cost-effective strategy. What is even more important is to not bask in the past glory and ignore the future. The industry is very unforgiving and will simply over-throw those who are unable to grasp the tempo of the future. So keep your imagination wide open and do not hesitate to create and stamp your mark on it. Make sure you get financial credits for your inventions or innovations by securing them with copyrights/patents. 

I wish you all the very best if you choose to be an Engineer. It is a wonderful field of work where you present yourself with the unique opportunity to create your imagination. It is important to feel like an engineer from the outset and never stop imagining. But remember, If you are not driven enough and do not feel it is the field for you, just STOP and PROCEED towards a favourable territory. After all, Quitting is also an option.