10 Career Tips For Engineering Students Who Are Shifting Into Professional Roles

1. Thinking skills like entrepreneurs

Engineering students start from a purely engineering professional point of view and are involved in the more technical job roles and responsibilities. However, today, businesses and industries are searching for professionals who are versatile and can step out of their comfort zone to take up additional responsibilities. In a highly competitive world where businesses are vying for more revenue and profit, industries are also looking for internal entrepreneurs who not only possess sound technical knowledge but also are into strategizing and planning so that the potential of a system and set up can be capitalised on to derive maximum profits. Engineers are now not just technical professionals but people who can bring in their problem-solving abilities into the business and help their company grow. Critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities of an engineer needs to be broadened to encompass other spheres of the industry. By thinking like a businessman, engineers expand their skills to look at their industry of employment as a revenue generating machine and contribute their best to the process of revenue generation by using their capabilities.

• Thinking outside the box–

This is one skill that is needed to expand the possibilities of your career no matter which role you are employed at. As an engineer, there are a set of skills that are imbibed in you through theoretical and practical knowledge. However, the skill set you walk out of college with should be broadened in your career as time passes. Instead of restricting yourself to a single technical role, if you learn new skills and condition your thought process to think out of the lines of your definite role, then you can slowly make yourself capable of stepping into newer superior job roles. By thinking out of the box and taking in insights out of your job, you will be proving yourself as a versatile professional who can be approached for different reasons and is a crucial part of the team. As an engineer, innovative thinking and reinvention comes along with the job role. As an engineering institution, CV Raman Global University prepares its students through different competitions and platforms to inculcate innovation and out of the box thinking in their work process. The engineers who graduate from CV Raman Global University are well versed with the need to think outside the box and upskilling so that they grow in their professional career.

• Be a team player-

In today’s world, where engineering has diversified into different sub disciplines and specialisations, the importance of collaborative work process in industries is now highlighted more than ever. Engineers are collaborating over distances and different industries that are jointly working on mega projects. As a professional you need to know that you are working in a team and what you do is part of the larger picture that is part of the daily functioning of the industry. The value of teamwork is always inculcated in successful engineering professionals and teamwork drives difficult projects to completion. As a team player, a professional needs to do his work properly and to the best of his abilities. He is also expected to cooperate with his team mates and provide inputs to the project at hand so that the project is completed within the stipulated time frame successfully.

Team work is necessary for making any project successful and now that nearly every company has more or less taken up the practice of work from home and work from anywhere, team work and coordination are becoming pillars of proper work flow for engineers.

• Function according to the rules–

Every company has its own ethics code that lays down the rules and regulations that every employee of the company, including engineers have to follow. These rules are taken very seriously by the management of the company and should be adhered to. Every engineer is encouraged to think out of the box and experiment but this should be done within the rules and regulations of the company. As industry professionals, engineers need to be responsible and aware of the rules and regulations that they need to follow in an organisation. This establishes their image as a disciplined and committed employee of the organisation and helps them in charting a successful career. As engineering students, students studying at CV Raman Global University are trained to follow rules and engage in ethical engineering. When professionals take up innovation and engineering within the rules of an organisation, they can be more beneficial to an organisation and become a valuable asset to the company they are employed at.

• Be innovative in your approach-

the field of engineering majorly deals with innovation and research. Technology is a constantly evolving entity in the industries and the engineers who keep innovating at their workplace are favoured more than others. Every industry that employs engineers depends on the engineers to drive innovation and invention. With the human race becoming more and more advanced and aware of its needs, engineers are pushed to innovate continuously. For example, the pandemic put forward the requirement of new inventions and innovations to cope with the disruption caused by it. Engineers were at the core of driving the innovation and strategy needed for a successful transition into a post pandemic world. These also drove the revenue and success of certain industries while others suffered. Innovation is at the core of an industry’s success and relevance over a long period of time and engineers also need to embrace innovation and research to stay relevant over a period of time.

When you are planning to stay in the same company or industry for a long time, innovation is more important to sustain a long career.

• Share a good professional equation with your boss-

This point is an extension of the importance of teamwork that we have already discussed. As an engineer you will be working in collaboration with many people. Not everyone of them will be your subordinate or equal. Some of them will be your superiors and managers. For a conducive workplace and a sustained career at a certain company, it is important that you maintain a good professional relationship with everyone, especially your manager and other superiors. A good relationship with your manager can help you grab more opportunities that will be beneficial for your career in the long run.

• Stay in touch with your university and alumni network-

As you move forward in your career, do not cut ties with your alma mater or your college friends. Your college friends, professors and people from your academic career can be valuable contacts in your life. They can help you in emergency situation, both in personal and professional life. Your college friends can refer you to new companies and employment opportunities. Staying connected with the alumni of your college can therefore be very beneficial for yourself. Staying in touch with your college, coming in for guest lectures and writing papers for your professor can improve your reputation as a professional and an all-rounder personality. CV Raman Global University has its own alumni network that connects all the students that have walked into the university only to step out as expert professionals ready to flourish at their workplaces.

• Keep learning and upskilling –

We cannot focus and emphasize on this enough. Today, the competition is not just between companies. The employment space is also highly competitive. You have to understand that with each passing year, a new generation of engineering professionals are stepping into the workspace. With every passing year, industry professionals are becoming more and more skilled. It is therefore important for an engineering professional to keep learning on the job and constantly upskilling their skillset so that they stay relevant and necessary at their workplace.

• Stay involved in your workplace-

As a professional, it is important that you stay involved in the work process followed at your work place. Stay aware and involved at your work place and become an active participant in different projects and processes. This can help you become a reliable part of the team who can be approached for inputs and insights. By staying involved in the work process, you will be able to learn at your workplace and become a prominent part of the team. This will help you build valuable professional relationships and also network with your colleagues.

1.  Find an appropriate and learned mentor–

This is important, especially for freshers who are taking up their first jobs. When you are making the transition from an academic career to a professional career, you might possess the necessary skillset needed for your job role, but you might be lacking in determining their applications. A mentor at your workplace can help you understand the responsibilities of your job and also help you upskill when the time is right. Just like a teacher, a professional mentor can help you upskill and grow in your career with the right guidance and direction.