In this episode, we talk engineering passion so you can get your head on straight.
What's up everyone, this is Jake Voorhees and you are watching episode 013,
of The 1% Engineer Show.
Many students ask me, which field is for them, how they know if they’re in the right focus
of engineering, so today I’m going to give you three things
to think about, so you know you’re pursuing your dreams!
First of all, I’m going to deny one assumption right away.
Many believe they should pursue a certain field of engineering because one makes more
money than the other.
Throw that out!
It’s total garbage.
They all do super well.
And you’re not going to be happy in a field that you aren't absolutely passionate about,
so that's definitely the priority.
Plus, even if you must shift your focus within engineering, you've proven that you're an
intelligent person, you've succeeded in one field of engineering, and generally they can
cross apply, so someone will give you a shot if you have an engineering degree.
Or if you've built up career expertise in a certain field, and need to apply it to another.
So tip number one, stop worrying.
It's gunna be fine.
You're an engineer, you already won!
Tip number two about finding your engineering passion is become retrospective.
What I mean is this...
You should look back on everything in your life that you have enjoyed, you've liked,
been passionate about, had interests in - look at the sports you've played, the hobbies that
you pursued, how you spent you time, the books that you read, the movies you watched.
What do you like, what're you interested in?
What makes you tic?
What gets you excited?
So I'll use myself for an example.
I had a few ant colonies growing up, I as a big time gamer, I played SimCity and other
RTS-type games.
And I dreamed of this world where my SimCity would actually work like my ant colony.
Everything would work together.
You guys know how ant colonies work, it's one big team.
These ants can actually do amazing things when they all work in unison, in harmony,
they help each other.
They can build insane structures and operate as one.
They build bridges, with all the ants, just linking up and helping each other.
It's nuts!
So I knew about driverless vehicles when I was a kid.
I believed that one day, all of these things would accelerate in a platoon together, I
believed that everything would be connected, computers would be controlling everything.
You would take the entire human element out of it.
And that's what we see today, it's happening, it's coming true.
My dreams came true.
And I wanted my career to be in that.
ITS, intelligent transportation systems.
And that came true as well.
I work with drones, I work with big data, I work with models that are trying to guess
what's gunna happen in 50 years even though we have no idea.
But my desire to have a career in intelligent transportation systems, and work in that field,
because it excited me, it happened, it happened for me.
Because that's what I pushed in undergrad, I went to grad school in this focus, I got
a job in this focus, and just continued on this road, this very niche type of civil engineering.
So that's what you need to do as well.
You need to figure out what you like, and shoot for the stars!
And tip number three, ensure a technological focus.
Just like I've already eluded to, my career has been in bed with technology.
I think that's very important for you to think about.
AI, robotics, big data, space aspects, biotechnology, nanotechnology - these are things that are
amazing right now, and they will only continue to become more incredible as time goes on.
These are fields that you should be looking at - you know they have a bright future.
So go out there and look at things for inspiration.
I encourage you to research the XPrize Foundation, The Visioneers Summit - these are multinational
engineering challenges where the biggest companies and organizations around the world, compete
to change the world.
They work on things like world hunger, and clean water, and space technologies, and all
this stuff that will certainly get you excited about the future, will certainly get you excited
about potential things in your career.
Don't forget about the standard companies that are leading the charge in technological
focus.
Google Amazing, SpaceX, Tesla - these companies are all pushing the ceiling higher for what
we can do as engineers, what our world is capable of, and what the future looks like,
tomorrow.
Pay attention to what they are doing because it really is amazing.
These companies are changing the world.
And it's very important that you feel excited about this stuff, because if you're not excited
about what you're doing in your career, you're going to be bored.
And being bored everyday is a good way to hate your job, and if you hate your job, you
will hate your life.
And everything goes wrong if you don't like what you're doing.
So in summary today guys, look back on your life, figure out everything that you enjoy,
figure out what you are passionate about, what makes you tic, what you're excited about.
What you love right now, because it's probably an indicator of what you will love later in
life.
And even if you don't get it exactly right, you can pivot and jump around, and it's okay.
Stay tuned for episode 014, where we hit part eight of our Top 10 Job Hunting Tips for Engineers.
Thanks for watching The 1% Engineer Show guys and stay hungry on your quest to be a 1% Engineer.
Cheers!