Career narrative:Electrical engineering

Career narrative:Electrical engineering

Growing up, I had the most significant interest in how some individuals could start so some fantastic work developing electrical appliances and technology. Every time I was ever thinking about how to become an electrical engineer. In school, I worked towards just achieving this. It was one dream that kept me working against my fears. At the end of high school, I knew perfectly well that I was going to become one of the most decorated electrical engineers of all time. I have become just that. I have been in the workplace for three years now, and based on my understanding, I believe I am bound to stay and advance in this career for my entire life. At the start of my career as an electrical engineer, it is time to start thinking about my future and how possible I can advance in this field, which for the longest time has been considered as one of the most complicated or a technical one (Dua, 2018, June).

My first career was as a graduate electrical engineer intern with Graham electric and electrical company. This was my first job after graduating from college, and I was very pleased with myself for the person I had become and securing an opportunity at the company, which I considered the most prestigious company. I did believe that this fitted the kind of the desirable possible self which I has in mind soon after graduating from college. I loved practicing the skills which I had acquired in school for the very first time. I could imagine myself in a little black uniform, which the company hard for its employees and making mechanical, electrical machines operate. This, to me, would appear to be the point of self-actualization for me by achieving what I have ever wanted in my life.

In some ways, join the company was a reasonable career decision that propelled me to become a better electrical engineer.  At the company, I was pleased to get the opportunity, which I believed could help me bring in new knowledge that would revolutionize how fundamental engineering was done. I did make some of the procedures within the organization pretty simple. However, this did not last for long, the work did not work out, and I had to quit. The higher commercial culture within the company did not appear to suit my individual needs. I had to move one I pursuit for self-satisfaction. I did not have the real drive of making much money at this point in my career but rather perfecting my knowledge to become more experienced. However, within the organization, it was all about making profits; to me, this was not what I expected whenever, especially at the beginning of my career.

I had to resign from this company and stat for some time without any form of employment before joining a course aimed at enhancing my career. The idea of joining a training center to improve my knowledge came to me, whoever I had a feeling that some of the critical expertise relating to effective engineering methods were still missing in me. I wanted to prepare myself for my future career ahead of me. When I discussed this with my classmates from college to know what they thought about my idea. Most did not seem to be in support of this aide. However, I did believe that it was the best thing for me, and it would help me in becoming a better electrical engineer moving forward. At the end of the two months training session, I started wondering what I could do with myself after acquiring the essential knowledge that would help me.  During this time, I did a lot of reading and study of articles relating to electrical engineering. I got insights into the various elements of our practice as engineers, which had been missing in my previous work (Prianto, 2017). I understood that in my new role as an engineer, I would be able to not only focus on the actual practice but also remain ethical in my daily practice.

After one only one week of staying away from the training facility, I did land myself a job as intermediate electric engineering at one of the government parastatal, the national power supplier in the country. This was one of the most critical opportunities in my life. I knew what this opportunity means for me since I would have the opportunity of interacting with the most experienced professionals in my field. During this time, I did spend much of my time learning, as well. Other than practicing engineering at the capacity, I did spend most of the time learning about the new methods of engineering and promoting the understanding of the innovative engineering that was only possible within the government facility.  I managed to advance my knowledge of the various elements of engineering, which made me become one of the most successful engineers in my place of work.

According to Miller, Levin, and Kruboltz 1999, on their theory of “Planned Happenstance,” they talk about the idea of making yourself lucky by actively looking for opportunities and could be argued that this is precisely how I did move to the next career. I did get promoted as a senior engineer within the same parastatal. At this point, I was charged with a considerable, more substantial responsibility, which included monitoring the function done by the junior engineers. I took this responsibility passionately but still believed that I was able to learn from the younger or the junior staff members. This was very key to my overall success in career development since most activities that were being conducted by these individuals significantly impacted my daily growth in the field of engineering. Other than just skills relating to the innovation and directs engineering practices, the opportunity opened a chance for me to learn issues relating to the element of management. I was able to become a better manager and to grow in various aspects.

This element of my profession did boost my career and took me to the next level of an engineering career. Charged with the critical responsibilities of handling others in guiding them in their daily practices, I was able to spend a lot of time with various young people and innovative engineers who inspired my knowledge in this career and made me better. I got new insights into engineering. This added to my existing experience. However, one key element which I do appreciate learning from these young people is the element of innovation in the engineering career. Through innovative engineering, there has been a development of technology in the world today to a level that people would have never thought of over the past two decades.

When I got the opportunity to start my engineering firm after the one year of practice at the government parastatal, I was thrilled. I knew very well; I had acquired the right skill that would propel my profession to the top. I started with just two employees in which I was the leading engineer. I did face a myriad of challenges, including a lack of proper capacity to meet the engineering demand of all my clients. Owing to my experience from the previous organization, I had become a brand name to reckon with. Most of the clients who were previously visiting the parastatal moved to my firm upon learning my exit.  I started receiving several Clients who did believe in the quality of my engineering, and this was the turning point of my career (Pavlovkin et al., 2018).

Having learned a lot from my previous employments, I have become one of the most exceptional engineers in my region. Today, I operate both at my engineering firm and in other firms that started contracting my services. The journey to the tope has been laced with obstacles. I have, however, struggled hard to become the person I am today; I believe this not the end of my career growth. I intend to continue striving to make a positive contribution to the field of electrical engineering. I have a dream of opening a training institution where the goal of young individuals in engineering will be incubated and made a reality. This I hope to achieve this in the next two years.

References

Bernátová, R., Džmura, J., Petráš, J., Bernát, M., Žáčok, Ľ., & Pavlovkin, J. (2018). Creation of Didactic Tests for Teaching of the Thematic Unit–Basics of Electrical Power Engineering.

Mitchell, K. E., Al Levin, S., & Krumboltz, J. D. (1999). Planned happenstance: Constructing unexpected career opportunities. Journal of Counseling & Development, 77(2), 115-124.

Dua, R. (2018, June). Basic Electrical Parameters Measurement Laboratory: A K-12 Outreach Project. In 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition.

Supriyadi, E., Soenarto, S., Surwi, F., & Prianto, E. (2017). Evaluating the Assessment System of Basic Courses in the Department of Electrical Engineering. Jurnal Pendidikan Teknologi dan Kejuruan, 23(3), 235-240.