Stephen
How should students apply knowledge to best prepare for their dream job?
Many students enjoy their education immensely and put in a lot of work to excel at their field of study, but is it truly preparing them for their dream job? Sometimes education can be generalized and it would be nice for students to have some idea of what they could be doing to develop real world skills that will solidify their acquired knowledge in order to prepare for their future career. #engineering #software-engineering #embedded-systems #embedded-linux #embedded-software #embedded
3 answers
Mark Montz
Mark’s Answer
I take your question in a more "general" sense, and note your use of the term "dream job".
Getting a technical job requires certain skills, and not every one masters those. Do pay attention to those... they really are necessary to doing the job.
Necessary... but not sufficient. :) Other skills that I think everyone needs:
1. Willingness to commit to a goal. Not all days will be easy, and you won't reach every goal. But you need to commit your fair share (or more) to getting there... or trying to get there!
2. Working with others. No matter how "isolated" your task is, you will interact with people. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot! If you are easy to work with, friendly, and helpful, it goes a long way to helping your group... and you.
3. Communication. Practice (and continue to practice) getting your point across in the easiest way possible for your audience. I've been doing it for 30+ years, and still pay attention to it almost every day.
4. Learn new things on your own. One of the most useful skills I have and that I have seen others use is to "dive in" to a new utility/program/approach and put it to use. This isn't comfortable at times, but can also be a lot of fun... and you can often help others learn from your experience. :)
Lots of others are good... but hopefully you can see that there is more to a good career than mastering Java. :)
Now... "Dream Job"....
For some that is financial. For others, it is environmental ("I get to live in Paris for this job"). For a lot of others, it is finding "meaning" in what you do.
A long time ago, in my Honors English class in college, a professor looked around the room, and noted the talent that was there. And he dared to use the term "noblesse oblige" to us. He gave us the view that we should consider our careers not only in their impact on ourselves, but on the larger society. People use bridges every day that they could not build themselves; If you can build them, you are helping more than just yourself. And that is a good feeling.
This doesn't mean a dream job is without drudgery; it doesn't mean that it will be glamorous, or make you famous or super rich. If you are in technology, you should be able to make a good living (better than 99% of the people on the planet). And you will probably help a lot of people. And that is a good thing. :)
Hope this helps, and maybe provides a little perspective. Explore, experience... and enjoy!
Eric Willisson
Eric’s Answer
I really like Mark's answer, so I'll just build on it. I pretty much have my dream job, working for Google on Search, helping with the core mission "To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful," which I believe in. To get here, I learned technical skills from my classes, and also practiced them on my own time (I didn't have any internships during college, so I didn't have any job experience to show on my resume. But I did have a number of personal projects I had programmed, which both showed my capabilities and meant I had real practice, outside of homework and exams.) I did find that some interpersonal skills were missing when I started working after college, and had to learn how to express myself and more usefully work with a team.
And, it's true that a dream job, no matter what that means to you, is going to involve drudgery. I just spent the past week trying to fix one little thing I broke the week before, and it was frustrating and irritating and boring, all together. But I also have times when I get to do really amazing things, taking part in meetings with incredibly smart software engineers making plans to improve people's lives, and then going and writing the code that will make those improvements!
Simon Robson
Simon’s Answer
I see by your hash-tags you are interested in software. General studies are good to get you interested in certain fields, but after that, one needs to start specializing in an area/field. Schools must give you not only the basic skills to make you desirable to an employer, but also the tools for you to come up with new and innovative solutions o problems in the future. To do this you need a solid knowledge base to build off. Most good universities and colleges are in tune with industry and have tailored their programs to equip you with a solid foundation. When you start working you will gain skills in specialized software and hardware your particular employee uses. Later on, after you have experiences a few systems, you may even have the chance to work on developing a new platform. Engineers are problem solvers. Good luck.