After completing a degree in engineering we generally look for jobs that are related to engineering and thus limit ourselves to a career in engineering. A mechanical engineering student looks forward to become a mechanical engineer and a civil engineering student looks forward to become a civil engineer, and same applies to other students who are from other branches.
After all, in an engineering degree we spend 4 years studying things related to engineering. But, in this article, I will tell all the engineering students something that is quite different from our conventional thinking.
Apart from core technical proficiency, engineering teaches us many other skills, such as presentation skills, content writing, working as a team, how to treat different people during different situations, problem solving and logical thinking, how to accept failures and again bounce back, project reports, management skills (managing studies in one night before the exam!). With such learning you will become mentally strong and acquire abilities like public speaking skills (debates), documentation skills (keeping record of files, etc) and many other life skills.
Everybody has their own skillset and core technical proficiency might not be everyone’s cup of tea. The world is changing at a fast rate and we also need to change our thinking as per the changing world. There are many examples wherein people from a different educational background landed up in a completely different field.
Sundar Pichai, a metallurgical engineering student, is CEO of Google.
Chetan Bhagat, a mechanical Engineering student, is a writer.
Vishal Shah, a chemical engineer, is a successful entrepreneur.
Vijay Mansukhani, a marine engineer, is a successful entrepreneur with his company turnover more than Rs 736 crore.
Zubair Rehman, an electrical and electronics engineering graduate, worked as a CCTV operator and invested just Rs 10,000 to start The Fashion Factory at his home. Zubair found a unique strategy for selling kids’ apparel in combo packs, and it worked so well that The Fashion Factory now receives 200 to 300 orders a day. By fulfilling these orders, Zubair’s company rakes in around Rs 50 lakh revenue each month.
Ajay Kumar Jaiswal, an engineer and a technocrat, started Urja Gasifiers to produce renewable energy and provide energy-efficient and eco-friendly products to customers. He started the company in 2013 in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, and today his business has an annual turnover of more than Rs 1.25 crore.
The point here is why to limit ourselves to just core technical things? Engineering itself is a complete degree. After completing it you can be a writer, actor, manager, engineer, designer and what not. Engineering teaches you everything over a course of 4 years. You may not end up being a production engineer or design engineer after studying mechanical engineering but that is completely okay. You can be a marketing manager in a manufacturing firm or you may be a content developer in a product designing company. You may also become part of a product management team wherein you talk to customers and give their feedback to the research and development team, because you have amazing presentation skills.
So, in short, do not limit yourself to core technical things. If you are good at something, just go in that field. One thing to note here is that do not leave your domain, until and unless you are unmatchable in that particular skill. For example, if you are a mechanical engineering student and good at public speaking then you should look for a position in marketing department of mechanical or automobile domain industries. Here you will be ahead of most of the people in your department as knowledge of domain will be a plus point for you.
I am not telling you to completely leave your technical background but if you are good at something then pursue it, even if non- technical. The world is full of opportunities, the only thing we need to analyse is what is the most demanded skill and what skill do we have. Next step would be to reduce the gap between the two. Wishing you all the best.

—The writer is a student of BE Civil Engineering (JU) YCET Jammu. [email protected]

ISHFAQ MANZOOR