Engineer, a word that takes into account a broad spectrum inside the professional environment and generates expectations of all kinds. When we concentrate on the systems area, we often hear the following phrases: „The work of the future“ or „Systems engineers will be the ones with the most opportunities“. This surely attracts and deceives those who begin to work in this area. Here I have some tips that help you to deal with the job market after having become a system engineer…
1. Forget about how it should work in theory
One of the things that all students of engineering systems – no matter if graduated or not – have to know as soon as they start searching for a job, is that the market doesn´t act like you have learned in theory. In the majority of cases the rules that regulate the market of systems apply much faster than the theoretical time spans mentioned in the curriculum. This is normal, but it generates an inevitable sense of disarray. The best way to deal with this, is to get involved (in the extent you can) into the business model in which we work. This way you will understand the client´s needs. It is much more viable to have a vision to which the flow of information goes to. Focus on the goals and needs of the client.
2. Time and structure of the project
Another point to consider is the structure that every project can support. In very general terms the majority of project leaders or project managers establish a life circle, where every stage has its correct place. Then, why are some of the stages not respected? Why is it difficult to apply the management theory of the project in real life? These are frequent and common questions in this field of work. Within the theoretical framework a series of variables are excluded that give space to knowledge gaps. It can be many variables and they can occur due to different reasons. Some examples: A developer doesn´t come to work because he is ill, a power outage interrupts work, a cut in the budget, etc. This factors all have a negative influence on the management and provoke that some stages are not completely respected or as well that some tasks are performed in a less effective or less planned manner. In the worst case the model in real life will be very different from the theoretical model and just will be an application without testing phase, without documentation or without time estimate. This means basically walking in the dark.
3. Think of the client
Last it is essential to bear the client in mind. The figure of the client occurs in all moments in which clients make decisions and in all processes – no matter if we work for a company or if we have a long established business relationship of a special kind. Work is provided for clients and sometimes they can take measures which completely differ from the acquired expertise or lead to the case that you can´t apply any type of the methodology of work that you know. This can be harmful to the goals of the organization, to the control and the security, but it should not influence the aims of the finished product. It is necessary to comply with the demands of the clients without putting aside management and organizational concepts which have been acquired. These concepts are important to accomplish excellent products, but as soon as you are confronted with situations where the client doesn´t want to apply the good practices the activity to conserve evidences of the realized work should be realized only in the background.
So how should we deal with the entry in the job market?
In order to start right, it is important to realize that these situations are much more common than you think and they will occur for sure. The first time you notice that one of this situations will come you may feel frustrated: you can´t apply the acquired knowledge, the bosses won´t be content because of management gaps, etc. Don´t let yourself be discouraged, it is necessary to have confidence and patience, to bring in personal knowledge, to collaborate with a respectful mind and look at all of it from a constructive point of view. Another thing that you have to understand is that your first tasks will be something monotone and less attractive that you have imagined before. You will need time for further training until they will make you cope with functional objects of bigger size. This happens in other sectors, too.
So don´t let yourself be discouraged and stay motivated, it is unreasonable to think that we will send a rocket to the moon on our first day.
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Pic. © stokpic
