5 Mistakes I Made As a Young Engineer That You Should Avoid

Engineering has become synonymous with ambition and success in most Indian households. As a young kid in high school, I always knew that my inquisitive nature would push me towards something engineering related. Hailing from a small household, this dream seemed very far-fetched. In a few years I found myself pursuing Electronics and Communication Engineering at my alma mater, NIT Warangal in Andhra Pradesh, India and I fell completely in love with the process of building things and understanding how they work.

If there is anything that these 25 years of experience has taught me to be better at what I do today, it's the mistakes I committed when I was a young engineer. Needless to say that the unlearn-relearn pattern still continues; because what’s life without a few bumpy rides??

Only Big Brands Create High Growth .?

Fresh out of NIT, my job at Videocon in Aurangabad gave me my first chance to work in a high-pressure professional environment. I got to work on a complex project from sketch to scale. The long hours, multiple iterations and countless sleepless nights felt worth it when I saw the product that I helped develop hit the market.

It was amazing to see how good engineering efforts could take a simple idea and transform it into a household product. In my next job,? I got to learn the fundamentals of engineering which? bigger brands aren’t able to necessarily provide these days. While seeking out good brands and high-profile projects is not a bad thing, the key is to focus on strengthening your foundation. Over these years, I learned that the name or brand of a company does not define how much it can help you grow. I believe that in order to develop an innovation-driven mindset, it is important to get your hands dirty at the beginning of your career.?

Getting too comfortable where you are

Getting caught up in a web of organizational hierarchies can create an illusion of growth within the organization. Taking charge of your own growth trajectory is the only way to consistently transcend to the next level. Keeping yourself updated and learning new skills will help you confidently seek opportunities to deploy your skills. This is the best form of experience that helps you learn things in a way that cannot be taught.?

Although growth within the org is a good sign, it often leads to engineers getting complacent with their work. Today’s engineers should leverage the strengths of the organization in order to bolster their own skills. Take ownership and don’t limit yourself to merely the tasks handed to you. Look beyond the limits of your KPIs, and you will find more opportunities that will support your growth. During my early days, I boldly made some choices and stepped up to my seniors to seek for the opportunities in alignment with my aspirations which had a defining impact in how my career shaped up in the later days.

Oblivious of Customer Needs & Challenges ?

Gone are the days when engineers need to limit themselves to technical roles and remain behind the scenes - designing and redesigning. Today with a myriad of options for upgradation and upskilling, it is possible to strike a healthy balance between technical know-how and understanding business challenges, thereby enabling one to make meaningful contributions in building better products to drive business growth.

The key to becoming an asset is your ability to walk a tightrope between the problem statement and your problem-solving capabilities. Develop deep customer empathy and be a key partner in solving critical pain points leveraging your technical expertise which would help you create direct impact on how the product is being built and fuel your career growth in the organization.

Your work will speak for you

Engineers tend to shy away from self branding for a variety of reasons. It’s imperative to realise how impactful self branding can be for better visibility in the larger community. Ensuring that you receive due credit for the work you do is essential towards boosting your confidence.

Acknowledgment and appreciation can go a long way in boosting your morale and keeping you motivated to do better. Taking that extra effort to share the outcomes and learnings from your last assignment goes a long way not just in providing the right visibility and appreciation of your extraordinary efforts but also helps strengthen your brand as a tech leader.

Risk is Risky

In today’s highly competitive environment, risk aversion can prove to be a liability. Life only gives you a few opportunities to create path breaking solutions that can change the course of your career. As engineers, you are in the business of pushing boundaries every day!?

Don’t be skeptical when you’re presented with a seemingly behemoth opportunity. Instead, trust in your ability to grasp new concepts and embrace the risk. Sometimes, that one leap of faith can make all the difference. Despite being ‘late to market’ according to some, at Razorpay, we were able to create instant integration platforms for technology-averse merchants, thereby redefining the way businesses transact forever. It was simply a result of undying passion, extraordinary push, and the willingness to take risks.?