HI PART 1s!
Op, I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to scare you with those rather large…and frightening…words in the title there 😃. Especially on the first blog to post to you!
Time to talk internships.
“ALREADY? I haven’t even got a spec yet!!”
I’m here to help you
Being real for a moment though; most people think about specialisation as
Most people seem to think that your checklist in life for a “good” job goes as follows:
- Get into university (congradulations ✅ you passed Step 1)
- Get into your choose degree (your ✨spec✨)
- Get an internship (in this economy ? – all the P2s are sobbing rn)
- Get a job
Then:
Hang on.
…what if you choose the “wRonG” thing? Or, “what if I don’t get into my first nomination”?
Working a constant 9-5 in something you even remotely find disinteresting for 45+ years of your life soundsexasperating. I know at least that it would drive. my. head. in.
If, deep down, you’re scared or worried about this situation happening to you, let me give you some bold advice 😮💨:
Your specialisation choice does not matter.
At least as much as you think that it does. Let me explain:
Your choice now relates to the technical skills that you will be capable of when you exit the University. But you likely still have a good few years of being an engineer to
In saying all of this, genuiene concerns
- Earning potential straight out of university
- Extra learning later down the line – try to follow what you think you are interested in as much as you can
- But won’t I be behind compared to other people?”
No and yes, you may be behind in depth, but your breadth and therefore how you can apply principles can be a lot larger if you utalise that skill.
management vs technical
But…why is networking so important?
So, what are employers actually looking for?
What do you think that employers look for? Technical skills? Nope. Communication? Nah, not even close.
It’s your ability to make them trust you.
They are putting an investment into hiring YOU rather than eveeeeeeryone else out there applying for the same job. Why? Because you showed the most potential for the highest return.
That’s why it comes down to how you market yourself: If you can persuade them to hire you, then you’ve got yourself an internship!
I think not. Don’t get me wrong: social skills never fully accounts for unaccountability in other areas, such as academics.
Promoting YOU
*socalising picture*
Ok, I get it. For the typical engineering student, this situation looks simply *terrifying*. But here’s the secret: that’s a very good thing. The fact that 90% of students in your cohort are not capitalising on that by
- Find a way to market your specalisation for the industries that you like (or think you might like).
For example, through networking, I’ve figured out that I’m interested primary in the following three engineering sectors:
Consulting: You need to be able to look at the entire engineering process to
Software: BME learns a good basis for coding, and you can take electives in years to come that focus more on coding or data science. Therefore, you can market your degree as having a focus on coding languages. Heck, you even learn the basics of python and networking in one of your first papers in Part II! This makes you more qualified for applying to internships than the mechatronics kids are before they take their coding paper in Semester 2.
Devices Design: As I’ll expand more on in one of the future posts, BME is actually very similar to Mechatronics in the sense that it covers elements of Mechanical, Electrical and Software engineering. Because you learn about the way that these three elements interact with each other, you can create a pretty convincing case t
Obviously for other specialisations your answer can be harder to mould. BME sometimes needs a bit of explaining as well as it being one of the broadest specialisation, which leaves you open to marketing it in a truthful and helpful way.
f you can find a way to overcome your
Think of it like an experiment. Find a test group (like a club), test out putting your best foot forward – and hey! if it doesn’t work out, you never have to interact with them again
Find a test group
It’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know?
It’s all well and good to just pick what you want if you have a clear idea. But for 85% of us, simply “choosing” a specialisation right now can feel so overwhelming, especially if you don’t know what industries even do or even more so…what you actually like!
So in this blog series, I’m here to introduce specialisation selection in a few out-of-the-box ways that personally worked wonders for me in Part 1. If you’re thinking about changing specalisations or what to persue at university, please also follow along :)!
And I’m not saying to use your friends, but just think…it would be nice to work in the same office as them for 4 months regarless of what spec you’re in.
- clubs – network with older students, know people out in the industry who are accesible with years more knowledge under their belt
- reach out to lectureres – i had a meeting with a tron guy last year, and with people IN THE INDUSTRY – showing commitment SHOWs that you really care AND it forms a relationship with people early on.
I’m going to be honest with you guys: if you follow these tips sacoreligiously, you are honestly placeing yourself in the top percent of those likely to get a job regardless of what your grades and extra curriculars are like***.
Promote and market yourselfs
Most engerneers do not, so you’re putting yourself out there
So where do I start?
Jobs. I’m actually not kidding here.
Club Expos are your New Best Friends: This is the EASIEST way to connect with people. Make an effort to go to as many as you can now – engineering, science, business – you’d be suprised how many engineering connections you can make. When you get to an expo, follow this checklist:
Google Maps. I’m actually not kidding with this one. There are a few key places around Auckland (and other cities too) which are “Engineering Hubs”. If you know of one of the companies in these areas, you probably know the location of others that you don’t know about yet. Spend some time looking around on Google Maps, and record the list of companies in the same area to look into later…
- Spend some time first wandering around the stores and figuring out what’s your strongest “line of attack” first – what most likely aligns with your degree and with your interests. Remeber if you want to get more information on a company before approaching, you can always search the company up.
🤝
N*tw*rk*ng & “The Final Judgement”: Killing Two Birds with One Stone EARLY & EASY 😉 Setting yourself up for success
One of the best ways to find out
Ok this is more of a xx
Stay tuned for my future blogs where I will talk about how to think of each specalisation in more detail once you know your subjects a bit more :).