Is Pursuing Engineering Still Worth It In India With Many Students Trying Their Hands On Newer Subjects

Today engineering has opened up newer job prospects rather than restricting them. It is as if life begins after engineering. One may feel except programming or product development there is no other career. But, this is the very time to work on our skills and our attitude entirely and get it right. Our career growth depends entirely on our passion as that will make us break new frontiers in our own field. Self-motivation is absolutely necessary as it leads to everything else. Engineering is just a passport to hit the ground running in our chosen career. Money is a by-product. Any new invention or innovation always starts with an idea. Once the idea takes the shape of a venture or a product sky is the limit. With the background of Engineering, one gets an understanding of the whole industry aspect linked to our sustenance. Understanding the basics of production and the interlinkages of the same with our lives can be a springboard to progress in our chosen career. Some may have a flair in advertisement or media where knowing the product will be an advantage. Something as simple as writing a blog also needs an understanding of the topic. As mentioned before everything starts with an idea. And to have that innovative idea for future progress an understanding of the present is the absolute key. It may even lead to your own business which will entail marketing and sales. One will need the technical support and service for the same which all loops back to the engineering fundamentals one may have learned. 

Sometimes when it’s time to decide the future career path a lot of youngsters are not sure which path to choose. At times like these, they are guided by their parents, teachers, and peers who more often than not advise to take engineering. Later on, the same student may feel as if it was the wrong decision. This is one of the reasons that we find too many engineers who are not sure of their future path and keep drifting from one course to another. Some go for higher studies whereas some go for MBA. However, at times like these, it’s equally important to believe that no knowledge is ever wasted. One can always build on the knowledge one has. Usage of the same is in our hands. One can decide to go the time tested way of working in an industrial organisation or use the knowledge in a field which is to one’s own liking. It’s really important to figure our future 4 – 5 years from now so that we can build on it today. 

Our education our learning is our responsibility. One person committed to be an Engineer will always do well in his or her career. Equally important is that in the absence of a focussed dream, doing engineering can at most times open up possibilities and opportunities which were not known otherwise. It shapes our lives in ways that otherwise would not have been possible. It’s a smart option to do till one figure out ones choices. It gives some breathing space and also one learns a sought after education in the meantime without any wastage of time which otherwise would have happened during the indecisive period. The engineering education proves worthy to sustain oneself till the time one is capable of sustaining themselves through their chosen new fields. It’s not that one cannot sustain themselves in the new fields but this can prove to be a buffer in the start-up times if required.

Anamika Paul

Guest Author Anamika Paul is a professor of the School of Engineering and technology at Ansal University.