WHAT NEXT?OFFBEAT CAREER OPTIONS FOR ENGINEERS

Harsh Snehanshu

How many of you are

engineers here?

How many of you are engineers by

choice?

How many of you wish that you could pursue

something else?

I’m here to tell you that

YOU CAN!

Did I sound like this guy?

I apologize.

What this talk is NOT: A ploy to dissuade you from engineering A sermon A drab self-help bookish slideshow. All gyaan, no play

What this IS about: Broadening your perspectives Exposing options available to you Finding a direction to your passion Increasing your self-awareness

And a lot of chocolates…! Do you like quizzing?

Chocolate no. 1

Identify the name And the profession And the college

Jairam Ramesh M.P. IIT Bombay

Chocolate no. 2

Identify the person Tell me the name of the

first company he worked in/his first album

Shankar Mahadevan Computer Engineer Oracle/Breathless

So you thought engineers just

become engineers.It’s time to stop and think.

But before that…

Do you really need a parallel career?

Not at all.We rather need

engineers.

But what we don’t need:

Bad Engineers.The world is full of them –

Those who don’t like engineering but still pursue it after degree Those who give in to the societal pressure

Those who think only engineering can offer financial security Those who remain mediocre.

If you wish to become an engineer, become like this gem:

Chocolate time Identify the name And the

profession E. Sreedharan Father of the Delhi

Metro Project Civil Engineer

Or a researcher like this veteran scientist:

2 chocolates this time

Identify the name

Dr. CNR Rao Bharat Ratna Awardee,

2013 60 Honorary Doctorates

and 1450 research papers Mysore University, IT BHU

and Purdue University alumnus

These people shone because

Engineering/Science

is their passion

And so will you. If you know…

What’s Your Passion?

Something that you not only like to do,

but love to do.

I know

For some here,It might not be engineering.

It might be

Something outlandish.

Something that you might feel shy talking about, like becoming a

sprint runner for the next Olympics

Meet this guy, for instance. The dude on the right, atop Stok Kangri, 6.5 km in Ladakh

Or the same dude on the left…after completing an Olympic triathlon:

Or all of the below: Paraglider Canoer Mountaineer Skiier Vagabond Diver Climber Triathlete Yes, the same

guy. Saurabh

Agarwal IIT-D 2011

passout

IMAGINE!What if your passion

becomes your profession?

You get paid for something that you love to do.

If that happens, you will:

Love to attend your office Deliver the best quality work Attain mastery because hard work

will never seem hard. Most importantly, enjoy.

Let’s enjoy a little. Ready for more chocolates?

Identify the name And the

profession

Dilip D’ Souza Columnist, Indian

Express Author

Who gets the chocolate? Identify the name And the

profession

Arunabh Kumar  IIT Kharagpur Assistant Director, Om

Shanti Om Founder, The Viral Fever

(Remember the q-tiyapa videos?)

Identify the name And the

profession

Courtesy: some moronic blog

Thank engineering, for it taught us:

That silence is always misunderstood. Especially during vivas.

One can manage without bathing for months and not get caught. Thanks to your classmates following the same maxim.

One can multitask and still pass exams (by studying one night before!)

Before becoming an engineer, we were:

A nerdy, hairy, plump kid roasting our bottoms with heavy books for most of our lives.

Unexposed – tell me, how can a 17 year old without any awareness of the world take a career decision for life?

After becoming an engineer: Nerdy, no more. But shabbier. But something changed. Four years at college

lets you pursue things that you love to do Management – fests Marketing Dance, Drama, Writing, Photography Travel and Read.

Closer to finding your passion. Maybe this is what happened to the person

who comes next in line…

Chocolate time! No more

identifying the person

Rather, tell me, which famous award did he win in 2006 for the RTI Act? Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent

Leadership

Chocolate time again! Identify the

name And the

profession

Udaya Kumar Ph.D. IIT Bombay and B.Arch, Anna University Assistant Professor, IIT Guwahati

So what do you want to become?

An actor/dancer/model A writer/journalist A photographer An entrepreneur An entertainer A spiritual guru An encounter specialist! And most importantly, an engineer.

Actor or Film/Modeling Line: The name of his second movie? College he graduated from?

Way forward: Hone your skills – dancing,

acting, diction, physique on your own

Join theatre What Next? Mumbai. Audition. Network. Start small –

TV/commercial/dance troop

A writer or journalist: Identify the name Sidin Vadukut, Columnist

Mint, Author, Former Engineer

Way forward: Hone your skills – reading,

writing, reading, writing... Attend workshops Network with people. Join fellowships/journalism

schools like ACJ Start freelancing Study further

A photographer: Identify the name Devendra Purbiya, IIT KGP

2004 passout, fashion photographer

Way forward: Hone your skills – lights, camera,

photojournalism Read Network. Attend workshops and

schools like Jamia Start small – FB page. Participate

in contests.

Entrepreneur Identify the name And his company

Way forward: Start off small. Network. Attend summits and

seminars. Think Big. Execute swiftly. Find the right partner. Be sharp and sound. Jump in, find the market gap,

learn fast and capitalize.

An entertainer Identify the name Nitin Gupta(Rivaldo),

Stand-up comedian

Way forward: Write a catchy script. Record your

performance on a smartphone.

Upload on youtube. Perform in your own

college and build your base.

PJs don’t qualify.

A Spiritual Guru Identify the duo Bawa-Dinesh IIT-B passouts, AOL

gurus

Way forward: Grow your hair Talk softly, like this Befriend a high potential

guru And read a lot of philosophy!

Encounter Specialist Identify the person Navniet Sikera , IIT Roorkee passout, Known as UP’s Daya Nayak Has more than 50 hits on his name. 

Man behind 1090 Women Power Line Concept.

Way forward: Get a gun. Get a police uniform. Let your wrath flow. Singham! In short, slog for UPSC and get

into IPS.

Finally, an Engineer Identify the person Pranav Mistry, MIT

Innovator, InventorWay forward: Participate in contests like

Robocon, FSAE, Mini Baja and tech fests.

Code day and night, night and day

Use websites like codeacademy to learn. Stalkninja to network

Research. Give GATE, GRE and study more.

Those unclear about one’s passion:

Way forward is simple.

Just go for an MBA;)

Some fellowships to keep in mind: The Young India Fellowship (YIF): One year academic

fellowship in liberal arts. Teach for India Fellowship (TFI): Two year teaching

fellowship to teach underprivileged children. Legislative Assistants to Members of Parliament(LAMP)

Fellowships: One year close knit working with an MP. ICICI and Gandhi Fellowships: Two year fellowship in the

development sector working with grassroot level organizations Future India Fellowship: Academic fellowship with the

Future Group

Do Google these and more!

Some truths. Read. One habit that always pays off. Hard work has no substitute. Until you are good, there are

no takers. Until you work hard, you won’t be good. Your prime years are for your dreams, not others’. Perseverance triumphs. Lage raho! You have a choice. Exercise it. Make sure it’s you who

chooses: Your job. Your spouse. Your place of work.

There will be struggle. Nothing comes easy. And know this…

And know this fact…

Struggle is incredibly beautiful!

Last chocolate time.

Identify this dude! And his profession.

No it’s not jumping.

Yes, that’s me. Timeline. 1989-2003 – Grew up dreaming to travel the entire nation someday. 2004 – Got 99/100 in Maths in 9th by fluke. My dear parents decided that I

should become an engineer. I thought why not. 2005-07 – the nerdy, plump kid slogging for JEE. 2007 – Joined IIT Delhi in B.Tech, Engineering Physics. Couldn’t fathom. 2008 – Realized that I love writing. Published stories in Chicken Soup

series, articles in newspapers and became an avid blogger. 2009 – Published my first book. Oops! I fell in love!, a comedy of errors. It

became a bestseller, with more than 50000 copies sold. 2010 – Realized that there’s no avenue to sell my one-liners, tweets,

status messages. Started up a company called Witcraft.

Timeline. 2011 – graduated. Didn’t take up a job. Went full-time with my start-up.

Published the second and third book, the sequels to the first. February, 2012 – Fight with my partner. Had to quit my own company.

Jobless, penniless. Despite the failure, I had a story to tell. March, 2012 – Decided that I’ll fulfill my travel dream. Had no money.

Spammed all the companies in India. IXIGO, a travel company, sponsored my trip.

March, 2012 – May, 2013 – travelled across entire India, covering 23 states in 1.3 years. Started writing for The Hindu. Spoke at TEDx.

February, 2013 – Published my fourth book, Because Shit Happened: What NOT to do in a start-up! with Random House

June, 2013 – Selected for the Young India Fellowship. Right now studying at the fellowship, and writing my travel book, Route to Roots

BOTTOMLINE

You are an engineer for a reason. The reason is to

engineer your dreams.

Thank you. Ending with a quote from my fourth book:

Invite me: harshsnehanshu@gmail.com On Twitter and Quora: @harshsnehanshu