“What is the most important thing your engineering degree has taught you?” - is the question I have come across more than a few times. Earlier I used to be asked this question and now I have also gotten into the habit of asking the same question to others.
Something that I always say is that I am a computer engineer by education and, now, an entrepreneur by profession. Note that by an entrepreneur, I mean that I am not limiting myself to a software business. I think the primary thing my engineering degree has taught me is to be able to analyze things. And this is a skill that is relevant to almost all the businesses and not just limited to software. So I really am surprised when people are surprised to see an engineer taking up a business which has nothing to do with software. After all, the role of a smart entrepreneur is not to do everything themself - but to find smart people who can be responsible for the appropriate divisions. In the light of all this - it makes perfect sense to take up a business which makes the most sense to the person - financially, for work-satisfaction and otherwise.
And one such case of an engineer doing a non-IT business is demonstrated by one of my close buddy - Animesh. He has just started his blog at MSN spaces and I look forward to reading his experiences running a retail business.
So, if you haven’t thought about it seriously, it is a time to think “what have you learnt the most from your professional degree?”
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November 18, 2005 at 12:07 pm
I completely agree with you. Education ,It may be any discipline, is fruitful only when it teaches one skills to think and analyze irrespective of the subject of specialization .
November 18, 2005 at 9:43 pm
when i was in my 4th year of engg. someone asked me to define engineering in the minimum number of words.. my answer was ” do less and accomplish more “however today i will say “Work smart”
November 18, 2005 at 11:06 pm
Engineering degree taught me to handle stress. I guess this is the biggest thing which I have carried from my college. Also, it helps me evaluate certain things which would have been almost impossible without an engineering degree (or for that matter any professional course teaches this lesson), to evaluate the surrounding you and handle the stress generated.