Planning your career

Dear Sir, I'm pursuing third year in mechanical engineering. What is the scope for girls in this stream? I heard that there are no career prospects for women in this field. Please enlighten me on the scope for girls in mechanical engineering in India.- Lavanya, Nalgonda

Yes, there's a perception that mechanical branch is not suitable for girls as many treat this as mere physical labour work. But with the advent of technological advancements and software tools, several new avenues have come up in the field of Mechanical Engineering which is suitable for girls too. Girls can find opportunities in mainly the fields of Engineering Design and Teaching.

It's not limited to rough labour; however the branch has major subdivisions like Manufacturing Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Engineering Design and Industrial Engineering. The field of Engineering Design basically concentrates on the design of engines and other mechanical equipments. In today’s world, software tools like AutoCAD, CATIA and UniGraphics are used for creating designs. The job mainly involves the design of 2-D and 3-D components.

Since only logical and creative aptitude is required to excel in this area, this is an apt area for girls to work. Some opportunities are there in other areas too. Like in the field of Manufacturing Engineering, girls can utilize their skills in the area of design of manufacturing process. As most of the machines are now operated using Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) method, there is not much physical work required to perform different functions unlike the pre-automation era.

Certain opportunities are there for the girls in the Thermal Engineering field too like plant design outsourcing and engine design. They can also perform the roles of System supervisor and Analysts in the field of Industrial Engineering. Job profiles available for girls in the Mechanical Engineering stream are given below.

• CNC Programmer
• CAD Design Engineer
• CAD Software Testing Engineer
• Mechanical Design Engineer
• Lecturer in colleges

So I would suggest you to go with your interests, if you're interested in mechanical, then don’t think or consider others opinion.

Sir, I'm studying B.Tech - ECE. But want to switch to a career in software field as a programmer. What do you suggest? - Kiran, Nandyal

I've seen people who restrict themselves to go with the specialisation they take up in engineering even though they're not interested in it. I always suggest whether it's programming or any other core area, they should follow their passion. Otherwise at some point of time, they may again land in trouble due to lack of satisfaction in the area of work they are forced to take up. Learn the fundamentals of programming, many people who teach themselves programming have a blind spot when it comes to the fundamentals.

The mindset that drives someone to teach themselves programming is motivation and the desire to "do something now." Be sure that you learn the programming fundamentals. This includes variable naming, proper programme structure, when something goes in a library as opposed to the application, and so on. Work on more projects: The more experience you have under your belt, the better.

I recommend getting involved with an open source project or volunteering with a local nonprofit organization to write software that helps them out. This will benefit you in the following ways:

You'll gain exposure to what it is like building an application to a specification. You'll experience the full development lifecycle, including maintenance. You'll work as part of a team.

You'll learn "basic hygiene" practices, such as version control and documentation. You'll get a feeling of accomplishment, which will help keep you from getting discouraged. You'll be able to list programming experience on your resume. If you can think out of the box, good at analysing things, problem solver, good at languages like C/C++, Java etc., then programming is your cup of tea... Go for it...

Sir, please educate me on some simple steps to promote or have people visit my blog? - Prachi, Mumbai

Hello Prachi! Follow these simple steps to get the traffic.

• Integrate with other social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest etc.)
• Use most relevant & popular keywords.
• Quality has more impact than quantity.
• Think of your target audience before you write your own content.
• Provide scope to comment and engage in dialogue conversation.
• Also be active in commenting on other blogs along with your blog link.
• Last but not least use Page on Quora to post relevant questions & answers and include your blog link.
• You can also try Google Adwords.

What are the best techniques to source for engineering talent besides LinkedIn? - Raghava, Ameerpet

Obviously you can't judge the talent based on a few pages of a CV or resume. Nowadays managers are doing a silent search and remote assessment using social media tools before hiring the candidate. Not only LinkedIn, you can also use Facebook, Twitter, Quora, Google+, Myspace etc.

Create pages/groups/discussion forums/blogs where employer can brief about the nature of business, demonstrate their products and services, career and learning opportunities in the firm. Likewise be active and build network to spread information to those seeking jobs. Also acknowledge their applications, keep on updating them on the status and build the rapport.

Sir, What's Internet of Things (IoT)?- Ramya, Hyderabad

Internet of Things is no more a science fiction. From smart homes to connected cars to smart healthcare, consumers and vendors are gearing up for the next big thing. It is a world where physical objects are seamlessly integrated into the information network and where the physical objects can become active participants in business processes.

Services are available to interact with these 'smart objects' over the internet, query and change their state and any information associated with them, taking into account security and privacy issues (SAP AG). Until recently, only computers and computing devices could connect to the internet and “talk” to one another. That has changed, as all kinds of devices are getting connected now.

The IoT movement has already seen some of the biggest companies in every field — AT&T, Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm, Accenture, Vodafone, General Motors, Mercedes Benz and BMW, among others investing significantly on developing new products. These companies are adding wireless connectivity to their devices, bringing network connectivity and remote management to their offerings in order to appeal to a growing number of smart consumers.

India is also joining the IoT bandwagon. Already, Mumbai-based Eureka Forbes has connected around 150 homes across India. Another concept that is gaining popularity is the smart city. The Lodha group is in the process of building Palava City in Thane district, on the outskirts of Mumbai.

It has tied up with IBM to offer a truly interconnected and intelligent city that integrates energy, water, transportation, public safety and smart cards with a central command centre. - The writer is the CEO and founder of Passion4career, an organisation that trains students to make them employable.

By:kamal pabba