Electrical/Hardware Engineering

Off Topic Job Listings
#1

Hi everyone, hope you all are in good health. I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Sales and Marketing from UT Dallas around 3 years ago but could not land my ideal job in that area and eventually realized that I’m not passionate about sales anymore. What’s even more worrying for me is I’m 29 and still haven’t been able to establish myself as an independent person due to an abusive environment at home throughout my life. I am only sharing such a personal thing so you guys can see why I’m trying to get a job as soon as possible. The abuse would be too difficult for anyone here to understand as you’d have to know about the Indian culture(my parents are from India) to really understand my situation. I found a passion for robotics/hardware engineering recently and started taking classes like IBM cyber security analyst certificate, intro to IBM z/OS, intro to quantum computing, and hardware of a quantum computer. But to be honest, I’m starting to feel very concerned and demotivated because I don’t have any degree or working experience in robotics or engineering and feel like I’m still not going to get a job in this area even after completing these classes and certificate. I am looking into the cybersecurity certificates at UT Dallas and UT Austin and also reached out to Maker’s Edge because I live in Waco(which limits me even more.) They said they would like to help me do an internship with them but they are not sure what I can do there. I would really appreciate it if you guys could give me some advice as to how I can land an internship or job related to this field soon. I’m also going to attach a couple of job descriptions that interested me if that’s okay.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you so much.

#2

I’m going to make big, probably unfounded assumptions here … so your job is to look for kernels of truth and skip over things that don’t apply. Just don’t skip lightly.

Did you learn in marketing to push a product by going out of your way to describe any flaws and possible issues with the product?

You are obviously smart enough to go to school and succeed. Great, but not a long term career prospect. At 29, you are still young, seriously young. True you have entry level competition that is younger. Don’t make that a hurdle. It is unchangeable reality. Never focus on the truly unchangeable.

Figure out how something you know can help somebody. Then go do that.

And put your marketing education to use and market a bright eager person who wants to work, who wants to help someone’s efforts be more successful, who can learn things she doesn’t currently know and who just happens to have the same name you do.

Lastly, leave your baggage lay and model the employee you want to be until you discover you have transformed into that role for real.

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#3

You seem to be bouncing around and that is fine for hobbies not so much for a career.

If I am the CEO of a company what can you do for me? How are you going to help me make money?

If you want to get into Cybersecurity go take the CISSP Associate test and pass it I feel confident you can get a job with that cert alone.

Pretty random to go with IBM Specifically but for your best prospect you should be looking at AWS/Azure certs not IBM unless you are targeting something specific AWS/Azure have the most market share.

Intro to Quantum Computing is an up-and-coming field but I think you’re better served to do a pivot once you’re into a company likely going to be a tech company to be in this space.

I am not knowledgeable in robotics/hardware but I would expect you would need to be able to show your existing personal projects and remember the mantra “How can I provide value to this organization”

Finally, my suggestion is to avoid internships and try to focus on getting paid also organize your LinkedIn account and make it shine.

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#4

I’m not experienced in engineering, that’s why I am saying I have interest in these different areas of engineering. I’m sorry if I sound ignorant about this career. I’m still learning about it. I have experience working in insurance sales and doing a few internships at non-profit and software as a service companies. I also competed in sales competitions during my time at UTD. Most of the time I’ve spent working is at my family’s motel business. That is where I currently work. But it is obviously taking a toll on my health because I’m not passionate about it and I’m expected to be there all the time(their motel is open 24/7.) The abuse has made it difficult for me to stay focused so I’m trying my best to cope through antidepressants and doing things I enjoy. But I know it’s high time I change my career. I would really appreciate it if you guys can try putting yourself in my shoes and be compassionate instead of judging me. I’m saying this because I have unfortunately been judged by some people for being in this situation.

#5

You’ve been given some sound advice. If you think you’re being judged, it’s just because they’re warning you of how employers are going to judge you. Nobody’s mentioned your situation, and it’s up to you to get some focus if you want to get out of it. Compassion will get you nowhere. Compassion and $2 will get you a cup of coffee.

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#6

Get away from that situation. The rest will follow.

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#7

Hey Shyama,

Sorry to hear about the tough times you’re having, but it’s a good sign that you’re asking for help and working on acquiring new skills.

Here are some thoughts I had after reading this thread. I hope they’re not entirely useless.

This is the best first course of action. What would happen if you were to quit that job and leave Waco tomorrow?

If for whatever reason you find yourself unable to leave that situation, can you build a technological solution to improve the business? That’ll help build up your list of projects you can present during interviews, as @Robert_Davidson suggests.

Having a solid passion project to talk about during interviews goes a long way, especially if you’re attempting to get into any sort of IT/engineering without the typical background. It shows employers you can self-educate, which may make them more forgiving if you lack other knowledge.

Most of the fields you listed are very specialized and likely have few available jobs (even for those with perfectly matching credentials), so competition will be tougher, especially since quantum computing and electrical engineering jobs will likely require a science or engineering degree.

However, general IT is more open to those with non-STEM degrees and can be even more lucrative. In your case, I’d highly recommend getting certified in general technologies that most companies are using. The competition will be less intense, and you’ll have many more jobs from which to choose.

I totally agree with @Robert_Davidson’s other suggestion of getting AWS/Azure certs. Learning some Python is also a good idea if you choose to go that route, as it’s ubiquitous and can provide rapid results.

I’m not much help with the depression/abuse situation, but I found this book on the basics of cognitive behavioral therapy to be useful: Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy: David D. Burns: 8580001040905: Amazon.com: Books

Some AWS certification resources:

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