HOW A DRILLING ENGINEER GOT DRAWN INTO THE ALLURE OF DIGITAL MARKETING

After losing my job as a drilling engineer, I began assessing my options. Although, it is an exciting career, I had this feeling deep within that it was not the right role for me. I started doing some self-exploration and researching on what I could do next.
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”
― Andy Warhol
Driven to build a flexible lifestyle, I decided to explore my interests in entrepreneurship. I watched many YouTube videos, then started a few stores using the drop shipping model that failed spectacularly. This was a very frustrating experience for me because I thought this should be easy to figure out. Doing what an engineer does best, I examined the failure points of my stores. It was simple, I was unable to market the products properly neither did I have the knowledge needed to understand the customer.
With some clarity gained, my new goal — help others grow their business. In order to achieve this goal, I needed to become an effective marketer and get a job in digital marketing to build up my experience. Now that technology has opened up the educational system, I knew that I did not have to go through the traditional route of going to get another bachelor’s degree or an MBA. I explored the option of reading blogs and watching YouTube videos to learn about digital marketing but quickly realized that I needed structured information that would give me an overview of the entire landscape. MOOC was the way to go.
While there are many options when it comes to online courses for digital marketing, I decided to go with the Udacity Digital Marketing Nanodegree. What differentiated this program from the other competing programs were the holistic approach taken on the training, being able to complete it within 3 months spending about 10 hours per week and the opportunity to quickly apply what I have learned to real world projects. It also promised graduating with a portfolio upon graduation which I can show prospective employers as proof of knowledge.
It has been 2 weeks so far in the nanodegree and so far, I have found it very exciting. I have been able to gain valuable knowledge and tools to understand the customer and plan a campaign. I am excited to see what it is like at the end of the tunnel.
“Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.” — Drake