4 Lessons I Learned in My Engineering
In 2022, I completed my under graduation in computer engineering and finally became an engineer. The four-year journey had provided me with lots of exciting opportunities, amazing friends, and a ton of learning experiences.
Out of the many learnings, here are a few that I would like to highlight:
Participation Leads to Success:
In my first year of engineering, I was afraid to take part in social and technical activities or competitions. “If I know that I won’t win, why even participate?” — This used to be my thinking every time I was presented with an opportunity to be a part of any competition. Little did I know that every time I rejected participation, I gave up on an insightful experience and learning moment.
Fortunately, I found a company of really good friends, who cared about learning rather than winning. And because of these friends, I was influenced to participate in challenges and hackathons.
Looking back I now realize that if I had held myself back and not participated in any events, I wouldn’t have learned anything new. As my participation increased, it became easier for me to accept a rejection/failure. Moreover, I even won a few competitions due to this change in my attitude. I now understand that we are already winners when we participate in any competition.
Clubs >>> Lectures:
If there’s one thing in common between you and every other student, it is that you all attend the same lectures during your courses. However, if you wish to do something more, and learn outside of the academic bounds, it will be possible through the college clubs. Personally, I benefitted a lot from joining my college’s robotics club. I gained a lot of practical experience, made a lot of connections, and worked on really interesting projects.
Another important lesson that I learned was that loyalty towards a club is more important than being part of multiple clubs. You might feel like contributing to many clubs, but that might cost you your academic scores or your free time. Moreover, the club members might not like you losing your focus on activities and events. Once you commit to a club, make sure that you give 100% of your efforts to it. You might find other clubs attractive but “the grass is always greener on the other side”.
Maintaining Good Relations with Professors:
Your academic performance is dependent on two things- your hard work and the professor’s impression of you. And it is quite easy to build your impression. You can start by asking questions and thoroughly participating in the lectures. Once the professors know that you are interested, they themselves are motivated to impart knowledge. This even helps to improve your academic scores as you get all your queries resolved.
Maintaining good relations with the professors is even crucial in the long term. Your career might be boosted by the guidance of one of the professors or you might need their recommendations a few years down the lane.
Experience Matters More than GPA:
Looking back at my seniors and classmates, I realized that the GPA only matters to a certain extent. What matters more is how you apply your knowledge in real-life challenges and the experiences that you gain. These experiences can be academic (related to studies/projects) or social (related to friends and team members) and both are equally important.
I especially observed this while applying for jobs and internships. The interviewer is generally more concerned about your contributions, projects, social work, and core knowledge, rather than your GPA. I have many friends who didn’t have an outstanding GPA but are doing great in their lives.
Having said that, I do agree that a good GPA leads to better opportunities, however, if ever you need to choose between a good experience and a good GPA, you can blindly trust the former.
Happy Reading :)
