VIDEO: Finding Your Dream Career with Effective Skills Research

Part two of a four-part career development series by Joel Erway.

Exploring the skills that interest you most is a step that should never be skipped. Identifying these key skills is what will lead you to your dream career, making this the most important step in the job research process.

In the video above, I filled out an example of a spreadsheet that you can use to keep track of what you’ll find, and I explain how to go about filling one out for yourself.

Your sheet should include individual columns assessing:

  • Your current ability in a particular skill, graded 1-10;
  • Your interest level in that skill before researching it, again graded 1-10;
  • Your interest level in that skill after the research process, graded 1-10;
  • How much time you may need to feel confident in this skill, enough to perform it in a job and talk about it intellectually. This should be filled in last;
  • What certifications may be available;
  • What tools and programs you will require to learn and use the skill;
  • And more.

Watch the video above for a greater understanding of these columns and what else you should be recording to ensure your research leads you to the dream job in engineering that you deserve.

Continue your search for your dream engineering career and watch Part 1Part 3 and Part 4 of this video series.

About Author

Joel Erway is a best-selling engineering author and career development expert. His best-selling book, 30-Minute EIT: How to beat the FE exam without beating your head… shows engineering professionals a new way to approach the FE exam without learning all of the material. His 5-week intensive career development course, Engineering Escalator Secrets, was designed to eliminate the confusion with picking the right engineering career. He shows engineers how to align their passions with skills that employers are willing to pay for.