Mystory@Zeeshan Feeroz: How my college education impacted my career

Mystory@Zeeshan Feeroz

My college years started with a sense of pride after getting into NIT Durgapur, an elite college. I quickly adapted myself to college life attending classes regularly, making new friends and of course, getting used to hostel mess food. As it happened, I participated and surprisingly won a robotics competition, which motivated me to join the Robotics club of my college. Thereon, I participated in various college robotics competitions every time learning something new and engaging with self-driven peers.

Studying Mechanical engineering, I joined professional bodies like IEEE and ASME and started going through their journals, updating my knowledge about the latest advances in Mechanical world. These bodies keep us updated with major breakthrough in technology and various research going on in universities like MIT, Harvard, and Stanford amongst others. They keep us updated with various ongoing seminars/webinars and give us an opportunity to submit our own research papers, abstracts, thesis etc. On a side note, the classes were engaging and subjects such as Fluid mechanics, Thermodynamics, Engineering mechanics, Vibration Theory, Automobile Engineering and Power Plant Engineering kept me excited throughout the classes. Automobile Engineering and Power plant Engineering were the ones that interested me the most.

Back in hostel, life was exciting with group studies. Though solving assignments was a hell lot of mental task, we sportingly got through every one of them. We were hooked to engineering mechanics problems, solving every tricky problem that we chanced upon. Every festival away from home was a different experience altogether, which gave me vivid memories, putting a smile on my face whenever I remember those moments.

However, after living a wonderful four years of my life, when I look back I regret not working closely with my departmental HOD and professors; I regret not using their knowledge and improving myself and doing stuff like publishing a paper, journal or contributing to the research etc. Guys, it is very important to publish a paper in your college days if you are applying for MS/MBA programs abroad. Also, you should choose your final year project carefully as it will give you a deep knowledge of the topic you are working on and will be helpful for your subsequent higher studies/placement interviews. For mechanical/civil engineers willing to pursue career in design and R&D, should have hands-on experience on CAD software like Autocad, Catia and analysis software like Ansys etc. For example, you could study the nature of fluid flow through a pipe of various sizes and study the change in flow property or energy losses during flow.

As a final note, I would suggest college students to make the most out of their college period by keeping their future interests in mind. One cannot afford to waste the college time and students should focus on developing technically and professionally. Finally, make sure you actively engage in at least one sports/physical activity to keep you physically fit so you could soar to great heights.

About the Author

Zeeshan Feeroz graduated from NIT Durgapur with a Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2013. Currently, he is designated as a Deputy Manager in Lafarge India Limited. His hobbies include playing badminton, travelling and reading books.