How to Grow Your Skills as a Modern Engineer

As an HR professional, I've seen candidates who invest in upskilling significantly outperform others in interviews and salary negotiations. Let me give you a comprehensive roadmap: Step 1: Skills Gap Analysis Current State Assessment: •⁠ ⁠List all your current technical and soft skills •⁠ ⁠Review your recent performance appraisals for feedback •⁠ ⁠Ask trusted colleagues or managers about your strengths and improvement areas •⁠ ⁠Compare your skills with job descriptions you're targeting Market Research: •⁠ Study 15-20 job postings in your target role/industry •⁠ ⁠Identify the most frequently mentioned skills •⁠ ⁠Note the "nice to have" vs "must have" requirements( use platforms like naukri) Step 2: Prioritise Your Learning High-Impact Skills to Focus On: 1.⁠ ⁠Technical skills- that appear in 70%+ of your target job postings 2.⁠ ⁠Certifications - commonly mentioned in your industry 3.⁠ ⁠Soft skills- like leadership, communication, project management 4.⁠ ⁠Industry-specific tools* and technologies Create a Learning Priority Matrix: Divide them into Urgent + Important, Important but not Urgent and Nice to have Step 3: Choose Your Learning Methods For Technical Skills: •⁠ ⁠Online Platforms: Udemy, Coursera, Pluralsight, LinkedIn Learning •⁠ ⁠Free Resources: YouTube, FreeCodeCamp, Khan Academy •⁠ ⁠Hands-on Practice: Create personal projects, contribute to open source •⁠ ⁠Industry Certifications: AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, Salesforce, etc. For Soft Skills: •⁠ ⁠Communication: Join Toastmasters, practice presentation skills •⁠ ⁠Leadership: Take on cross-functional projects at your current job •⁠ ⁠Project Management: Get PMP, Agile, or Scrum certifications Step 4: Create a Realistic Timeline While doing that try to learn everything at once as it's better to master 2-3 skills well than to have surface knowledge of 10 skills. Step 5: Document Your Learning Be it in the form of Portfolio/GitHub, Certifications, Blog/LinkedIn Posts, Metrics Step 6: Practice and Apply Maybe ⁠volunteer for projects that use your new skills or ⁠Mentor junior colleagues (develops leadership skills) or join professional communities and forums Step 7: Skill Validation ( Do it before Job Applications) •⁠ ⁠Take practice tests for certifications •⁠ ⁠Get feedback from industry professionals •⁠ ⁠Join relevant LinkedIn groups and participate in discussions •⁠ ⁠Attend virtual conferences and webinars Hacks: Pomodoro Technique, Weekly learning goals Final Pro Tip: Start learning while you're still employed. It's easier to learn without job search pressure, and you can immediately apply new skills at your current job, making your experience more valuable.

🤖Fellow Engineers: 2025 is your year to achieve it all, let me show you how. But BEFORE diving into the new year, it’s critical to pause, reflect, and prepare. I've put together 5 actionable steps I use to grow personally and professionally. Save this for your yearly review! 👇🏾 1️⃣ Reflect on Your 2024 Projects Write out your biggest wins and what you learned. Ask yourself: What projects pushed me out of my comfort zone? What would I do differently? Example: This year, I hosted a cloud + AI panel and worked on impactful projects for AWS. (Your wins here) 2️⃣ Track Certifications and R&D Progress 📚 Did you learn something new? Document it. Use platforms like AWS Skill Builder, Coursera, Udemy, FreeCodeCamp, or free AI tools to prepare for next-level skills. Tip: AI/ML certifications are really great skills for engineers in 2025. 3️⃣ Personal & Professional Growth 🧠 Skill up in AI, Cloud, and DevOps—use what you learn to build projects! Share what you learned to help others (and grow your brand). This year, I helped 3,000+ engineers learn cloud through my free e-book—teaching is learning! 4️⃣ Build a Personal Brand Document your journey: The wins, fails, and lessons in your field. Talk about: What you’re building How you’re learning AI/ML Tips for beginners Personal brands open doors. You’ll stand out to companies, recruiters, and like-minded communities. 5️⃣ Goal-Set Like an Engineer What exactly do you want to accomplish in 2025? Projects Skills Community building Break it down quarterly and track your wins. 📧 Bonus: I’ve created a FREE Yearly Reflection Document for Engineers to help you plan, review, and set goals. Link in my bio + here: https://lnkd.in/e-YSDwt6 2025 will be the year of AI, Cloud, and innovation. Start now—future you will thank you. - Coursera freeCodeCamp Amazon Web Services (AWS) AWS Training and Certifications Udemy #Coursera #AWS #FreeCodeCamp #Udemy #cloudEngineer #Techsgiving #TGSummit24 #MachineLearning #AI #techtips #DeveloperAdvocate #TechContentCreator

Stop Waiting for the "Perfect Time" to Level Up Your Hardware Skills "I'll focus on learning advanced PCB design when things slow down at work..." "I'll invest in my skills after this big project wraps up..." "Once the kids are a bit older, I'll have more time to really dive into hardware specialization..." Sound familiar? I've heard these exact phrases from engineers who are now 5, 10, even 15 years into their careers - still waiting for that mythical "perfect time" that never seems to arrive. Here's the uncomfortable truth: There will never be a perfect time. The Career Plateau Trap When I was working as an electrical engineer at a major tech company, I watched a senior colleague hit his 17-year work anniversary. At lunch, he confided something that haunts me: "I've been planning to learn advanced PCB design for the last decade to make my own product. Instead I might focus on retirement." This engineer was brilliant - but he'd fallen into the "someday" trap, and now faced being left behind by rapidly evolving technology and younger specialists. The Math Nobody Talks About Let me share some simple math that changed my perspective on skill development: If you invest just 4 hours per week in focused skill development, that's: - 16 hours per month - 192 hours per year - 960 hours over 5 years Research shows that ~500 hours of deliberate practice can take you from beginner to professional competence in a specialized technical skill. This means you could transform your career trajectory with just 4 hours per week over 2.5 years - or accelerate that timeline with more focused effort. What's Really Holding You Back? In my experience coaching hundreds of electrical engineers, the "time" excuse usually masks deeper fears: - Fear of discovering you've fallen too far behind - Fear of investing time in the wrong skills - Fear of failure after years of professional identity as "the expert" These fears are normal, but they're keeping you trapped in career limbo. Start Small, But Start NOW You don't need to quit your job or spend 20 hours a week learning. Start with these micro-steps: - Block 30 minutes TOMORROW to identify the highest-leverage PCB design skill for your specific career path - Find ONE resource (book, course, or tutorial) focused specifically on that skill. - Schedule two 2-hour blocks this week dedicated to that resource The Only Perfect Time is Now Remember this: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today. Every day you wait is another day your colleagues and competitors are advancing while you stand still. More importantly, every day you wait is another day your current self is holding back the self you could be. If you know there is one skill you've been putting off learning, commit to taking that first 30-minute step tomorrow. Comment SKILLS below if you want my book list. #CareerDevelopment #HardwareEngineering #PCBDesign #SkillDevelopment