The job market for engineers has gotten somewhat saturated
in recent years. While that does not mean that one will lack a job, it does
mean that one may spend some months, or even a few years, out in the cold before
they get a job. True, some graduates may get six figure pay in companies like
Sony Erickson, Nokia, Airtel, Safaricom, KenGen, Geothermal Development
Company- GDC, straight out of campus, but that is the exception, not the rule.
A majority of engineering graduates will get somewhere between 30k and 50k as
starting salaries. For those who get jobs in industrial area, the salaries may
even be lower, at between 15k and 35k. So, how do you stand out?
Practical skills matter.
If you get a truly engineering job, then practical skills
will matter far above anything. Perfect your skills in technical drawing and
drafting, and hands on skills like wiring, welding, or using the lathe machine-
for mechanical engineering graduates. The reason why some employers prefer
diploma graduates is precisely because the degree holders sometimes look down
upon such tasks. Even if you will be leading a team of
technicians, you will
need to know a thing or two about basic practical skills and get your hands
dirty, no matter how knowledgeable you are in other fields. Since computer is
becoming a key part of everyday engineering operations, leading companies will
also expect that your programming and IT skills are up to scratch, and that
they can be smoothly blended with the traditional engineering skills.
If you want to go
into consultancy, civil service/parastatal jobs are preferable.
Unless you are pursuing civil engineering, where you are
likely to be utilizing your practical skills on the ground regardless of which
company you work for, civil service and parastatal jobs are the way to go if
you wish to go into consultancy in future. Civil service jobs, especially
working on municipal and city council projects, will provide a wealth of
experience that will make it easier to be registered as a professional
engineer- where two or three years experience is usually needed.
However, the pay in
government jobs may not be as high as in the private sector, so, you will
have to choose between immediate rewards and less experience in private
companies, or more skills but future rewards in the civil service. However, the
lucky ones who get the best of both worlds are those who will get jobs in
parastatals. KenGen, Geothermal Development Company- GDC, Kenya Power, and private
companies of similar caliber. They will carry out work that is directly linked
to their training, and will also get a high pay. For those in the electrical
engineering field, leading telecommunications companies in the private sector
just as well provide the much needed training, skills, and monetary rewards.
In the end, it will be upon you, which matters most at the
beginning- money, skills, and experience, or a mixture of all three? You
decide.
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