As I approach the conclusion of my third year in the university, all of a sudden, the thought of looking for a job in a year’s time never felt so real and intimidating. For me, my journey through university had been one of discovery and exploration. I took arts modules as well as Business modules to gain a better understanding of the world we live in. To my surprise, I realised that there was a basic similarity to all these subjects, and that is: human interaction. I came across a quote by Albert Einstein, whom once said:
“When we survey our lives and endeavours, we soon observe that almost the whole of our actions and desires is bound up with the existence of other human beings. We notice that our whole nature resembles that of the social animals.” (Albert Einstein, 1934)
Even engineers, who rarely work with large groups of people, are still required to work in smaller teams, as well as with other teams to solve engineering problems. As an aspiring engineer, I think should I possess the skills for effective communication, it would be a cinch to overcome any challenging tasks assigned to my team.
On a more personal note, as a secondary and junior college student, I used to fear presentations and any form of public speaking so much that I would be practically be shaking and perspiring even before the presentation. During the presentation itself, I will probably be caught stumbling over my words and stammering into incoherency. These reasons were what gradually led me to believe learning to communicate effectively via written as well as verbal means, is an quintessential life skill that should prove useful whether I am looking for my first job, or am well into my job as an engineer or otherwise.