Success in Career Development - Essay Example

Reflection As a student participant there are gains that I have made towards developing my career as a future engineer. The process of design of the project was a golden opportunity of putting the theoretical knowledge into practical application aimed at solving real human problem. The project solution requires application various aspects of engineering simultaneously unlike in the class set up where problems are dealt with in terms of topics. Knowledge of geography was necessary when it comes to understanding the rainfall patterns and hence the availability of rainwater and also the knowledge of wind speed in the project area. Soil mechanics was required in establishing the ability of soil to be able to support tank loads. In coming up with a solution I realized that having skills of use of softwares such as AUTOCAD and the use of excel are very important when it come to design. This project exposed my weakness in the use of the AUTOCAD software and I realised that there is need for emphasis to put on being proficient in use of the software for success of application of engineering knowledge. Bearing in mind the setting of the project area I realised some of the challenges that would be encountered at the field. Communication barrier is one of the challenges where in the process of implementation of the project it will involve dealing with locals who may not be proficient in English. In coming up with the design I was exposed to the different codes that are in place that need to be adhered to. In this project I learnt that punctuality is very important in group work. Unlike the case of individual work where being late has only consequences on the individuals when it comes to group work the impact of a member being late affects the progress of the entire group. The occasions when I came in late, it affected me as an individual and the manner in which the meeting was conducted. As a way of maybe compensating for the lost time I tried to present what I had within the shortest time possible and I also avoided asking questions to avoid wasting more time. In the times I arrived for the meeting early, I had a chance having some informal discussions with my group members who had also checked in early. This was helpful, as we discussed freely the challenges each of us had had in accomplishing the tasks that we had been assigned. These informal discussions helped a lot in being close to the group members and made the formal meeting to be free of tension unlike the case when one had come for the meeting late. There is need for the work that is to be presented by each member to meet some minimal standard. Quality was contributed to by ensuring there were no spelling errors as well as grammatical errors in the work that was being presented to other group members. This helped in the members having easy time to understand the parts that had been done by other members. This project helped us to appreciate the need to have a good presentation. A good presentation acted as inspiration of going ahead with the project. It is through the presentation that the intended project was made to look like a reality. I learned that it was important to present ones work in a systematic manner and to use moderate speed in the presentation. Use of power point was one of the basic skills that were very important in ensuring effective presentation by group members. The design of the slides was important in keeping the audience interested in what was being presented. While one can have uniqueness in the design of slides including use of animation there was need to adhere to the general format of presenting the required information by the group members. In order to have successful group work it is important to accommodate each group member with full knowledge that each person has their strong point and weak point. It was learned that correcting the mistake of group members in unfriendly made them to withdraw from full participation. On the other hand pointing out the weakness in friendly manner made those with the weakness to accept help and they were also able to offer help in their area of strength. Success of group work also requires having to put in place rules of operation and communication. It was important to have an overall leader who ensured that everything was moving on well as expected. With the leader having all the information about the project it was easy for other members to obtain information on the other areas of the project which they were not assigned. Any group member who needed any form of clarification from team members was expected to contact the team member concerned at a convenient time with late hour communication and disruption during working hours or holidays being prohibited. The use of email as the mode of exchanging any project materials was agreed upon with SMS being used to alert team members after sending the information if necessary . This arrangement was chosen as it was believed to be less disruptive as compared to telephone calls. I also learned the importance of using personal computers as opposed to using public facilities as a way of avoiding project materials getting into the wrong hands. The emphasis that was laid on this communication guideline helped me in appreciating how some of the group members were very busy with other undertakings. In this project work I learned that when undertaking any project there is constant exchange of information and that one need to be careful to ensure that the information does not get to the wrong people. The need to have the information guarded jealously made the group members to be conscious of the places they were to access the project information. Personally I appreciated having all project files that were in soft copies being password protected. I learned that carrying important project materials when visiting places like entertainment houses was not advisable as one is likely to forget the documents at this places where they could get to the wrong hands. Also, through the influence of alcohol it easy to share information with people who may be malicious. As team members we were required to be generous with regard to exchanging materials and information. Friendliness was also encouraged in the team as a way of ensuring there was free flow of information that would result to the success of the project. With this principals being encouraged I learned that the principals that are used in pursuing academic work was not applicable when it comes to project work. For academic work students may engross themselves in the internet with little use being made of their classmates in form of discussions. The project work helped me to realize that some members had talents which I was not aware of where some had a lot a lot of knowledge of Nepal where the project was to be implemented. The need for the team leader to treat team members with respect and professionally helped a lot in ensuring that respect prevailed during the project work. It was required that members be informed of any impending meeting at least 1 day in advance and this ensured that most members attended. During the project the culture of checking mails regularly was encouraged so as to receive materials on time. This personally helped me as I realized I was missing other important information such as interview invitation because of not checking my mails regularly. It was agreed upon that there was not to be last minute cancellation of meetings and that if any member was unable to attend a meeting due to one reason or another, there was need to inform the team leader in advance with possibility of delegating what was to be presented to another group member. This helped a lot with ensuring that most members were in attendance for most of the meetings and also it encouraged closeness of team members just in case one needed to delegate responsibilities in case they could not make it to a meeting. This project helped in understanding various aspects of life of the area in which the project was to be undertaken. I learned that after acquiring knowledge its application need to fit the context of the community in which it is to be implemented. Read More