I spoke to a lot of different people on Tuesday. Each one had a unique career of their own. There was Reinaldo Colina (Software Engineering Manager), Brendan McDowell (from TD Bank), Joanna Cross (courtroom reporter) as well as Patrick Curley and Heather Paine (firefighters). I spent a good amount of time with each one and found myself inspired by all of them. I could tell that they were all very happy with and interested in their jobs, and that made me want to find a job where I’ll be just as happy as they are, regardless of salary. However, if I had to choose one inspiring conversation that stood out, it would be the one I had with Reinaldo Colina. Learning about the interests he had at my age and the path he took to reach his position made things a bit more clear for me. They also validated my aspirations to become an engineer, helped me get rid of the doubts I had before (What if I’m not good enough? What if this isn’t the right career for me?), and made me want to become one even more. Regardless, I appreciated the variety of people available to talk to. Even though my mind is pretty much set, it’s still good to see what else is out there.

Some of the soft skills required to become an engineer are teamwork skills, organization skills, and a love for math/science; teamwork being the most important, especially if you’re a manager like Mr. Colina. Required hard skills include good problem solving, math, and physics abilities. I’m sure there are many more, but those were the ones we talked about. I believe that I have a lot of the soft and hard skills. The only one I’m a little worried about is the teamwork aspect of the job. I’ve never really liked working in teams, primarily because I usually end up doing all of the work. I do things my own way, and I don’t like working with people unless they care about the project (and doing well) as much as I do, so when I have the option, I do things on my own. I know it probably sounds closed-minded, and for that reason, I’m going to try to improve that aspect of my personality, starting in high school. Sure, maybe the people I’ll go to university with will be a lot easier to work with, but I need to start developing these skills now.

I found the Careers and Conversations morning a very valuable experience. It showed me that there are more jobs out there than I think and that choosing a job that you love is what matters. It also helped me see that there are thousands of careers to choose from, so if (for whatever reason) engineering doesn’t work out for me, I can find something within the same range that I’ll love even more.