We recently connected with Ajay and have shared our conversation below.

Ajay, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career.

I believe knowledge and education being accessible as a basic right, to all children, is the solution to many of the problems we face today in the world. The ability to create an impression and impart emotional, mental and physical well-being for children, will enable them to grow and become responsible adults. A lot of institutions are looking to teach science/coding/AI/app development etc. from an early age; although those are powerful tools, they are just that – tools. Teaching them about empathy, discipline, honesty and integrity are vital to nurturing individual personalities who will contribute significantly to society one way or another. The world has an incredible number of bright minds, but many of those are lost due to the lack of adequate support or guidance, which is something I would like to see/help change in my lifetime.

Ajay, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an electrical engineer with a Master’s degree from Georgia Tech. I had the opportunity of spending a couple semesters abroad in France while pursuing my master’s, and got to explore and travel. I’m grateful for that experience as it opened my eyes to different cultures, enabled me to be independent and navigate through new situations.

I graduated during a difficult market where job search can take many, many weeks before you even land an interview. I was fortunate enough to land a role as a design engineer at KTR Associates, who have since merged with Shermco Industries where I presently work as an Associate Engineer in Power Studies. I primarily work with utilities, specifically with Planning and Protection to ensure than minimum number of customers are affected during an outage.

I had a very surface level understanding of this field. We enjoy the privilege of having continuous and uninterrupted power supply everyday that helps us function – lighting, heat/AC, fridge etc. but most of us almost never stop and think about how this is possible or what the challenges and innovation behind this luxury is.

Although there is a lot more to learn, the difference between what I know now and what I knew just an year ago is outstanding. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved so far and I believe I have the hunger and the ambition to keep growing and learning in the field for a long time.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai during the Covid-19 pandemic. Just like the rest of the world, I was forced to stay indoors for many months, followed by very strict reopening once the lockdown ended.

My bachelor’s thesis was an innovative method of analyzing cellphone signals to improve communication for 5G applications. My two teammates and I worked hard to come up with credible results , but were unable to get it published due to the pandemic. I was also due to start my MS degree in Aug of 2020 but due to the pandemic, I had to defer my education until Aug 2021.

During that time, my career was in limbo – the pandemic affected millions and millions of people who lost loved ones, their livelihoods, and changed the trajectory of millions of lives, mine included. I used that time to upskill myself and prepared for the GATE exam in my home country of India – which I was able to pass. I did not have sufficient time to prepare for this, so passing the exam was a huge confidence boost for me to trust in my abilities. I also worked on my health and quit many habits that were having negative effects on my mind and body – and was able to lose weight and get fit which I couldn’t do for many years prior. My family and I were fortunate enough to survive through covid, and although all of us contracted the virus, we recognize that we are lucky enough to come out of it without any long term effects.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I knew from a young age that my passion was engineering. I spent a lot of my childhood watching my father work on building his business by himself from the ground up, and got into trouble trying to tinker with his tools replicating what I thought I saw him do.

My goal was to excel in hardware engineering and I had the opportunity to take the first step towards this when I successfully pursed a bachelor’s in electronics and communication engineering. Over the 4 years of college, I saw many of my talented classmates get into software development despite pursuing an electrical engineering degree – some by choice and others due to lack of adequate opportunities in at that time. I was determined to find a job in electrical engineering, so I chose to pursue a Master’s degree so that I can expand my horizons.

My area of focus was in semiconductor manufacturing technology and despite having the right tools, I was unable to secure a job in that field during a tumultuous job market. Although my heart lies in that field, I knew I had to find a job to support myself and to learn and grow without stagnation. My current role is that of a consulting engineer for utilities – and I’ve come to realize that maybe it is my calling. I’m excited to keep learning and growing in this field.