What's your career/life advice for a fresher entering industry?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around career and life advice for a fresh graduate entering the industry, particularly in the context of an internship. Participants share insights on navigating workplace culture, interpersonal interactions, and the importance of adding value in a professional setting.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants emphasize the importance of understanding the human factor in decision-making within the workplace.
  • There are suggestions that behaviors beneficial in academia may not translate well to industry, highlighting the need to learn workplace culture.
  • Concerns are raised about the impact of introversion on career progression, with some arguing it can be managed through awareness and effort in social interactions.
  • Participants discuss the value of being honest and genuine, with mixed opinions on how "innocence" might affect one's career.
  • One participant notes that companies pay employees to add value rather than just perform specific tasks, suggesting a focus on broader contributions.
  • There are discussions about the appropriateness of using personal versus work devices, with some advocating for separation to avoid complications.
  • Advice is given on being a team player and the potential consequences of overextending oneself in a work environment, with references to labor regulations and union rules affecting work dynamics.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the impact of personality traits on career success, the importance of workplace culture, and the best practices for managing work and personal life. No consensus is reached on several points, particularly regarding the implications of introversion and the balance between teamwork and individual contributions.

Contextual Notes

Some discussions reflect personal experiences that may not apply universally, and there are references to specific workplace cultures that could influence the applicability of advice given. The conversation also touches on the complexities of labor regulations and union involvement, which may vary by industry.

shivajikobardan
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Pardon me if I can't ask this question here. Kindly delete it.
I am a computer engineering graduate and I am entering industry for the first time. It's more of an internship.
Fresher means a fresh graduate.
What are the things that I should keep in mind.
About myself, I am very Ingenuous/honest/innocent as well as introverted. I'm wondering if that'll seriously hamper my career.
 
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Never underestimate the human factor!

Even a logically correct decision can damage you if you ignore the human factor. A sailor, at least he proclaimed to be one, once told me when I was a child: "Look out for sharks!"
 
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Behaviors that work in an academic environment are not necessarily advantageous in industry. Learn the culture.

Be solution, not criticism, focused. Everyone can see the problems.
 
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shivajikobardan said:
I am very Ingenuous/honest/innocent as well as introverted. I'm wondering if that'll seriously hamper my career.
Introversion is not necessarily something that will hamper your career. However, it is something that you need to be aware of about yourself and be vigilant.

You need to interact well with people. Introversion means that you will always be tired afterward, but it does not mean that you are fundamentally unable to interact well with others. Push yourself out of your comfort zone at work while interacting with others. Then just rest well at home.
 
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shivajikobardan said:
About myself, I am very Ingenuous/honest/innocent as well as introverted. I'm wondering if that'll seriously hamper my career.
"Ingenious" - not hamper
"honest" - mostly not hamper; better to be this than not at least MOST of the time
"innocent" - maybe hamper. You may need advice from reliable people in industry for specific on-the-grain situations.
"as well as introverted" - not hamper, depending on the general culture of your co-employees (or team).

About your being introverted: Are you either or both of Task-Oriented or People-Oriented?
 
Always keep in mind that whatever you think your "job" is, such as writing code, the company does not fundamentally pay you to do THAT, what they really pay you to do is to add value to the company. Focus on that as you do your "job", whatever it is.
 
Last edited:
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shivajikobardan said:
Pardon me if I can't ask this question here. Kindly delete it.
I am a computer engineering graduate and I am entering industry for the first time. It's more of an internship.
Fresher means a fresh graduate.
What are the things that I should keep in mind.
About myself, I am very Ingenuous/honest/innocent as well as introverted. I'm wondering if that'll seriously hamper my career.
Another way to think of this:
Who runs the company? Accountants? Salespeople? Engineers?
The answer could tell you how you will fit with the people and with the job.

If the 'engineers' run the company, then you may need to be very competent, and you best to not try to fake this. On another hand, you may just need to be minimally competent, but still again, do not try to fake this.

I missed remembering that part, "more of an internship". If this is a position or situation with a business or company, I say yet the same as I wrote.
 
my job is customer support engineer.
 
should I create different user account in my machine for office work? They work in linux.
 
  • #10
shivajikobardan said:
should I create different user account in my machine for office work? They work in linux.
No, it is preferable to use the same PF account from any device you use
 
  • #11
I think he means creating a separate login account on his home computer, in order to keep work-related files separate from personal files. A "customer support engineer" may well be working mostly from home.
 
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  • #13
russ_watters said:
The company should be providing a laptop to use for work.
Yes they provided laptop for use for work.
 
  • #14
shivajikobardan said:
Yes they provided laptop for use for work.
Then I don't understand your prior question. Different login account(s) for what?
[Edit]
Actually, the real answer doesn't depend on the follow-up: you should not be making such modifications to your work laptop.
 
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  • #15
russ_watters said:
Then I don't understand your prior question. Different login account(s) for what?
[Edit]
Actually, the real answer doesn't depend on the follow-up: you should not be making such modifications to your work laptop.
Now no problem. I didn't know it earlier.
 
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  • #16
Work computer is for work, and personal laptop is for personal use. Mixing the two seldome ends well.
 
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  • #17
Vanadium 50 said:
Work computer is for work, and personal laptop is for personal use. Mixing the two seldome ends well.

I really found this out when I was preparing to retire. 20 years of treating the company laptop as my own. D'oh.
 
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  • #18
Be a team player. Do your job well and then keep helping until the task is complete. Do not be the person who will only work when it is proven by others that you have more to do.
 
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  • #19
FactChecker said:
Be a team player. Do your job well and then keep helping until the task is complete. Do not be the person who will only work when it is proven by others that you have more to do.
I actually followed according to those guidelines for an as-planned medium term job, and the team and chief liked the effort but directly discouraged me from continuing onward that way because of some labor regulations. I prefer to not discuss the details more finely.
 
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  • #20
symbolipoint said:
I actually followed according to those guidelines for an as-planned medium term job, and the team and chief liked the effort but directly discouraged me from continuing onward that way because of some labor regulations. I prefer to not discuss the details more finely.
Good point. Union rules are another thing. I am referring more to the non-union, engineering environment.
 
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  • #21
FactChecker said:
Good point. Union rules are another thing. I am referring more to the non-union, engineering environment.
Continuing that point, the presence of unionization may have been part of the reason that I was given instructions discouraging me to work beyond a certain limit. I said "labor" but I should have been more general and said "work tasks".
 

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