Game Reset
On the 3rd of January, I arrived in Brazil with one mission: to find a job. I was also studying for the GMAT to enter business school – to help me find a job. It was simple, a full-time job search, 8 hours per day (or more). I rented a desk at a coworking space so I could have a public place to work, reliable internet, and not worry too much about where I was actually living.
I enjoyed the challenge of studying for the GMAT so I preferred that, but I knew it would be prudent to get the job search rolling as well so I could get some responses and some information.
Dream Job / Career
I found a posting for a job that I had thought of throughout my years in other types of work and never thought I would return to. It was like a dream that had passed. I found the posting within a week, probably ~10 January. I applied, but knew (probably correctly) that I would not be very competitive without recent technical experience and the job would have hundreds of applicants. It doesn’t do any good to be even top 10, you have to be #1. See job description below:
Check Out These ABB Videos
https://youtu.be/8S9ALlWVEYI
As I studied for the GMAT and applied to other jobs I kept thinking about this one posting and even found another similar posting with ABB Group in a different location. Finally, I started searching technical continuing education to see if there was a program that could refresh my degree and help me be competitive for such jobs on the power grid. Indeed there are such programs.
Master’s in Electrical Engineering
There are many master’s programs related to Electrical Engineering. They are geared for increasing one’s knowledge in a specific portion of the field and also open to refreshing outdated knowledge (my case). The large number of jobs in the field have moved universities to offer many programs and there is even a separate European institution called EIT InnoEnergy that coordinates joint programs among the universities of Europe.
I have applied to the following programs through InnoEnergy, links below. They would take place at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, KU Leuven near Brussels, ESADE and Polytechnic Universtity of Catalonia in Barcelona, and / or possibly some others:
Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems
Masters in Energy for Smart Cities
and also the following program directly through KU Leuven in Belgium:
Master of Electrical Engineering: Power Systems and Automation
Now What?
They release their admissions decisions in mid-April and the programs start in September. Now I keep job searching, but to be honest the master’s programs look even better than the dream job right now because I would be educated for two years and put in front of the various companies with jobs like the one I found and would love to have, including ABB Group specifically as an industry partner.
If I am accepted to a EE master’s program, I will go. There will be lots of prep work to do. Until then: GRE, GMAT, back-ups, and further job search just in case…
Laptop
I finally completely switched from a desktop to a laptop. What a game-changer.