Should I change industries?
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It’s been over a year since I graduated, but I still haven’t learned anything. Recently I was asked to work on the design of a set of high-pressure air storage tanks, and I really don’t know how to do it. Do you think I should change careers?
Everyone starts from scratch. I have six years of experience in pressure vessel design, but still often feel that I only know a little; there is much to learn. Don’t be discouraged! Go ahead!
Take your time; many things start from nothing and go from not knowing to knowing. One needs to be proactive.
No industry ever starts on its own; one has to take the initiative to learn. Otherwise, it’s the same if you switch to another industry
Study with peace of mind*; the more you engage with it, the more you realize there is still much you don’t understand. To borrow a phrase I once saw: Knowledge is like a circle. Inside the circle is the knowledge you possess. And outside the circle lies the unknown world. The less knowledge you have, the smaller your circle becomes, and you will think there is very little you don’t know. On the contrary, the more knowledge you possess, the larger your circle becomes, and you will feel more ignorant. In other words, the more knowledgeable a person is, the more aware they are of their own shortcomings, and as a result, they tend to be more humble in their personality. The more ignorant a person is, the more confident they become, and they tend to regard everyone else as ignorant fools.
Since you already feel that “you don’t know anything at all,” that proves you know there’s still a lot you need to learn*. Right after graduating from school, almost every student feels this way: one must persevere, learn more, observe more, ask more questions, and keep improving oneself. Simple avoidance has no meaning; retreating does not help at all. In fact, it’s the same in every industry – a process of learning and adaptation is required. Stay calm; by delving deeper, you will reap rewards.
Now, when encountering problems, write them down and look up information or seek advice to overcome them one by one； It will get better over time. One must persevere in mechanical design and keep accumulating experience; eventually, quantitative changes will lead to qualitative changes.
You can swap it; if you want to, go ahead and do it. It doesn’t matter whether it’s worth it or not, as long as you’re not regretful. Ask yourself, is what you know valuable?
It seems that the chemical equipment industry has been in a downturn over these past two years
I entered this industry in 2000, and during that time I also worked for companies involved in water treatment and environmental protection. It seems that chemical processing equipment is the foundation; with a solid foundation in such equipment, it’s possible to work in many other industries, of course, provided that you really learn something. We have all experienced the confusion of entering society full of pride after graduating from university, only to feel that we haven’t achieved anything after working for a year or two. As someone who’s been through it, I suggest you think carefully about what you are able to do right now What do you want to do in the future? I’ve roughly figured it out, my mind has calmed down a bit, and I know what choice to make.
I’ve met many people who changed jobs because they couldn’t make enough money in this field; some switched industries because they found technical work boring and couldn’t stand the loneliness. I’ve never encountered someone like you, who thinks they can’t do anything and still decides to change jobs. In one word: lazy! :lol:lol