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28-Year-Old Maintenance Engineer Seeking Career Change: What Should I Do?

Nayagam P

Nayagam P P  |10854 Answers  |Ask -

Career Counsellor - Answered on Jun 25, 2024

Nayagam is a certified career counsellor and the founder of EduJob360.
He started his career as an HR professional and has over 10 years of experience in tutoring and mentoring students from Classes 8 to 12, helping them choose the right stream, course and college/university.
He also counsels students on how to prepare for entrance exams for getting admission into reputed universities /colleges for their graduate/postgraduate courses.
He has guided both fresh graduates and experienced professionals on how to write a resume, how to prepare for job interviews and how to negotiate their salary when joining a new job.
Nayagam has published an eBook, Professional Resume Writing Without Googling.
He has a postgraduate degree in human resources from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Delhi, a postgraduate diploma in labour law from Madras University, a postgraduate diploma in school counselling from Symbiosis, Pune, and a certification in child psychology from Counsel India.
He has also completed his master’s degree in career counselling from ICCC-Mindler and Counsel, India.
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Asked by Anonymous - Jun 04, 2024Hindi
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Im 28 years old married workings as an electrical maintenance engineer from last 5 years. As maintenance field is very demanding and very less work life balance. Im thinking of switching my work filed Please guide me what should i do?

Ans: Switching over to any other field at 28 year old married person is not only risky but also needs meticulous planning for right career options and a lot of patience. Besides, you will have to struggle a lot to settle in the new field in which case also, work-life balance will get affected. You have mentioned that Electrical Maintenance Field lacs work-life balance. Is it applicable in all organizations? If you have a LinkedIn Account, put job alerts for 'Electrical Maintenance Engineer'. Whenever you get alerts of vacancies, go through the JD of each vacancy. Not only that, research about the Companies through their website to know about its HR Policy / its existing culture which you can check in Quora or by connecting with the professionals working in the same company. You can also go through the profiles of the employees working in the companies in your field and how long they have survived? They have been changing the jobs often? These RESEARCHES will help you, decide whether you should join a right company where you get right work-life balance or to switch over to some other field. All the BEST.

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Shekhar

Shekhar Kumar  | Answer  |Ask -

Leadership, HR Expert - Answered on Apr 29, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Apr 28, 2024Hindi
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Hello Sir, I am 34 years old, doing job at CPP power plant of steel plant as Instrumentation Engineer. I can't find any fun doing maintenance job. So much pressure in this job.Shal I go for sales engineer or normal sales job. Will this suitable for me? I can't decide what to do? Please suggest.
Ans: It sounds like you're feeling disengaged and stressed in your current role as an instrumentation engineer at a CPP power plant. Transitioning to a sales engineer or sales role could offer a change of pace and environment, but it's important to consider whether it aligns with your interests, skills, and career goals. Deciding between a sales engineer role and a traditional sales job depends on your interests, skills, career goals, and personal preferences. Here's a comparison to help you make an informed decision. Sales engineers combine technical knowledge with sales skills to sell complex technical products or solutions. They often work closely with engineering and product teams to understand product specifications, features, and capabilities. In traditional sales roles, professionals focus on building relationships with clients, understanding their needs, and persuading them to purchase products or services. Sales engineers help customers identify their technical needs, address challenges, and find solutions that meet their requirements. They may conduct product demonstrations, provide technical support, and offer customized solutions based on client needs. Traditional sales roles may involve selling a wide range of products or services to clients across various industries. The client base may include individuals, businesses, or organizations. Sales engineers engage with clients who have a technical background, such as engineers, architects, or IT professionals. They communicate technical information effectively, answer technical questions, and build credibility by demonstrating expertise. Sales professionals typically have sales targets or quotas to meet, incentivizing performance and results-driven behavior. 

Ultimately, the "better" option depends on your interests, strengths, and career objectives. If you enjoy blending technical expertise with sales skills, solving complex problems, and working closely with clients in technical fields, a sales engineer role may be a good fit. On the other hand, if you excel at building relationships, driving sales outcomes, and thrive in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment, a traditional sales job may be more suitable. A sales engineer job is more promising considering factors such as job responsibilities, earning potential, career advancement opportunities, and personal fulfillment.

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Nayagam P

Nayagam P P  |10854 Answers  |Ask -

Career Counsellor - Answered on Dec 14, 2025

Asked by Anonymous - Dec 12, 2025Hindi
Career
Hello, I am currently in Class 12 and preparing for JEE. I have not yet completed even 50% of the syllabus properly, but I aim to score around '110' marks. Could you suggest an effective strategy to achieve this? I know the target is relatively low, but I have category reservation, so it should be sufficient.
Ans: With category reservation (SC/ST/OBC), a score of 110 marks is absolutely achievable and realistic. Based on 2025 data, SC candidates qualified with approximately 60-65 percentile, and ST candidates with 45-55 percentile. Your target requires scoring just 37-40% marks, which is significantly lower than general category standards. This gives you a genuine advantage. Immediate Action Plan (December 2025 - January 2026): 4-5 Weeks. Week 1-2: High-Weightage Chapter Focus. Stop trying to complete the entire syllabus. Instead, focus exclusively on high-scoring chapters that carry maximum weightage: Physics (Modern Physics, Current Electricity, Work-Power-Energy, Rotation, Magnetism), Chemistry (Chemical Bonding, Thermodynamics, Coordination Compounds, Electrochemistry), and Maths (Integration, Differentiation, Vectors, 3D Geometry, Probability). These chapters alone can yield 80-100+ marks if practiced properly. Ignore topics you haven't studied yet. Week 2-3: Previous Year Questions (PYQs). Solve JEE Main PYQs from the last 10 years (2015-2025) for chapters you're studying. PYQs reveal question patterns and difficulty levels. Focus on understanding why answers are correct, not memorizing solutions. Week 3-4: Mock Tests & Error Analysis. Take 2-3 full-length mock tests weekly under timed conditions. This is crucial because mock tests build exam confidence, reveal time management weaknesses, and error analysis prevents repeated mistakes. Maintain an error notebook documenting every mistake—this becomes your revision guide. Week 4-5: Revision & Formula Consolidation. Create concise formula sheets for each subject. Spend 30 minutes daily reviewing formulas and key concepts. Avoid learning new topics entirely at this stage. Study Schedule (Daily): 7-8 Hours. Morning (5:00-7:30 AM): Physics concepts + 30 PYQs. Break (7:30-8:30 AM): Breakfast & rest. Mid-morning (8:30-11:00): Chemistry concepts + 20 PYQs. Lunch (11:00-1:00 PM): Full break. Afternoon (1:00-3:30 PM): Maths concepts + 30 PYQs. Evening (3:30-5:00 PM): Mock test or error review. Night (7:00-9:00 PM): Formula revision & weak area focus. Strategic Approach for 110 Marks: Attempt only confident questions and avoid negative marking by skipping difficult questions. Do easy questions first—in the exam, attempt all basic-level questions before attempting medium or hard ones. Focus on quality over quantity as 30 well-practiced questions beat 100 random questions. Master NCERT concepts as most JEE questions test NCERT concepts applied smartly. April 2026 Session Advantage. If January doesn't deliver desired results, April gives you a second chance with 3+ months to prepare. Use January as a practice attempt to identify weak areas, then focus intensively on those in February-March. Realistic Timeline: January 2026 target is 95-110 marks (achievable with focused 50% syllabus), while April 2026 target is 120-130 marks (with complete syllabus + experience). Your reservation benefit means you need only approximately 90-105 marks to qualify and secure admission to quality engineering colleges. Stop comparing yourself to general category cutoffs. Most Importantly: Consistency beats perfection. Study 6 focused hours daily rather than 12 distracted hours. Your 110-mark target is realistic—execute this plan with discipline. All the BEST for Your JEE 2026!

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Dr Dipankar

Dr Dipankar Dutta  |1840 Answers  |Ask -

Tech Careers and Skill Development Expert - Answered on Dec 13, 2025

Asked by Anonymous - Dec 12, 2025
Career
Dear Sir/Madam, I am currently a 1st year UG student studying engineering in Sairam Engineering College, But there the lack of exposure and strict academics feels so rigid and I don't like it that. It's like they don't gaf about skills but just wants us to memorize things and score a good CGPA, the only skill they want is you to memorize things and pass, there's even special class for students who don't perform well in academics and it is compulsory for them to attend or else the student and his/her parents needs to face authorities who lashes out. My question is when did engineering became something that requires good academics instead of actual learning and skill set. In sairam they provides us a coding platform in which we need to gain the required points for each semester which is ridiculous cuz most of the students here just look at the solution to code instead of actual debugging. I am passionate about engineering so I want to learn and experiment things instead of just memorizing, so I actually consider dropping out and I want to give jee a try and maybe viteee , srmjeee But i heard some people say SRM may provide exposure but not that good in placements. I may not be excellent at studies but my marks are decent. So gimme some insights about SRM and recommend me other colleges/universities which are good at exposure
Ans: First — your frustration is valid

What you are experiencing at Sairam is not engineering, it is rote-based credential production.

“When did engineering become memorizing instead of learning?”

Sadly, this shift happened decades ago in most Tier-3 private colleges in India.

About “coding platforms & points” – your observation is sharp

You are absolutely right:

Mandatory coding points → students copy solutions

Copying ≠ learning

Debugging & thinking are missing

This is pseudo-skill education — it looks modern but produces shallow engineers.

The fact that you noticed this in 1st year already puts you ahead of 80% students.

Should you DROP OUT and prepare for JEE / VITEEE / SRMJEEE?

Although VIT/SRM is better than Sairam Engineering College, but you may face the same problem. You will not face this type of problem only in some top IITs, but getting seat in those IITs will be difficult.
Instead of dropping immediately, consider:

???? Strategy:

Stay enrolled (degree security)

Reduce emotional investment in college rules

Use:

GitHub

Open-source projects

Hackathons

Internships (remote)

Hardware / software self-projects

This way:

College = formality

Learning = self-driven

Risk = minimal

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