5 Years Career

I have left behind my 5th year in my professional career, which I started on October 1, 2019. I am working for my 6th year now. I started my career as an engineer at Toyota Boshoku Turkey where was my first workplace and I am currently continuing my career as a Lead Process Development Engineer.

This article is both a transfer of experience from an industrial engineer who worked in the private sector for five years for students; and also a note to my future from now. I wonder how my professional thoughts will change and take shape in the coming years.

Industrial engineering was my childhood dream. That’s why I’m very happy in my job but it was very difficult to choose an area during my student years. Because industrial engineers have a very wide range of work area. I was introduced with the Lean Manufacturing philosophy at a time when I didn’t know where to go and was searching, and I understood that I would specialize in this subject even in that time. That’s why I feel grateful for working on the Toyota Production System, my current Process Development Section, and the company I work for.

I re-read the Internship Notes and My First Job articles in the Industrial Engineering category on the website. I was thinking, “What will I write in the 5 Years Career article?” and was excited for today even while writing the My First Job article,

I have specialized in my dream, on the Toyota Production System in the past five years, I serve as a TPS trainer in company trainings as a part of my job, currently. I also lead Process Development Section, which consists of 2 engineers, 4 technicians, 2 team leaders and 2 operators.

Everything is going the way I dreamed when I was a university student. My perspective on the Toyota Production System has changed in the past years and has become more meaningful. While it was a subject that I enjoyed working on at first, it now feels like a subject that I need to convey to other university students and colleagues in Turkey, and that needs to be implemented so that Turkey can continue to produce in the competitive global market. Sharing this knowledge with my country without transferring the company’s own know-how has a national and spiritual meaning for me. I opened this website when I was a student. I aimed for it to be a resource for both myself and others. I dreamed that I would convey this information to university students in the future. I have had the chance to convey the knowledge to thousands of students and colleagues in the online and face-to-face trainings over the past two years, and I continue to do so.

The private sector and the automotive sector are quite tiring in terms of work condition. We have a very busy work life. Such a tempo, especially if you don’t like, is not sustainable. Dozens of university students have done internships in our company in these five years. I always gave the same advice to industrial engineering students. When I was a senior in university, the theme of our Seminar course was to listen to managers from different sectors. Everyone was recommending the data and informatics sectors at that time, and it still maintains its popularity. I also recommend the data and informatics sectors to industrial engineering students if they are interested in terms of financial and future opportunities. The earnings of the data and informatics sector are much higher than the earnings of the manufacturing sector. So, why am I in the manufacturing sector? I love my job. If my main goal was earning money, I would have preferred medicine instead of industrial engineering when I was choosing the university faculty. Although doctors do not earn as much as they used to in Turkey, medicine was very popular in terms of salary fifteen years ago even if money was not the first priority in such a sacred profession. No matter what job you do, no matter how much the salary is, you cannot do a job you don’t like for years, from 8 am to 6 pm, 10 hours a day.

You should be a good engineer technically but the key factor in the workplace is interpersonal and communication skills. I am not sure if this is the same in the service sector; but I guess that it works this way everywhere there are people. Therefore we should develop ourselves socially as much as we develop ourselves professionally in university or after starting a job. You should know the names of your co-workers’ children and spouses, their jobs, school conditions or health. You should spend time with them outside of work. Your ability to get work done within the company will be directly proportional to your ability to communicate with people. I am not talking about communicating insincerely here, just for the sake of communicating. We all have average intelligence. This type of communication is clearly evident. What I mean is, do not be an engineer who goes from work to home and from home to work and only does the works assigned to you. Know that you need to communicate, continue to do it consciously and establish good relationships over the years.

If you want to be a good engineer and a good manager in the future, you should not be a person who directly escalates problems at work to your superiors. You should try to find solutions to them, and you should solve them on your own if you have the authority. Just telling the problems will not develop you. Trying to find solutions will develop you. Because one day you will sit in that chair and you will find solutions to dozens of problems that your team tells you during the day. If you play this solution-finding game today, you will simulate your future manager role in a safe area.

The problems or works to be done never end at work, and they never will. The concept of not being able to complete the work is not accepted in the private sector. I personally share this view also. As long as there is no work tempo that will disrupt the work-life balance, if the work is not completed, you work overtime and complete it. What needs to be known is that even if you work overtime, the works will not end. Here, you should be good at priority and stress management. You should decide which work is more urgent and important, and if necessary, you should work overtime and postpone the others. During this process, neither you nor your team should be stressed. I am one of those who work to live. If I am stressed and unhappy in my job which I work for a happier life, there is no point. Unfortunately, I have seen many people, both new and old employees, who are devoted to their jobs but stressed in the last five years. Therefore, it is necessary to be careful about this trap.

Even if you are a beginner engineer, do not hesitate to voice your opinion at every meeting you are invited to. This advice applies to all levels of seniority. For example, you are assistant manager and you are invited to a meeting with top management as an exception. You should not hesitate there either. Being invited means that your opinions should be sought. As you voice your ideas without hesitation, you will expand your sphere of influence and level up faster. As long as you attend meetings as a listener, you will continue to be a listener.

Professional learning is usually limited to school life. Learning stops after starting a job. Professional experience only increases with the years spent at work. The number of engineers who continue learning after university is so few. People leave their professional development because of that they busy with life’s rush, such as marriage, children, and paying off a home or car loan. Please continue reading and learning.

Sales and marketing have taken precedence over knowledge today including this article shared on social media. Unfortunately, how well you market yourself is more important than how well you know the subject. That’s why you should create a promotion campaign for your own personal brand both at work and outside of work. I receive so many job offers from Turkey and sometimes from abroad thanks to Linkedin and this website. One of the advantages of sharing my posts and website in English as well as Turkish. In this period when job searching is stressful and finding a good job is difficult, being one of the sought-after person is valuable. The way to do this is to be a good engineer first and be able to market it.

There are many more things to write or tell; but these are enough for both students and myself. I had a happy work life in Sakarya, which allowed me to breathe after Istanbul in the last five years. I have never experienced Monday syndrome. I hope you also have a job that you enjoy going to even on Mondays. Let’s see what we will write in the article 10 Years Career.