How do you create courageously as an engineer, an entrepreneur, an immigrant, or one on a non-traditional path?
How do you keep going and break through the difficulties?
The engineering job market is ruthless. It is hard. Just look at some of the posts on LinkedIn. Most companies only want to hire mid- to senior-level engineers with the arbitrary qualification of10 years of experience of some technologies that haven’t even been adopted by the majority in that much time.
And so for the people who are already at a point of desperation where survival mode is engaged, how do you break through and still create with courage? Or participate in creative design or creative engineering or to simply nurture your creative spirit? This is like asking someone who is near-death starving if they want to engage in exercise. I’m talking about those who are unemployed, however, even employed individuals may not have this or ever experience it because they get stuck on maintaining their basic needs and are working to maintain digital esteem in the form of LinkedIn tenure.
The task is moving from the lower levels of the hierarchy of needs into the upper-most levels, until you reach self-actualization.
Let us zoom out for a moment. How would someone experiencing systemic discrimination (who is also experiencing a difficult job market because so many other qualified engineers are living the same script) ever have the capacity to create courageously, or move to a space of self-actualization? It is unattainable to reach it in the engineering space if job security is out of the picture or if finances are not in order. It is nearly impossible to establish high esteem in one’s self if there are no opportunities to establish confidence working on efforts that prove worthy of self-esteem.
My mantra to “create courageously” comes from a [I have nothing to lose] mindset. The job market is difficult for me like it is for the thousands of other people applying for the same roles. I also know these roles I am “desperate for” are only for sustaining my life at a basic financial level. They aren’t even wealth-building*. I know what my heart desires** and these positions aren’t aligned with them. They’re purely for resume building to hop on to the next best thing. People are always wishing me the best, that “I’ll get through it”, not to worry, that “things will work out.” But do I WANT to exit the other side giving my sacred time to efforts I think aren’t worth it? ***
Here’s another perspective. If grown men and women with tenured careers and immensely talented resumes are also struggling just as hard as I am in finding work, what does that say about this type of work or of the motivations of of work? So back to my point; if w2 “work” is this fickle, then there ought to be more then this is how it’s always been done.
Because the job market doesn’t see my worth, I must choose to see it.
Not as a consequence of it, but as an intentional choice, and regardless of external conditions. I especially choose myself, now, in spite of it. This part is where the “courageously” comes into my mantra, create courageously.
I used to tell my high school students all the time that I wasn’t there to validate their right answers or to validate them at all – my purpose as their teacher was to encourage them to validate themselves and to not seek external validation as the sole indicator of their worth (on a question, an assignment, in a class, or in life…). Create courageously originates from a mindset of self-validation, of betting on myself.
My favorite movie of all time, Mamma Mia with the iconic song by ABBA, goes like this.
I suggest there is a better way. What if we skip the line, and jump into the highest level of the hierarchy of needs? What if we lean into our creativity despite not reaching that level naturally? Of course, pay the bills, but beyond that we are called to lean into our creativity to feel maximum fulfillment. The fear in trying and failing is why it takes courage. If you happen to have your basic needs met, move up into a job you like that respects you, values you, and you are eventually given the opportunities to engage in creative work, then you have officially made it! But for the many who do not share this path, create with courage. Fail, get up, fail, get up, fail, get up…
Back to ABBA – I propose a new song to myself with new lyrics. I hope the same for you.
Mario – I’m still free
Why not take a chance on me?
I will do my very best and it ain’t no lie
Even if I fail the test, it’ll still be me
Take a chance on me (Mario) ♫
♫ Now that’s a tune worth singing.
* Even though I am financially literate and can make it work out, I need to speak in a general way for those who don’t have the capacity. Financial freedom can and should be achieved with an engineering salary, but what happens in between is not our place to offer judgements for those who don’t. My argument is that wealth-building happens when people achieve self-actualization in their work, with a consistent and sound strategy, for a sustained period of time.
** more so what it doesn’t want, versus what it wants; something I know need to work on and will unlock secrets beyond I can imagine
*** Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:
