Initial Fascinations

Most of us, who have an educational background in technology and engineering would have set up mini experiments in the comforts of our own homes in our younger years, be it a version of a "windmill" with a spare toy dc motor, an amazing "laser light" assembled from a bunch of LEDs laying around, or any simple fascinations the young mind could draw upon.

Looking back, all of us were curious young kids, looking at the world with starry eyes at the possibilities of tech we could make.Well, they say to stay young and curious, and the initial years for us, the Gen Z were just that.

Most of us grew up watching Science Fiction cartoons and Marvel movies that showed us fascinating technologies which arose our inner curiosity for tech and a desire to replicate wonderous machinery or software.

As we reached our teenage or maybe finishing it, we began to realise the current technological limitations and the limited practicalities of visionary tech, but it also opened a gateway into the endless bounds of possibilities using the current technologies.

Start of the exposure

It is during this same phase that we started to explore practical solutions, dive a bit into mechanical, electrical, computational or any other section that interests you and tried in earnestness to find solutions to problems you deem worthy.

During this phase, most of us would have started picking up the basics of the domain and started pushing for more. We would be breaking the ice on the domain, and finding sections of particular interests in the host of domains that we may be interested in at first.

All of this would have been inspired by a few DIY youtube videos or workshops we attended along the way.

Major interest points

As we got better clarity in our fields of interest, we may have enrolled in a bachelor's or a course that helps us to pursue more on the field of interest. We may have been self-learning to get an idea of the interesting field as well, but anyways we start to pick up more on the technical nuances of the interested field.

As time passes by, we start to find new friends who have an interest in these similar areas, and we start engaging with them more. There would be a point in life when most of us have a wide circle of friends, who are passionate about a host of topics ranging from sport to art and culture, from technology to entrepreneurship and business management.

The evening coffees with friends, discussing the latest trends in technologies, debating on whether this tech or the other is better, learning about the nuances of bleeding edge technology, listening to a friend explain why a technological concept works the way it does, say why a particular diameter and a particular type of lens is required for the famous movie scene... all of us would be flooded with a host of memories, and an earnest wish to experience those days again.

Communities

As we start diving more profound into the technologies of our choice, we begin to hear about interest groups and communities that are dedicated to the cause. We start being a part of these communities and picking along a few tips and tricks from them to aid our growth. We may volunteer in these communities, and learn to help others or engage in more details that could turn out to be more beneficial to the masses.

The new companionship can help to build more interest in the domains that we pursue, as well as the talks and discussions give us light into the practical cross-applications of the technologies and solutions we create.

These communities would have been the first place which encouraged us to host an event on our own, do a talk or a session, participate in a competition or pick up a new skill, and the experience would have certainly helped us later on.

Ideations

We start to build products as a result of these views and start to pitch them to friends and our audiences. The days of success and failure follow. Sometimes, our ideas manage to blow away a crowd, while another thinks of it as an absolute absurdity.

As the idea grows more and more, so do the promoters and naysayers. During this phase, we start to experience true negativity and backlashes, as well as genuine happiness and encouragement. All this turmoil can be an eye-opener at times and put us in a new direction we may not have seen otherwise.

The doubters give you a thousand innovative ways in which your ideas can be lacklustre, but in the end, it could be a good exercise to improve the existing idea with free brainstorming. A way to deal with the constant feedback would be to pick the valid portions from them and discard the rest.

The choice would make a massive impact. The best way to put it is to borrow Robert Frost's lines: “Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.”

As one endeavour fails, we look to it to reflect and grow, and it teaches us more and more about the domains we need to improve.

Sometimes we gather courage and start to tread the paths that we once took, but with more wisdom than the previous iterations. Sometimes we may just give up... But the creative spark would always be there in all of us, waiting for the next moment of inspiration, to reignite the fire of innovation.

By the time, we finish our bachelor's or the initial end of self-study, we will have gone a long way from where we started, picking up tremendous self-growth and experience along the way, and maybe a zest to improve the cause we have.

Almost all of us would be a mixed bag of skills with disproportionate measure, with our unique capabilities and weaknesses as we enter the real world and hone the skills we have and acquire new ones.

Initial Career

After graduation, comes another daunting adventure. As we enter the job market and pick a career based on our skill set, which could be easy for some and extremely cumbersome for others. As we move in this career hunt, we may wonder "Am I Suited for this?", and my friend, only time can answer that.

The growth opportunities that we may get from the job ventures can be existing and the circle of mentors and seniors whom we can look up to for inspiration and advice can turn out to be a true blessing. There could be seniors, who take us under their wings, as we fledglings learn the craft.

They would be willing to answer the most basic of our doubts, as they help us learn more and grow into capable technologists. They will help to generate a passion for the field, and a zealous desire to grow more and experiment.

As most of us, are in that phase or about to experience the same, I feel we all have a lot of possibilities ahead. If you are hesitant about making a choice, trust your inner self. After all, Isn't it always better to take a risk to experience it than to regret what it could have been?

Closing notes

As time passes, we would have been building on the initial fields of interest and picking up trends and trades in the domain. There may be the latest cutting-edge technological innovation that could be a new flame for you, or it could the reimagining of the old capabilities with a new vision, but as time changes, you will be interested in more things in the domain you are passionate about and have the drive to learn more and explore about it.

In every phase of our lives, the key focus would be exposure to new creations and a drive to learn and explore them. In my opinion, it would be a great blessing to have a wide network of friends and colleagues, who are passionate about a host of fields, so that we can all engage in effective idea exchanges and the new happenings can show us engaging possibilities.

Let the interests widen, and the drive for knowledge acquisition and solution development drive more. There will be a day when the iconic word of Walt Disney is applicable in our lives too.

“If you can dream it, you can do it."

NB: All images in the article are generated using Stable Diffusion