As a graduate, you may want to know where your career path may take you and whether the road you take will set you up for the rest of your career. But, the truth is that making a change can make you a better professional. Today, with the ever-increasing job positions across industries, particularly IT, it’s becoming quite common to grow your expertise across industries. With an open mind and positive approach, you can take big strides in the right direction, even if that direction is way off your general course.
Empowering young women engineers to make the right career choice
Being true believers that all roads lead to impact, we organized an event titled “At a Crossroads: Where Your Engineering Career Can Take You!” in Tuzla, jointly with BIT Center, a business IT incubator for startup companies, technological companies, and an example of excellent practice in the region, and student association GirlTHing, which is focused on empowering women in IT in Tuzla. Our Chief of Staff Katarina Urosevic took this opportunity to meet with young women engineers and students of technical sciences in Tuzla to share some hard-earned wisdom on how to make a pivot, no matter your industry or experience level.
Katarina talked with Alma Secerbegovic, who is in charge of the association and an Assistant Professor at the University of Tuzla, about the challenges young female engineers face there. On the one hand, there is little support to study technical sciences. Even if they study technical sciences, they still do not have the support or insight into what kind of career path they want to take if they are engineers. All they see is a linear career path where the ideal scenario is to become an engineer after graduating from college. On the other hand, all the different opportunities and career paths that exist in technology companies are rarely presented to them and they feel like there is only one right path.
But the truth is that the fact they are engineers gives them a huge advantage to become whatever they want.
Katarina shared her own experience, ups, and downs, willingness to get out of her comfort zone and take risks on the journey she took to get where she is now. From a student of physics at Princeton and biophysics research associate in Canada to advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of science at the Government of Serbia, OECD expert and Chief of Staff at HTEC Group, Katarina is a true example of how you can make a pivot no matter your industry or experience level.
Tuzla MeetUP Powered by HTEC Group
To read more about our Katarina and her professional growth, read HTEC Features: Katarina Urosevic.
Katarina also talked about the growth opportunities and career development at HTEC Group. She explained that HTEC strategy supports career development, including both horizontal and vertical career advancements within the company. In other words, if you are an engineer who has the drive and soft skills to work with people, you can transition to the role of a project manager. On the other hand, if you are an engineer who likes working on projects where you can define the product, and if you are interested in the business story behind it, you can steer your career towards product management. Or you can even choose one of the three career paths in engineering and delivery that are tailor-made based on our team’s individual needs and desires.
- HTEC technology excellence track where you can focus entirely on developing your technological expertise.
- HTEC technology leadership track that allows you to excel technology-wise and lead technology groups across the company
- HTEC engineering leadership track which includes people management, account management, and delivery management, like being a CEO of a smaller company within the HTEC Group
You can go for the stream you want, from operations roles to product and project management and design. The opportunities are endless.
Katarina also touched upon the important things candidates should know before applying for a specific job and attending their first job interviews and how to know whether the company they are interviewing for will really give them the space and support to advance.
“Speaking with young women engineers in Tuzla yesterday, I was inspired by their energy and perspective on the opportunities and challenges that are ahead of them. Special thanks to inspiring Alma Secerbegovic and BIT Technology park for the opportunity to talk about nonlinear career trajectories and how HTEC Group is ensuring continuous career development of its teams.” – Katarina Urosevic, Chief of Staff at HTEC Group
Where do you fit?
No two careers are the same. How you grow yours depends entirely on your ambitions and abilities. The impact you make will be limited only by the scope of your ambitions.
Whatever career road excites you, you can discover it at HTEC. There’s a whole world of connections to make, from meaningful projects to inspirational people to world-leading clients. We provide you with all the support you need to grow because we genuinely believe that reaching for the stars does not necessarily have to be linear. There are so many opportunities to explore before you find your place. And HTEC is there to help you find your road to success, empower you to show your true potential, embrace change and shift to the growth mindset.
HTEC brings numerous opportunities for your professional growth both vertically and horizontally. At our core, we are committed to believing and investing in our greatest value, people.
So, where do you fit?
Explore career opportunities and join our growing team. We can’t wait to meet you.
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In the meantime, read about some of our professionals, and see career paths that have taken even the most ambitious of them by surprise.
