Career advice for engineers in the car industry - or anyone facing fundamental change!

We get this question a lot - how do I transition from a job in the traditional car (i.e. combustion engine) car industry to a job in e-mobility?

Whilst there is no silver bullet to it but here are some ideas about how to get started on this journey. 

Start with an assessment of your skills, qualifications and experience. Whilst some of them might be hard-wired to the old industry, a lot of them might also be transferable - especially project management as well as soft skills (which are industry agnostic anyway).

Secondly, get yourself into a mindset that embraces continuous learning. This not only means attending formal courses and seminars or signing up to e-mobility newsletters, it also means starting a dialogue with colleagues, friends and other people who are already in the e-mobility space and thus soaking up knowledge like a sponge. 

In addition, let your employer know that your are serious about making the move into e-mobility and about “up-grading  and up-skilling” yourself. It demonstrates your positive and solution orientated mindset and strengthens your chances when internal opportunities arise.

And last, but not least, start following the trends and news in the new sector - and start networking! This might be the most important bit as it strengthens your visibility, allows you to hear about internal opportunities and accumulate knowledge in a relaxed setting.

Have you made the transition? If so we would be interested to hear what worked for you?