Seshni Naidoo is a South African woman aspiring to become an engineer in the electrical engineering industry. Despite this she set out in a slightly different direction.
On completing her schooling in 2007 she enrolled at the Vaal University of Technology to pursue a National Diploma in Chemical Engineering.
With this chemical qualification under her belt she secured practical in-service training at Proconics; a global electrical, control and mechanical engineering contractors hub. Here she worked in the software department. This exposure to a number of fields of engineering may well have assisted her decide on the direction her career should take.
In 2015 she acquired a B-Tech degree.
At this juncture she decided to shake it up and venture into the electrical engineering department within Proconics. But she lacked the requisite knowledge.
In her search to find where to gain the necessary electrical skills she came across the Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) – the college offers an Advanced Diploma of Applied Electrical Engineering.
What appealed to her was EIT’s live, online platform of learning which allowed her to continue growing her portfolio of qualifications and sets of skills alongside her work at Proconics.
Mid way through 2017 she successfully graduated and is working confidently within the very technical world of electrical equipment. Seshni’s daily responsibilities include circuit design and among other things she calculates line voltages, line currents, primary currents and secondary currents for power transformers. She has also been given her own projects to manage. She says:
“When electrical drawings lack attention and detail, precision and neatness, I embrace the opportunity to ensure they are done swiftly and to perfection. I perform plant verifications to ensure the final drawings captured represent the equipment and its wiring in the plant. Great emphasis is placed on sizing circuit components.”
Continued professional (and personal) development
Seshni marvels at how the electrical engineering industry has continued to grow and mentions that Proconics has 20 years of service under its belt. She described their activities in the electrical field: they design substations, work with switchgears, organize UPS replacements and automate substations for some of the largest companies in the world including Siemens, Fluor and ABB. The industry is exciting to say the least. Naidoo says:
“If you have a passion for numbers and problem solving, you will find this industry exciting. You are continuously learning in this industry, too.”
For her personal development, the one book Seshni thinks everyone should read during their lives is Tony Robbins’ Money: Master the Game. Her interest here shows that Seshni is determined to make her salary work for her as she saves towards retirement.
But she isn’t finished yet. She intends to continue to pursue knowledge for both her professional and personal development. Seshni plans to get her Electrical Engineering degree through EIT, and by 2020 she intends to be studying toward a Project Management degree as well.
She is determined to achieve these goals, but is satisfied with how far she has come. Reflecting on how her Advanced Diploma of Applied Electrical Engineering contributed to her career she commented:
“I understand much more in the electrical industry than I did before. I am able to troubleshoot and find solutions easier. My projects are running much more swiftly now that I have completed the course.”