--- title: "My first eight years as a working professional." description: "This day 8 years ago I started my first day as a Mechanical Engineer. I am so grateful for this journey that I have been able to have. There is no way that I..." date: 2020-06-19 published: true template: blog-post --- This day 8 years ago I started my first day as a Mechanical Engineer. I am so grateful for this journey that I have been able to have. There is no way that I could have planned this journey from the beginning. ## Keep Learning My initial career plans were down a completely different path. I have been very flexible in taking on a new career path. I have been eager to learn new things and respond to life changes that I never would have imagined. ## Life Changes Very severe chronic health issues from my family restricted my ability to travel to the facilities I served as a Mechanical Engineer. I was able to stay strong and make it work. But in the meantime, I was learning new skills that enabled me to be more effective remotely. ## I was scared. It was in these times that I found a love for data, and taking action from insights I found with data. I learned how to use python to enable me to be more effective. I did this primarily from hospital waiting rooms and many overnight stays. This gave my mind a break from some of the really difficult things in life but also catapulted my career in a new direction. 🔼 Be flexible 🔼 Always be open and ready for change 🔼 Never stop learning 🔼 Keep a positive attitude 🔼 Be kind to others --- This was originally posted on my LinkedIn, if you enjoy it please connect with me and give the post a 👍