Meet Abishek, Dandelions' Mechanical Engineer who graduated from UNSW with a Master of Engineering!
Tell us a bit about yourself
Hi, I am Abishek Shrestha, a full-time Mechanical Engineer at Dandelions. I studied for my Master of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
Why did you choose to be an engineer?
Engineering has always been my passion since my childhood, from dismantling things and trying to figure out how it works. I remember watching a video explaining the space shuttle mission on television and at school exhibitions, which was a ‘wow’ moment for me and had me align my interests towards the engineering world.
What field and why?
I was eager to get into engineering after high school. However, I wasn’t sure which field of engineering to opt for. So in the process of my decision-making, I analyzed what technologies I was very passionate about. The top on the list were cars and aeroplanes (dynamic objects). This assessment made me realize that I should opt for fields relating to these. However, there was another dilemma: Aerospace engineering (Specialized domain) or Mechanical Engineering (broad discipline). Since I Like to look at the wholesome picture of things, I opted for mechanical engineering as my field.
The best and worst thing about your field?
The best thing about Mechanical Engineering is that it is a very broad subject and acts as a base for many engineering domains. This field of engineering is multidisciplinary as it involves the study of Mechanics, Fluids, Manufacturing, Dynamics, and Electronics. Hence, it is an ideal place to land if you don’t want to get into any specialization at the undergraduate level.
In 10 years from now what would be the best thing to work on?
The future of the engineering field is very bright. With people depending on technology more and more, the demand for engineering is ever-increasing. Being an engineer means having a big impact on people's lives. So, in the next decade, working on improving people’s lives with technology is something to aim for. We at Dandelions are focused on this particular goal of making a positive impact on people’s lives.
The trends in the industry have shown that the demand for different domains of engineering changes with time. However, the most important aspect of it is to focus on upskilling in our respective domain we are good at and working on technology to advance it. These efforts never go unnoticed.
The best thing about working at Dandelions?
The best thing about working at dandelions is the work culture which is very inclusive and open. The people in dandelions are treated as one integral part of it. We have an amazing team here at dandelions who are very motivated and work towards a common goal of making a difference in the world.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone in school who wanted to become an engineer, what would it be?
Utilising any opportunity at hand: From my experience, real engineering begins with the curiosity to explore how things work and reckoning how they can be made better. As a student, it gets difficult managing your time to get into the creative side of things due to the school workload. However, I suggest making use of technical competitions or exhibitions as a platform to explore your interests and knowledge gaps at the school level.
Developing persistence with passion: There are instances where the problem may be too complex to solve. In that instance, the only thing that will keep you working is your passion for the field and how committed you are to solve the problem. An intelligent mind without persistence to work does not help in this scenario. So, maintain the balance between those.
Never limit the boundaries of exploration: Excellence in any field is only possible if you are curious enough to explore more and more. As it is said, there is never an end to knowledge. So, my suggestion to anyone who wants to be a good engineer is to never limit your boundaries of exploration.
