What tool to take up?

This question always pops up. At one stage in AeSI, you hear yourself
wondering about what you like and what tool matches your taste, temper
and skils.

The best advice for getting to know the answer is

"You need to expose yourself to many things – you should expose
yourself even though you might not know if you'll be interested"

Yes if unsure what you might enjoy? What tool you want to take up?
What stream of work you want to make a career?

Expose yourself to everything.

Apprenticeship in NAL, ADA and other organisations do give you this
opportunity. They provide you the opportunity to expose yourself, to
cad, to analysis or to programming.

So never miss that opportunity or any other opportunity to expose
yourselve to variety of inputs!!!

Have you downloaded the free myaesi ebook yet? It contains a selection
of posts from this blog to keep with you?

Measure, tweak, improve and repeat!!

Measure how you are doing?
Tweak where you are coming short?
Improve on places where you are lacking and repeating the whole process.

That's the mantra of being remarkable in your field, in your subject,
in your calling.

Are you doing it?

Goal

Read this quote and wanted to share with you all.

"The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life
running up and down the field and never score." – Bill Copeland

Applies to every decision in life. From the course to choose, to the
streams to ride on, to the tools to master.

If we don't have a fixed goal, we will just be running up and down the
field and never score!

Why you want to join AeSI? Why you want to choose avionics? Why you
want to learn catia? Why to join training?

Have a clear goal. Answering this why's will become lot easier.

Have you downloaded the ebook on AeSI, for students and graduates of
AeSI!!

Your first job and training!

What training and your first job can give you?

Reasonable income, interesting jobs, worthwhile contributions and
stimulating learning opportunities.

If you are lucky you get all of them in your training or your first job.

You might get decent cash at the end of the month. Interesting
projects to work on weekdays. Valuable insights and interesting things
to learn.

Or you might not get anything at all. It all depends on what/how you
choose. It depends on your mindset in the interview!!

If you are desperate and let it show in the interview process.
Everything mentioned above goes down.

Your quite confidence, calm egarness and right attitude in the
interview is the supreme factor that influenzes what you get and how
you are evaluated?

It's like the examination hall, however you study, whatever you know,
if you fail to handle the pressures of an examination hall, you will
fail no matter what!!

More tips on interview at this link http://my-aesi.blogspot.com/search?q=interview

Still waiting to download the free ebook? Download it now?

ANSYS celebrating 40 years..

 

I have talked about ANSYS in this blog a number of times. Its in fact my first analysis software. I use it time to time in my work.

Its celebrating 40 years!!

Read the timeline of and the anniversary video here

Be sure to read

My ten hours with ANSYS?

Catia,Solidworks, NASTRAN, ANSYS they are just too...

How I learnt ANSYS, NASTRAN or Solidworks?

Accelerate your learning via this technique!

If you are learning a new tool, new sofware. It's a must for you to
soak yourself fully in that tool.

Just doing one hour a day and then whiling away your time on orkut and
facebook won't take you anywhere.

What you need is total immersion. Do an hour of your concentrated
practise. On the net join online communities for your chosen tool,
read blogs realted to your software. Participate in forums related to
your tool.

This external immersion, will allow you to get into the inner circles
of your chosen filed. It will open your mind to various possibilities.
This interactions will sow seeds of new ideas to try.

So apart from just consistenly practising your chosen tool for an
hour, take the plunge and immerse yourself in it.

The blog is strewn with posts related to learning tools, find them by
clicking the following link http://my-aesi.blogspot.com/search?q=tools

Inconsistent and some changes

Last year this time I was more consistent that I am today. Last time
this time I had more things done than I have done this time. And if
you have noticed, last time I was writing more consistently on the
blog than this time.

What's the difference? Why is it so?

As I analyzed this, I find that this time, this year I have spread my
time and energy in many projects. So as a natural consequence things
are slipping via the crack.

So what to do?
I am planning to cut back. I am planning to chop. I am planning to
focus.

Here are three things that I am trying to impliment.

*One project at a time.
Will focus on one project at a time. I have 3 ebook projects in the
pipeline, one website, two technical papers and one project launch
apart from this blog and the games I am developing for my daughter.

Tackling everything in a week is impossible and so I plan to sequence
them and in a particular week will just concentrate on one project.

*Set a schedule for regular tasks.
Some regular, daily tasks needs to be scheduled. Once they are in a
particular time slot, I don't need to worry about them and they will
work on that scheduled time.

*Slot a specific amount of time to focus on the big projects.
A small concentrated chunk of time will help make good progress on the
projects. This uninterrupted time will help get the things in focus!!

Have you faced such a situation? What have you done? What was your
strategy?
Do let me know in the comments below!!

Announcement

I have resisted this for a long time. But today I did it.

MyAeSI, your blog on all things AeSI is now on twitter!!

So don't miss any myaesi blog posts!!

You can follow myaesi on Twitter by clicking this link http://www.twitter.com/myaesi

Are you on Twitter?

Some thoughts on updating your CV!

For all the working professionals it's always a good idea to update
their resumes once per quarter.

As I discussed in a previous post here, this exercise of updating
keeps you on track and helps you see the big picture where your career
is going. It documents the progress you are making or not making.

Including your new acquired skills, acheivements, and projects handled
are the common things you can add.

This quarterly updation gives you an opportunity to not only enhance
the presentation/layout of the information in the CV. But also to
improve the language of expression and manage the volume of information.

So don't miss this opportunity.

Tons of posts available on myaesi about updating your resume. Find
them by this convenient link http://my-aesi.blogspot.com/search?q=updating+resume

11 softwares in 6 months !!

A few weeks back I had an email exchange with a recent graduate of
AeSI. In the discussion he spelled out this plan.

I have decided to take a six month course from CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF
TOOL DESIGN HYDERABAD that is giving eleven softwares as catia, ansys,
nastran, proE, ug, autocad, hypermesh, solidworks, autodesk inventor,
mastercam, delcam and nc-cnc programming for Rs.40,000/

I asked so which tool are you planning to learn. He said they will
teach him all!! I was speechless.

11 softwares in 6 months!!

If I were him, I will not go for this. Instead I would concentrated on
one and two softwares!!

It's like cooking lunch on 11 gas burners, and alternating every few
minutes to a different one until all are touched.

It's like having 11 balls in a soccer match!! This is madness.

Are you doing anything like this? Then stop. And reassess, something
is wrong there!!

About 400+ people have downloaded the free ebook on AeSI? Are you one
of them? If not download'After AeSI- career guide to AeSI' from
MyAeSI now!

What's your plan after AMAeSI exams?

In next week AMAeSI exams will be over. So what you planning to in the
coming lull in your studies?

What are your plans apart from visiting home?

If you guys let me suggest something, then I will ask you to enjoy
fully and just take up learning one programming language.

No I don't want everyone of you to be a programmer. I want you to
learn a language so that, in future at work, some common tasks can be
automated.

Knowing a language and skills to use it, can greatly enhance your
productivity. So learn a language. Explore myaesi to know which one to
learn.

Well that was my suggestion? What's your? State them in the comments.

To find more on what tools an aerospace engineer should know, explore
myaesi by hitting the following link http://my-aesi.blogspot.com/search?q=tools

Have you downloaded the free ebook on AeSI? Download 'After AeSI-
career guide to AeSI' from MyAeSI now!

Start small, Finish Aggresively

Every night, I love seeing the soccer match. Last night as I was
watching the match between Italy and Paraguay. It become apparent that
one who finishes aggressively is the one who played better.

So here's the corollary to starting small. Start small but finish
aggressively. This is the mantra of success of a soccer match and for
anything in life.

As the goal progresses we begin to slack, our energy, enthusiasm takes
downhill. But this is the time when we need to be aggressive. This is
the time which separates the winners.

So when you take up learningba new CAE tool or a programming language.
Remember to start with a minimum commitment and a resolve to finish
what you begin!!

Consistently apply this to your projects and no goal of your will be
far from you!!

Have you downloaded the free ebook on AeSI? Download 'After AeSI-
career guide to AeSI' from MyAeSI now!

Start small

In the begining of the year, I bought a treadmil from a friend. He was
going abroad and was selling his stuff. I got it from him.

He informed that he has used the machine for ten days and then it just
remained.

In the week he bought the treadmill, he used it for every single day
for 45 minutes. He set this goal. But in a weeks time, his enthusiasm
fizzed and the machine took backseat.

Knowing this, I fixed a modest target, I resolved to just sit 5
minutes on it. And ever since I have been doing it.

If I would have not come here, I know I would have continued the
routine and steadily progressed.

This is the magic of starting small. If you are failing to study each
day, resolve to do just 30mins per day and put in that time. Same way
if you are falling behind on learning a new tool, resolve to put 10
minutes in it than an hour. You will see a difference.

Hope this helps. Good luck!!

Find more tips on learning different CAE tools by hitting the
following link http://my-aesi.blogspot.com/search?q=tools

Have you downloaded the free ebook on AeSI? Download 'After AeSI-
career guide to AeSI' from MyAeSI now!

Are you aiming for training or job after AeSI?

Whatever catia or ansys or hypermesh course you do? How many hours you
dedicate to this softwares? Whatever money you spend to learn them?

True learning will only come when these skills are put in practise.
Training in an institute might teach you the tool. But not ingrain the
required skills.

At work, where delivery is the only performance measure, your skills
will get the appropriate environment to get cooked.

My skills of programming and CAD were rustic when I graduated from
AeSI, but the work in NAL, having the opportunity to work on real time
projects, my abilities fine tuned!! My programming logic improved, and
I began cad modelling complex centrifugal compressor assemblies!!

So once you are nearning end of your AeSI, aim to join a training in
an organisation or job as soon as possible, so that you can sharpen
your skills!!

Find more on getting training after aesi by hitting the following link http://my-aesi.blogspot.com/search?q=training

Have you downloaded the free ebook on AeSI already? Download 'After
AeSI- career guide to AeSI' from MyAeSI now!

What are the important technical skills for your next job?

What are the important technical skills for your next job?

Answer this question honestly and you will have the answer to the path
you need to follow.

Answer this question honestly and you will be pointed to the direction
of your next pursuit.

Answer this question and you will know where you stand now and where
you need to go?

The key is aknowledging the question honestly, without denying it and
taking steps towards the path the answer points!!

Are you doing it?

It might rain?

It's an assumption. It's a guess. Basing your routine on this will
just delay everything.

So carry a umbrella and get going with your tasks and plans.

Waiting for things improving, something getting right is a wrong
strategy. Start with what you have.

Begin now. Waiting on assumptions or hope of a better alternatives
tomorrow is stupid.

Start today. Start now!!

Want to explore more in myAeSI hit the following link http://my-aesi.blogspot.com/search?q=advice

A question that always stumps an AeSI graduate?

If you are member of ouraesi yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ouraesi
then you might be seeing the recent mails on how AeSI graduates have
to face a onslought of tough questions and comments from the
recruiters about explaining AMAeSI?

Be it educational institutes, HR interviews or job consultants, AMAeSI
degree usually needs a few extra words to explain.

I have seen, from experience, that the longer you take to explian it,
the more trouble you are getting into. Short crisp explainations
usualy fare well and move the discussion forward.

So as long as you have done aesi, be mentally prepared to face this
question!

Don't let this question reverse thrust your interview, but instead use
it as the booster engine to move the interview forward!!

I would love to know how you have faced this question? Did it
accelerate your discussion or has it dragged you down? Tell us all in
comments.

How to Make your CV stand out of the crowd?

A job portal sent this email to me today. Sharing the same with you so that you can benefit from this.

Make your CV stand out of the crowd, here's how:

• Update your Resume: Updating your resume tells recruiters you are interested in a job switch, which increases their interest in you. It also showcases your latest skills, responsibilities, and achievements. For best results your resume should be updated every three months.
• Have an updated Resume Headline: A specific resume headline that contains key words that employers might be looking for increases your chance of getting recruiters attention quickly. For e.g. a headline "System Architect with 10 years of experience in designing Java Based Enterprise Applications" could attract immediate recruiter attention.
• Highlight Key Skills: In mentioning key skills, be as specific as possible. For instance, rather than using generic words like 'Sales', it always helps to be specific and say 'Institutional Sales for ABC Product'.
• Highlight Key Achievements: Mention objective and measurable achievements. For e.g. saying "Increased Sales by 20% over a period of 6 months"instead of "Increased Sales for my Company" could make the recruiter contact you instantly!
• State Experience Clearly: Recruiters prefer looking at numbers than subjective terms. For instance they would want to look at "15 years of development experience" than "Ample development experience"

Very good points.

so get going and update your resume, even if you are not planning for a job hunt!!

One simple yet effective way of getting good marks in any exams!!

One of the simplest and very effective and mostly ignored way of
getting good marks in any exams is to avoild silly mistakes.

Yes silly mistakes.

Be mentally prepared to avoid them. That's the only way to handle this
mistakes.

Be it any subject, from fluids to flights, from propulsion to
aerodynamics, being watchful of silly mistakes can make or break your
marks!!

Before you go for exams and in the week ahead of the exam, train your
mind to be alertful. Train it to think and do the tasks, train it to
filter the mistakes. Train it to be watchful!

This simple mental exercise of keeping an intent of being watchful is
enough to have an alert mind during the examination hall. So begin
today and have successful exams!!

Good luck!!

For more posts on exams and how to tackle amaesi exams search the
following link.

http://my-aesi.blogspot.com/search?q=exams

Why is important!

A few weeks back, a fresh aesi graduate emailed me asking which CAE
tool he should learn?

With a vast range of choices, he wanted me to select one tool for him.

I pointed him to this AeSI blog and told him to search for "tools used
by aerospace engineer" and select one for himself. The choice should
not be mine but his.

And his choice will reflect his taste, his liking and most importantly
his why!!

Why you are learning a tool is the most important thing. So before
selecting one reflect on it. Before selecting a tool, know the why!!

If this thing is clear, rest will automatically follow!!

How time has changed? AeSI's web footprints!!

When I joined AeSI, aeronautical scoiety of india had no web presense.
If you wanted to contact anyone there, you had to call.

There was no aeroscocietyindia.in website for ready information.

Then after few years as emails begin to appear, aesi got a page of
it's own in nal's web space. This was again rudementary but a giant
step as we no longer needed to call aesi Delhi to get our amaesi
results. They were published on this website.

Now aesi has a full fledge website, a site that's fully functional and
provides almost all information required or needed by an AeSI student
and graduate.

The question is are you taking advantage of any of this?

Here is a list of AeSI related webspaces on the Internet.

Aesi's official website
http://www.aerosocietyindia.in

AeSI alumni association
http://www.aesiaa.org

AeSI community
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ouraesi

AeSI blog
http://my-aesi.blogspot.com

You are the photographer of your life!!

Read this following quote.

"A camera doesn't take the photo, nor does any piece of photographic
equipment. Photos are made by you – the photographer."

Your career is the same. You make the career what it is, not the degree.

You are the photographer of your life. You make the photos. Don't
blame the camera!!

You choose the camera, now start clicking and get the most of what you
have!!!

Cheers!!

What are they really testing you in an examination hall?

In the examination hall, your knowledge is NOT the only thing at test!!

Examination hall tests your time management skills, handling pressure
and understanding the question correctly!!

Knowledge is the means for the test, scores come from them, but if you
fail to complete the paper in time or fail to understand the actual
question, your score will falter.

Remember this, in the examination hall, handling the pressure,
managing time and understanding and giving the right answer is the
only way to get a good score. So concentrate on them in the
examination hall.

That's your true test in an examination hall!!

For those who are giving exams, good luck and keep the time and
question in mind before answering!!

More tips on handing amaesi exams visit http://my-aesi.blogspot.com/search?=exams