Never impose an expiry date on your dreams & aspirations

Growing up, I was always reminded of the importance of financial independence for a woman. A stable job with a monthly income was emphasised as the ultimate goal of education. Consequently, my decision to pursue a degree in engineering was simply to attain that. However, a decade after completion of my Bachelor’s in technology, I have come a long way from these perceptions about what my career means to me.

When I joined my first job after graduation, I was thrilled to have checked the box of ‘financial independence’. However, within a few months, I realised that true happiness came from being passionate about what one does every day and started looking beyond financial independence. My decision to resign and pursue higher studies was far from easy, but it marked the first step in my journey to the fulfilling and rewarding career I now have at Hitachi Energy.

It was during my Master’s degree that I was introduced to research through an internship at Hitachi Energy. I found genuine joy in my work and found myself eagerly looking forward to Monday mornings. Today, nearly a decade later, I am a power system researcher at Hitachi Energy contributing to technology development of cutting-edge solutions for the electric power grid. I have numerous publications and patents to my name and was also awarded the Young Woman Engineer award 2022 by IET India for my contributions and potential to inspire fellow woman engineers.

My advice to young women today is simple: do not confine yourselves by fitting into the outdated notions of “careers suitable for women” or “a job for financial independence”. Explore your options and settle only for a career that ignites your passion. Embrace continuous learning, growth and self-improvement. When I decided to pursue a PhD sponsored by my organisation two years ago, not surprisingly, I was faced with several questions like “but you already have a good job”, “why now, when you have a family to take care of”, etc. However, I refused to let go of my dreams. To borrow from a movie reference, let us not impose an expiry date on our dreams and aspirations.

Neethu George is senior R&D engineer at Hitachi Energy


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