Leveraging Side Projects for Career Growth in Engineering
My Simple Framework to Turn Side Projects into Career Boosters
I'm one of those who gets quickly bored if they're not learning new things, and for this reason, I can't count how many hobbies I've had and still have today.
Cooking, 3D-printing, robotics, illusionism, lock-picking, woodworking, photography, mushroom hunting, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, and many, many more. Each hobby has opened up a new world of skills and insights, weaving into my life a rich amount of experiences and learnings.
This love for trying new things isn't just about having fun; it was a big part of growing in my career, and I believe it’s similar for many engineers and creative folks.
This need to learn and explore takes us to something really cool but often done in stealth mode: side projects.
They're born out of the same desire for exploration and growth that drives us to take up hobbies, but they come with an added layer of relevance to our careers and this is why today I decided to delve into this topic.
This is what I will cover:
❓ What is a Side Project
🔄 Benefits and caveats of building side projects
🛠️ My framework for Building side projects
💡 Some tips to make it work
Let’s begin!
❓What is a Side Project?
A side project is a personal project you work on outside of your regular job or main responsibilities. It's something you're passionate about and choose to pursue in your own time.
The startup culture has influenced us to think that a side project can only be a SaaS application that will generate passive income or that you can sell to investors after three months of work to become rich.
This is obviously a misconception, and from my point of view, if these are the reasons why you want to build a side project, it would probably be better to reflect a bit on your current job.
Are you happy with your salary, your team, your company culture?
Otherwise, why would you seek a second salary or a life-changing opportunity?
Don’t get me wrong, even if you have a good salary, it’s always nice to earn some extra money, but in my opinion, it shouldn’t be the main idea behind building side projects.
So what?
There could be plenty of better reasons, like:
📚 Learning New Things: embarking on a side project is a fantastic way to dive into areas outside your current expertise or explore emerging technologies and methodologies.
🚀 Improving your Existing Skills: sometimes, the best way to improve your skills is by applying them in new contexts. Side projects offer a great way to experiment, allowing you to improve your skills without the pressure of work-related consequences.
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