A director in Ford shares how to stagnate your job

This story depends on a conversation with Mike Crabtree, Ford Data Engineering Director. The following has been released for length and clarity.

In 2008, I just received the degree of fellowship in industrial mechanics and electronics engineering. Then, the recession is immersed in the labor market.

In a crowded field, my testimony did not emerge and appear – most of them from the retail experience – for employers.

When I followed a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Computer Information Systems, I knew I needed to distinguish between myself more. I started taking paid courses from platforms such as Coursera, EdX and UDACITY, and got certificates in everything from business analyzes to the leadership skills that I shared on LinkedIn.

Although I was not greater in data science, I took additional seasons on the Internet that helped me with excellence and mutation in this field. Ford reached months after months of graduating in 2016. The company rented me as a data scientist in November, the role in which it remained for five years before it became the director of the data engineering team. After leaving Ford to work in a private data organization, I returned in 2023 and eventually became the director of data engineering.

These days, the labor market has become a little tougher, not to mention staying in it. Some people are looking to increase their functions in recession amid concerns related to the interruption of artificial intelligence and economic certainty.

My experience taught me that the key is to continue learning. by In choosing online training courses, I used skills that I had not used before, from technical courses such as programming to soft skills that helped me grow as a manager. Taking lessons in everything from entrepreneurship to self-driving car engineering, as he indicated to managers that I was pre-emptive and ready to learn-important qualities to feel safe in a job or get a promotional offer.

Here are three ways to install your job as possible-or more stable.

Find your gaps

To feel like you are in a good position in your job or you are ready to get to the next Interviews, they should be as good as possible. If you realize yourself incredibly, you may actually know your skills gaps. Personally, I did not learn for me until I started challenging myself with courses online.

Since statistics and the scientific method are established in data science, I took a statistical course. I stumbled on the possibility and I had to improve my understanding before I was able to move forward. Later, I took a semester of machine learning and realized that the linear algebra was not my strong allowance. In addition to learning the necessary technical skills from these courses, I also learned how to discover my weaknesses – and take measures to fix them by studying more.

This can apply to all fields. You may be a manager, for example, and you need more driving training. If your job does not provide many opportunities directly to push yourself outside your comfort area, training courses can help you discover what you struggle with quickly.

Your skills in solving problems grow

Be able to think critically, solve problems, and rely on your intuition makes you a more valuable member.

The good news is that you do not need to put your mind with many facts or programming techniques as you think. It is important to be able to evaluate trend, build business acumen, and make confident decisions.

You may know how to build a linear model as well as artificial intelligence. But when you can only search for it, what matters more is the realization that the linear model is not the best solution to a problem in the first place.

One of the ways I have strengthened my skills in critical thinking is to take a course in the quantum computing taught by IBM, which is highly involved in physics – something I was not expert in it at all. She taught me to think quickly and to pick up my head about many conceptual topics. I went to think that I was learning one skill, but I left learning four.

Be continuous

Forming strong relationships in the workplace is important, especially in the climate of difficult job. After working in Ford as a data scientist, she left for an administrative role in a data company. When I got out of this job, some of Ford’s old co -workers began reaching the moment when I knew I went back to the market.

Throughout my career, I saw many bright technical professionals struggle to upgrade – not because they mean or decorated, but because they are very calm and keep their heads. Because they were not firm enough, people did not know much about them.

In my career, I took speaking courses in front of the audience to improve my contacts and confidence. Besides speaking simply, it is very important that you are able to share your suggestions in a clear way and a cycle. This is especially true if your job is very technical.

You can be the smartest person in the room, but if no one knows your name or understands your thoughts, this does not really matter. Counting this gap by building your soft skills is the best way to prepare yourself for success.