Momentum - September 2020 - 20

CAREER PATH

NETWORKING HELPS KEEP YOUR
OPTIONS OPEN
IT WASN'T WITHOUT HAVING A CERTAIN ATTITUDE and being
strategic in his thinking that Amol Gulve rose to the position of
Engineering Manager at Volvo Group North America. Lots of
factors have gone into his 15-plus years of success, perhaps none
to a greater extent than networking. He thinks current university
students would do well to establish a strong commitment to
networking from the very beginning of their careers.
"Connecting with people is extremely important, in any work
environment, to keep abreast of developments within your
company and within your industry," said Gulve, who uses SAE
International as one of his vehicles for networking. Networking is
also important in terms of career development.

"Connecting with people is extremely
important in any work environment."
Amol Gulve
"For example," he said, "if you are working in engineering but
think that you may enjoy working in a different capacity, such as
manufacturing, network with people so you can see the different
avenues that you could pursue."
Cultivating broader perspectives about different aspects of
one's company and one's industry is another purpose for which
networking is essential, said Gulve, an active SAE Member who
manages a team of highly skilled professionals in developing new
and emerging technologies for Volvo and Mack products for the
U.S. and other global markets. "When I was hired at Ford Motor
Co., I was in a group focused on breaking in new technologies
and exploring how we could improve the product-development
process. I started connecting with people who were using the
process on both the operations side and on the engineering side,
and I was able to get really clear perspective on both."
But of course getting hired out of university into the right
job is the first step. Although Gulve himself did not have
the opportunity to do so, he strongly advises students to
experience an internship or co-op so they can "get that
experience connected to the academic side." As someone
involved in the hiring process at Volvo, he knows that these
mechanisms "really help you get an understanding of where
you want to take your career and really help you understand
how industries work. Sometimes you may find that you may not
like your internship. But there's value in realizing that you want
to do something else."
When they are a good match for a student, an internship or
co-op can "really help set their feet in industry." That's especially
true given that companies are looking to eventually hire their
interns. Gulve has worked with several interns and co-ops at
Volvo, and he believes they have gained strong experience
working with the company.
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Amol Gulve, the Engineering Manager at Volvo Group
North America based in Greensboro, NC, is active
with SAE International, serving as a handling editor
for technical papers and as a judge for the Baja SAE
competition.
Mentoring is another opportunity that students would do
well to take advantage of, he advises. He himself is mentor to
multiple individuals, and believes mentoring "really helps lay the
foundation for the future."
So does cultivating a passion. "Stay focused on what you want
to do and what you feel passionate about," said Gulve, who is
passionate about the safety of Volvo products. "Just because you
get a job and start earning as an engineer in a certain position,
that shouldn't restrict you from working on something you like,
something you can contribute to."
That means thinking outside the box and not limiting yourself
to your essential responsibilities. Not long after being hired by
Ford out of grad school at the University of Detroit Mercy, "I took
advantage of opportunities to work on new technologies and
also work with different scales of people," he said. "It also was
helpful in connecting my job to my academic experience."
"In engineering," he continued, "there are unlimited
possibilities. Students should not restrain themselves when they
get their first job. They should also explore opportunities and
keep growing with the company." Failing to do so could lead to
complacency. "You tend to get into a comfort zone," he added.
"Challenge yourself. That's what I've done."

By Patrick Ponticel, MOMENTUM editor

MOMENTUM

8/19/20 9:07 AM
Momentum - September 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Momentum - September 2020
