I found I have skipped this blog for four busy days. Fri. 16th was the first day of the work (and then went drinking with my housemate). On Sat. 17th, I visited my Canadian coworker’s place with my Japanese coworker who came to Canada a few days ago. Now I work with engineers, and in both days we talked about technical issues (of course) and I understood what they said (of course). But there was a difference; what I thought in my mind was usually “aha” rather than “yes”. When I work in “my” field, what I typically say in a meeting or conversation with fellows is “yes, and…” or “no, but…”. This is where expertise works.
I have neither experience nor insight in the current engineering field. This is why my response is reactive. I was hired because I am bilingual and have a general understanding of engineering. If I do whatever they expect me to do for 4.5 months, it is just sufficient and I make money reasonably. But what will I get by doing that besides money? Working experience in Canada counts, but it should not be all about it. There will be two steps; step one will be to see what I can learn here, and step two will be to learn it whether it is expertise in this field or knowledge that will support my expertise in the field that I want to pursue in the future.