08/02/2025
Your Degree Alone Isn’t Enough—Build, Don’t Just Study
After screening and interviewing hundreds of candidates for Robotics, AI, and Software Development roles, one thing became glaringly obvious: most candidates still believe that having a degree is enough to compete in the market or build useful things.
But during interviews, it was clear—many lacked hands-on experience. There are certain problem-solving skills that books simply can’t teach. You have to get your hands dirty, and when someone has done that, it’s immediately obvious in how they talk, how they think, and how they communicate their answers.
Here’s My Take
Relying only on academic education was never enough—and now it’s more obvious than ever. Being fresh out of university is not an excuse for lacking hands-on experience, especially in a complex, multi-dimensional field like robotics.
The barrier to building cool things has never been lower. You have access to open-source tools, online communities, and cheap hardware. There is no reason you can’t spend evenings and weekends building, no matter how scrappy your projects are.
Trust me—doing this will massively improve:
✅ Your ability to execute – You’ll actually know how to apply what you learn.
✅ Your problem-solving skills – Because real-world challenges don’t come with step-by-step guides.
✅ Your confidence in interviews – You’ll always have projects to talk about.
And honestly? That’s what passion is, right? When something is on your mind all the time—when you wake up, eat, sleep, drink, and still think about it.
So Show It Through Action
If you truly love this field, let your work speak for itself. Build so much that you never have to spend energy convincing people—you just show them.