Abiona Isaiah

Abiona IsaiahAug 21, 2026

Reality Checks from My SIWES Journey The truth about the 9 to 5. Before SIWES, I had heard a lot about working life. Get a good degree. Get a good job. Find a stable 9 to 5. But experiencing it for myself has made me start asking a different question. What if the traditional 9 to 5 is not for everyone? I am not saying the 9 to 5 is bad. For many people, it is exactly what they want, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But I am learning that before choosing a career path, you should first understand yourself. How do you like to work? What kind of problems do you enjoy solving? Do you prefer structure or flexibility? Do you want to build within an organisation, build something of your own, do research, or perhaps combine different paths? SIWES is giving me a chance to experience some of these questions before I make bigger career decisions. And honestly, I don't have all the answers yet. That's why I want to start documenting the final stretch of my SIWES journey. The things I'm learning. The mistakes I'm making. The things I wish I had done differently. The skills I'm developing. And most importantly, the things I'm discovering about myself. This is not me pretending to have everything figured out. It's me documenting the process while I'm still in it. Reality Check #1: Don't choose a career simply because someone told you that's what success looks like. First, understand yourself. Then build accordingly. #SIWES #BiomedicalEngineering #CareerJourney #DataScience #MachineLearning #StudentJourney #ProfessionalGrowth #LearningInPublic #CareerDevelopment

Abiona IsaiahAug 22, 2026

I used to think being good at your job was enough. SIWES has taught me otherwise. You can know Python. You can understand machine learning. You can build a model. You can have a good academic record. And still struggle in a real working environment. Because nobody really teaches you how to handle the parts that don't appear in a course outline. How to communicate when you don't understand something. How to ask for help without feeling incompetent. How to take criticism without taking it personally. How to work with people who think differently from you. How to take responsibility when you make a mistake. How to keep learning when nobody is giving you an assignment. These are things I didn't fully understand before SIWES. I thought I was coming to learn technical skills. I'm realizing I came to learn how to become a professional. And honestly, some of that learning has been uncomfortable. But I'm starting to think that's the point. Because the things that challenge you the most often reveal the things you still need to work on. I have less than two months left in my SIWES. So I'm paying attention to more than just the work now. I'm paying attention to myself. What I do well. What I struggle with. Where I need to improve. And what kind of professional I actually want to become. Reality Check #2 Being technically good can get you into the room. Learning how to work with people, solve problems and take responsibility determines what you do once you're there. I'm still learning. #SIWES #BiomedicalEngineering #CareerJourney #ProfessionalGrowth

Abiona IsaiahSep 3, 2026

I started a “Day X of learning during my SIWES” series. I think I made it to Day 3. Then I stopped posting. At first, I could have easily called it inconsistency. But thinking about it now, I think there’s a bigger lesson in it. A lot of us don't actually have a consistency problem. We have a priority problem. When something is truly a priority, we somehow find a way to make room for it. When it stops being a priority, we start missing days. Then weeks. Then we tell ourselves, “I’ve been inconsistent.” But think about it: To become inconsistent, you have to be consistently inconsistent. You didn't just randomly stop. Something else became more important. And that made me think differently about social media too. Social media can become your consistency partner. Not just a place where you post pictures or share what you're doing, but a place where you document your learning, your progress, your mistakes and the things you're building. During my SIWES, I started documenting what I was learning. I stopped. And ironically, I also stopped documenting a part of my growth. So I'm starting again. Not because I suddenly discovered consistency. But because I’ve decided that documenting my journey deserves a place among my priorities. Maybe the real question isn't: “Why am I inconsistent?” Maybe it's: “Is this still a priority for me?” What’s one thing you know you’ve been calling “inconsistency” that might actually be a priority problem?