Published on: 10/03/2025

Last Reply on: 10/03/2025


Categories: Technical & Functional Areas, Career Growth & Leadership

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I work at a small machine builder where I’m mostly doing basic drafting and support work. I’m learning, but I’m worried I’m not growing fast enough. How do I keep my career moving forward?

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Association for Advancing Automation

You’re in a great spot to learn a lot quickly. Smaller companies often let you see the full picture, even if your title sounds narrow. Ask to shadow engineers during installations or controls debugging. See if you can sit in on customer calls or quoting discussions. Meanwhile, stay sharp with self-guided learning through online courses, automation forums (like this one!), free webinars and articles (this website offers both!). You’re building momentum that will open doors.


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