Boss Spotlight- Marcus Hinds

Question #1: How did you get into Engineering? What courses did you have to take?

It's funny. Engineering chose me.

At school, after all the jonesing and it was time to choose CXC subjects and what's not, I was stuck. I sat and said self; big man; what are you going to choose? I just could not figure it out and what made it worse was that all of my friends were like I want to be this or that and they had their subjects chosen already. Self, big man, what you think this is, a joke? I went about choosing the subjects that I loved and felt most comfortable learning. I did the sciences of course (not physics), geography and social studies at the time. Now looking back at it, this was a great mix because social studies has that component about how things affect people in their lives. Sociology and economics and politics all in one. I cranked hard on my CXCs, swerved on 6th form and went to college.

From college onto university where I did Bachelor of Engineering. While studying, because it was something that I chose and was passionate about, I was all in. My work got me drafted with the Canadian Ministry of the Environment and even then, I knew it was time to bring "A" game.

It was just beginning...

Question #2: Was it always hard transitioning from Engineering in the Caribbean to Engineering in Canada?

The content ideally was the same. However, here, people look at the younger engineers, expecting them to know all about standards and how to apply those standards and test products and so on. You are expected to have more knowledge and know more about the profession that you would be in the Caribbean. Also if you are able to spot engineering issues in the media out of everyday problems, you bout there heavy families!!

I had to learn that the hard way. Employers and senior colleagues like when they see that, they feel like you are on the ball and they really like to see that passion. After a while, employers feel that they can trust you with certain things because of that passion. You end up moving up a few notches because of it and it ends up gaining you some Engineering Street cred.

What I'm saying is in Canada they place more responsibility on you as a young engineer, and demand more of you.

Question # 3: What is your Career Mantra?

I've always said to myself, big man, you need to create a niche in the market. Not just something that gets attention and media and press and all that stuff, but solve a real problem and people will respect you for a long time. I want to be that problem solver. I want to be that guy reinvents technology and solves an issue like increasing emissions or finds a clean energy alternative before we run out of crude oil or use all the water and kill the planet. Whichever comes first. I guess my career Mantra is to always surround myself with quality and always add value.

Be agile & apply agile techniques.

Question #4: Any advice for people looking to get into Engineering?

Be on point!

If you are in this, be in this. Keep it 100.

Like any other profession right? You can't half-ass it, because when the tough gets going, you will be looking for the easiest exit strategy. So if you say you want to be an engineer, commit to it. Tough it out and trust me it will not be easy. But as time goes on things fall into play and it gets easier. Find something in the industry that you want to be a part of (even while studying) and set eyes on it like a hawk. Don't let up until you get it.

For me, I wanted to be a Planning Engineer that could design Caribbean neighborhoods where you don't need cars and you can actually walk to places like, malls, clinics, entertainments spots etc. I was involved in Planning work before and it felt great signing off on that project after all the hard work. Guess what, I'm still going.

Question #5: What is a common myth people assume about the field of study?

A lot of folk think that engineering is very, very hard and complicated (for no reason), or that it is a guy's career. We see that changing more and more but when you see some of the things we are dealing with, then you understand why. We are essentially superheros that keep the "public" safe. You have to train your mind to think in that way and that does not come overnight.

People also think that when you are an engineer you have to stick to being on the technical side. Nope fam. Engineering is so broad that one can get into making policy/law around engineering and standards, get into education and training and even into solving social issues.

You can even be that person designing the projects and sending them to be executed and seeing it through to the end. You can even mix it with something else, and get funky with it. I have a friend that designs toys for a living. Think ergonomics (for kids), think 3D printing, thinking making millions of toys on a very limited budget and restrictions on how much waste you can produce.

We have limited resources like land, water and costs are rising (specially right now in my little Bim), if you can create a plan/product/policy that changes how people use water/or conserves water without them having to do much or something like that, you gone clear families

Question #6: Tell us about Enerscope and where we could find you?

EnerScope came out of my liking for three things. Media, Talking and Tech. I love a good magazine, and I also like to hear a good talk. I had this Professor (shout out to Dr. Michael Sutherland), that when you were finished hearing him speak you just wanted to get to work right away. He had a way with words that made you forget school and just want to start working on inventions and solutions immediately. He made you want to invent shit immediately and win a Nobel Peace Prize. That got me started with the Media. The tech I've been working with for years and I quite like it. Hearing good talks has taught me how to talk. That's what EnerScope is: Media/Magazine, Energy Tech and Training/Development. More training and development work is coming to the website: enerscopeinc.com.

Marcus Hinds is an entrepreneur and a critical thinker. He has been dubbed by many of his peers and fellow entrepreneurs as an unconventional inventor and problem solver. As a Consulting Organisation Strategist and Sustainability Analyst, he combines his knowledge of surveying and geomatics, building science, logistics and energy to design process improvements for industry. Marcus has also written literature for industry magazines, including GoGeomatics Canada, The Canadian Spatial Times and ReNew Canada. Regionally, the list includes Caribbean Smart Homes, The Barbados Advocate and The Barbados Nation.