I feel like I wasted 2 years — advice from senior engineers appreciated

[Hyde_v]

Hi everyone,


I'm an Electrical & Electronics Engineering graduate (March 2023), and I feel incredibly lost right now. Due to nationality issues, I haven’t been able to start my career properly, and I could really use guidance from those ahead of me.


Right after graduation, I was in Indonesia on a family visa, with an expired Sudanese passport while applying for Indonesian citizenship (my parents are from different countries). Some people said I might be able to work on a family visa, but I wasn’t sure and didn’t want to risk it. What really made me wait was a promise — that once I got my new passport, I’d be connected with someone who could help me get experience (even if unpaid, I was willing to accept just to learn something).


I finally received my passport in September 2024 and reached out. But that turned into, “message me next month,” then “end of the year,” and eventually silence. I realized I was probably naive to think things would just fall into place. In January 2025, I was told to try getting the ASEP certification to improve my chances. I agreed — but then I was also told to look for jobs while doing it. But while job hunting, people said I should first finish the cert. It became a loop that drained my motivation. Eventually, I just gave up for a while.


Now I’m here, feeling like I wasted 2 years. And even though I know nothing can bring those years back, it’s hard not to feel like it’s my fault. The gap makes it harder to apply, and that guilt makes it harder to even try.


So, to anyone who has gone through a messy, slow, or uncertain start — how did you push forward?
How did you deal with feeling left behind?


Any advice or tough truths are welcome. I just want to hear from people who’ve been through setbacks and still made it. Thank you.

 

[Hyde_v]

It's our thoughts that control our feelings. Stop thinking "you have been left behind" or "this my fault" or "I am life's victim" Try to re-frame the situation that you created to something more positive. "People are excited about hiring me" or "I am an amazing Engineer" Your life will soon change.

Yeah, you're right. I’ll make sure to use that advice—it will definitely help me not just in my career, but in life overall.

 

[IRstuff]

I just want to point out that when faced with two people with identical experience, it'll be the format and messaging of resume and cover letter that can make the difference.

 

[Hyde_v]

First, I'd like a little better understanding of what constitutes "here".

Your post asks for help on "pushing forward" from those of us who have experienced difficulties. You have not asked for how to alter your course, but you will get advice on that too.

For "pushing forward", parts of that come from how your view yourself and your overall character. Don't view yourself as a victim but do view yourself as someone who is being challenged. You have not wasted 2 years, but you did not get the productivity from it that you desired. The last 2 years gave you some measure of resiliency that others may not have gotten. How you define your situation to yourself and the things you acknowledge sets the stage for your continued pursuit of your goal. My early challenge was financial. Moved out of my parents house when I was 18. Solely on my own. Learned very quickly that minimum wage will not pay the bills, this was the mid-70s. I went to work in construction as a laborer because I was told I get paid based on my value. I went from Back-labor (hired from the neck down) to carpenter (hired from the neck up) in 4 years. I had to learn something new EVERYDAY that pushed me forward. I had to study a carpenters textbook my older brother had because at one time, he was in the same situation.

3 philosophical quotes to remember: "Make at least one definite move daily toward your goal." "Your mental attitude determines what you make of it, either a stepping stone or a stumbling block." "Whether you think you can or think you can't, your right."

As far as "altering your course", treat this a goal to achieve and not a problem to solve. Your are not having a problem, you are failing to work towards a goal. Goals can be achieved by numerous pursuits going on simultaneously. Now goals can have isolated problems inside the goal, but your primary direction is a goal. They can be both short and long term. Lack of a clear goal prevents you from having a true path to success. Right now, you need some short term success. Before I would offer much advice on your goal, let us know more about what you are allowed to do in your current situation (what jobs could you possibly get) and what is your reasonable goal you wish to achieve right now. Also, answer all questions being posed to you in this thread by the participants. The career you have chosen has 3 major pieces, education, skills and experience. You have some education but not all that you will need. You can work on skills now. Your trying to get experience.

By “here,” I meant this current moment—where I am now in life.

I didn’t ask specifically for “how” because I believe everyone’s situation is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. My plan is to read through the advice given, learn from those more experienced than me, and adjust my path accordingly.

I wouldn’t say I’m in a bad position overall. I’m fortunate to come from a middle to upper-middle-class family. For some context, my parents lived in Saudi Arabia, and with the ongoing conflict in Sudan, it was difficult to do much back in Malaysia—both with university life and otherwise. Sudan often has a negative perception, and even though it might’ve just been in my head, I ended up blaming every setback on my background, especially when it came to job hunting. That mindset led me to give up before I even started.

When COVID hit, the internship requirement for graduation was removed, and at the time, I didn’t realize how big of a missed opportunity that was. I’m not using the pandemic as an excuse—I recognize now that I should’ve been more proactive. I was just trying to get things over with instead of thinking long-term.

Looking back, I definitely wasted time, but I’m determined to make up for it moving forward. Enough with the dooming mentality—it's time to change that.

Your are not having a problem, you are failing to work towards a goal.

That’s probably the line I was looking for. I’ve been framing this whole situation as a problem, when in reality, the real issue was not taking steps toward tackling it. I agree—I need to focus on building skills and gaining experience right now, just as you said.

 

[Hyde_v]

Dear Hyde,

Great advice from seniors here for you!
With a B.sc, you are already ahead of many!
Let nothing else stop you now,
If nothing could stop you in school.
Build skills, learn it, you may feel used,
My sincere prayer goes to you.
You will succeed! Believe you will.

Thank you so much for the kind words and encouragement.
You're right—I definitely need to focus on building skills and gaining experience.
It sounds obvious to many, but actually taking action is the biggest hurdle for me right now.
I’ll do my best to push through it.

 

[Hyde_v]

Assess what happened and learn from it:
- don't take visa/work permit advice from random people. Contact the authorities for guidance. Maybe you were allowed to work? Who knows, certainly not random people.
- Don't rely on a single person's promise for a future job. Even if they were sincere at the time, they have no knowledge if they need help in the future. It also sounds like the promise was to connect you with someone, not that that person hires you.
- Always attempt to have a job. Regardless of already having a certification, or working towards it. Even if that job isn't 'exactly your line of study. You always need money, It always looks good to be working, and even an unrelated job can give you experience and connections. People that currently have a job, always have an easier time to find a new job. No one wants to hire people who don't have a job (even an in-between career job is fine)
- don't rely on unpaid work. That is a scam. You are better off working for money at McDonalds than working for free because allegedly you learn more. If the work you do for free would be useful, or they valued your education, they'd pay you at least minimum wage. You probably learn more at a paid job since they are less likely to want to waste your time. If you work for free, there is no motivation to let you progress and learn.
- don't listen to people who say it is better to wait with a job while doing X... that sounds like cousin Eddy, who is unemployed while holding out for the management position he deserves.

Best you can do now is:
- try to get job to your field, or an unrelated job.
- Work on your certifications while you work
- make connections

• The visa/work permit info came from a relative who was also in contact with the employer. They acted as the middleman, so I just took their word at face value, assuming they knew what they were doing. You’re definitely right—I should’ve double-checked with the authorities.
• You're also right about not letting my future rest in someone else's hands. I was used to that dynamic, especially since even choosing my field was due to parental pressure. And to clarify, my relative specifically told me, “they are willing to train you for a few months.”
• Being sheltered definitely worked against me. The point about taking part-time jobs—not necessarily for money but for growth—is something I should’ve considered earlier. Thank you, I’ll make use of that.
• Does that logic about always having a job still apply even if I have no experience at all, not even internships? I was hyper-focused on unpaid roles just to get something on my resume, but I now realize paid roles—even if unrelated—are valuable too.
• Noted, I’ll definitely keep that in mind.

Thank you again—I’ll take time to reflect and learn from this.

 

[Hyde_v]

1. One cannot be "on a visa" with an expired passport. When the passport expires, THE VISA EXPIRES THE SAME DAY. Note: most of the time one CAN renew their passport during the period of a visa, if two requirements are met - first, the visa allows it and second, the renewal can be accomplished before the original passport expires.
2. Do the research with the appropriate (probably government) agencies - what can I do (or not do) on a certain visa type? Know your options.
For example - direct from the Indonesian government site regarding the Indonesian Family Visa: "Please note that holders of this visa cannot work or earn income from Indonesian companies."
3. Know how your degree stands up against others. is it from an accredited institution (in the country in which you want to work)? If not, how do you meet the minimum education requirements?
4. Connections are good - if they are reliable. I suppose unreliable connections may also be "good" in that they teach you what things can go wrong, but that is not the preferred way of learning.
5. Job markets, like everything else, are pretty volatile. What gave you the impression that the country / industry / locale might hold a job you'd want or meet the qualifications for? I come from a pretty rural agricultural area: to be a practicing engineer meant moving far away (over 1500 km) and starting over with an essentially blank slate in terms of residence, money, and reputation.

So now you have a "gap". What did you learn in that time period? What things did you accomplish? These can be used as discussion points (assuming you land an interview) or as resume points you can insert into the document to get your foot int he door.

Moving to another country to begin again is no small feat (I know, I've done it TWICE - both times to countries where I had to learn a new dominant language in both conversational and technical modes). The most important thing I learned from that is to rely primarily on myself - family isn't always going to be available, nor will the societal supports we may have become accustomed to (like unemployment insurance, for example, or good health care). How I look at each new day affects how that day will eventually turn out - if I start with a positive attitude, things will turn out better by the end of the day, usually. They might not always look like they're better at the immediate end of the day, but they will when I look back a week or a month or a year afterward.

As my wife (who is a teacher) says: EVERYTHING is a learning experience. Sometimes you learn what works, and sometimes what doesn't. The point is to learn from the experience and take it for what it is - an experience. It isn't right, it isn't wrong ... it just IS.

1. I say “expired” but it wasn’t technically expired. Due to the ongoing civil war in Sudan, renewing a physical passport requires being on a long waiting list. The temporary solution was a stamped extension, which unfortunately isn’t recognized by many countries. After a lot of back and forth, the visa department here eventually accepted it. The intention was to get Indonesian nationality—which thankfully I now have—because it was a much faster and more stable path than waiting on Sudan’s side.
2. You're absolutely right—I should have double-checked with the authorities myself instead of just taking my relative’s word for it. That was extremely naive of me, and I’ve definitely learned from it.
3. My degree is from an accredited university, but to be honest, I graduated with second-class honors and no internships or extracurriculars. I knew nothing about how the workforce actually worked because of how I was raised. I thought graduating alone would be enough to secure a job—naive again. I've learned more in the last two years than in the 22 before it, and I plan to make that count.
4. Relying too much on the promised job offer was my biggest mistake. I should’ve been out there networking and exploring my options instead of waiting passively. Definitely something I’ll reflect on and avoid going forward.
5. I didn’t move here specifically for work—my family moved here, and I had to follow. But yeah, I leaned too heavily on the idea of that one opportunity. As you said, if I had the right skills, I should’ve been able to adapt and find work regardless.

Thank you so much for your input. I really appreciate it and will definitely put it to use.

The point is to learn from the experience and take it for what it is - an experience. It isn't right, it isn't wrong ... it just IS.

Especially this.

 

[HVAC-Novice]

1. One cannot be "on a visa" with an expired passport. When the passport expires, THE VISA EXPIRES THE SAME DAY. Note: most of the time one CAN renew their passport during the period of a visa, if two requirements are met - first, the visa allows it and second, the renewal can be accomplished before the original passport expires.

I'm not trying to argue your point, but one shouldn't take such legal advice from a 3rd party like a random guy on the internet (I'm random guy as well). Different countries will have very different rules.

Usually this should get caught when the visa is issued. The country issuing the visa, will request you provide a passport with an expiration beyond the date of the visa expiration. Many countries will have 10-year passports. So, if you get a 1-year or 2-year visa, this most likely isn't an issue. If your passport is already "too old", you will have to get a new (10-year) passport before you actually get the visa. When I applied for visa (different country than OP!!!!), there even was the rule of my passport having to be valid for at least 3 months in addition to the end of the visa date. That way they avoid the problem OP seems to have.

As I said, this will depend on what country and rules will vary. I only can suspect that expired passports have happened before and most countries will have built in some safeguards in their visa process. Maybe OP's destination country renewed the visa from the original terms? But even if, they should have requested a newer passport at that point.

For advice on visa, OP really should talk to someone official from the country in question. Obviously you always want to avoid situations where you only have expired documentation. should have renewed the passport before it expired (note, your country may have a long process to issue a new passport). I have 2 passports, and it is a hassle every 10 years to get the foreign (foreign to my residence) one renewed.

 

[Hyde_v]

Usually this should get caught when the visa is issued. The country issuing the visa, will request you provide a passport with an expiration beyond the date of the visa expiration. Many countries will have 10-year passports. So, if you get a 1-year or 2-year visa, this most likely isn't an issue. If your passport is already "too old", you will have to get a new (10-year) passport before you actually get the visa. When I applied for visa (different country than OP!!!!), there even was the rule of my passport having to be valid for at least 3 months in addition to the end of the visa date. That way they avoid the problem OP seems to have.

Just to add:
Yeah, they did stop me because my passport had less than 3 months left on the original expiration date. I had a stamp extension that added 2 extra years since physical passport renewals weren’t possible due to the civil war in Sudan. Initially, the Indonesian visa department refused to accept it, but after a lot of back and forth, they finally agreed to treat the stamp as valid.


The issue came up again at the airport—immigration didn’t recognize the extension stamp since it’s not part of their system or something, which was ironic, considering I wouldn’t have gotten the visa approved in the first place without it. It’s just not a common situation, so I understand why it got overlooked.


Thankfully, I’ve already gotten Indonesian nationality now, so for the time being, I don’t have to worry about this again. But yeah, lesson learned—I’ll make sure to go straight to official sources from now on instead of relying on word of mouth.

 

[IRstuff]

passport having to be valid for at least 3 months in addition to the end of the visa date

Last few countries I visited required at least 6 months of life on the passport past the last travel date in the country