Six years after graduating, I struggled to turn my engineering qualification into a meaningful career.
On paper I had done everything right. I had studied hard, earned my qualification and stepped into the working world ready to build things. What I did not have was a map. Nobody had told me how hiring panels in engineering really think, how to describe my experience so that it showed what I could do, or which skills and certifications would open the next door.
Learning the hard way
There was no clear roadmap. Much of what I needed to learn, I had to discover through painful experience — without anyone to guide me.
I learned how to write a CV by sending out ones that did not work. I learned how to answer interview questions by getting them wrong in real interviews. I learned how careers in our industry actually progress by watching others move ahead and trying to work out what they knew that I did not.
Along the way I met many engineers and technicians in the same position: capable, qualified and hard-working, but unsure how to present themselves or what to do next. Some were students and TVET graduates looking for a first opportunity. Others had years of experience and were facing a promotion panel, a move into management or a change of direction.
The question
Over time, one question kept coming back to me:
What if engineers could learn directly from professionals who had already navigated the path?
Not generic career advice, but practical guidance from people who have sat on the other side of the interview table, reviewed engineering CVs, led teams and built careers in the same industries.
That question became the foundation of Qoched.
What Qoched is today
Qoched is a platform built by practicing engineers to help engineers and technicians navigate what comes next. We start by helping you understand where you stand through the Career Readiness Assessment. We help you prepare with CV and LinkedIn reviews, practise with realistic mock interviews and written feedback, and grow through mentorship with experienced professionals.
Every service is designed to leave you with something useful — a clearer picture, honest feedback, a stronger preparation strategy or a defined next step.
The dream
Our dream is bigger than any single service. We want to build the professional infrastructure around engineering careers: an ecosystem that connects engineering talent with the experience, guidance, development and opportunities needed to restore the pride and promise of an engineering career in Kenya and across Africa.
If you are an engineer or technician wondering what comes next, you do not have to work it out alone. And if you are an experienced professional who has walked the path, we would love you to help the next generation as a Qoched Expert or Mentor.
— Denish Aloo, Founder, Qoched
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