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For most people, being an engineer is seen as the path to success and financial security compared to other career paths.
However, this then begs the question: how willing would one be to walk away from the job when they realise there’s more to life than having a lucrative pay?
This was the same question Thannseelan Mohan faced, who formerly worked as a mechanical engineer but decided to give it all up to pursue another path which he believed was his true calling.
“Followed” a friend into engineering
Growing up, Thannseelan had a deep interest for photography but in the eyes of his parents, it wasn’t a viable career option as they believed being a lawyer, doctor, or engineer provided a more stable future.
In light of this, Thannseelan went to study mechanical engineering at Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) as one of his friends was doing the same.
“Initially, it wasn’t something I personally enjoyed but as time passed, I found myself studying just to garner knowledge and soon became quite fun for me,” he recounted.
One of Thannseelan’s most notable achievements was him winning an international gold medal thanks to his invention of a medical bed that had a wheelchair attached to it so that elderly or disabled folks could be transported to the bathroom for showers effortlessly.
Earned up to RM10,500 at first job
Upon graduation, Thannseelan landed his first job as an oil and gas (O&G) engineer at a company located in Labuan, Sabah.
“During my time there, my basic salary was around RM4,000 to RM5,000 and as an O&G engineer, I had multiple opportunities to do offshore jobs and would be given an allowance for it. After combining my basic salary and allowance, it totalled to around RM10,500.
“However, I left after one year at the company due to a family emergency and the fact that I felt the job gave me lots of money but I had little time to spend with my loved ones,” he said.
‘My heart just wasn’t there’
Thannseelan then moved on to his second job as an automation and sales engineer, where he was in charge of regional sales and travelled extensively.
But despite the stability his job offered, Thannseelan felt that something was sorely missing.
Throughout the jobs that I worked at, my heart just wasn’t there. And this stemmed from my aspiration to create real change in people’s lives.”
Thannseelan credits this aspiration to a lecturer who taught him thermodynamics, one of the hardest subjects in engineering, during his university days.
“He taught me not for the marks but to impart knowledge to me, and I quickly fell in love with gaining knowledge and wanted to use that knowledge to create something that would solve real life problems.
“Unfortunately, I never got the chance to put this into practice across the two jobs I worked at and that didn’t sit right with me,” he said.
Turning to yoga & counselling
Not wanting to put up with his physical and mental stagnation anymore, Thannseelan began looking for ways to address it and came across yoga, which he revealed had ties to his childhood experiences.
“I was an injury-prone kid and didn’t give much thought to the injuries I sustained along the way. But when I got older, it started to take a toll on me and I stopped playing sports altogether—something which made me deeply unhappy.
“After coming across yoga, I attended my first class and felt really good about myself at the end of it as I found myself doing things I thought I wasn’t able to.”
Upon witnessing a significant improvement in his physical wellbeing, Thannseelan attended more yoga classes and soon found himself embarking on a journey to earn his yoga instructor certificate.
And it was through yoga that he felt a tug at his heart to pursue what he had always wanted to do—leave a positive impact on the lives of others.
“After talking to a friend about shifting to another industry completely, I decided to do it the right way, by obtaining a Master’s degree in Education, under Guidance and Counselling.
“I then resigned from my second engineering job and spent the next two-and-a-half years studying for my Master’s degree while teaching yoga and working four freelance jobs at the same time.”
Naturally, his family were less keen on the drastic change in career paths, but Thannseelan is grateful that they were eventually able to understand his decision.
My mum told me, ‘Do what is right for you as long as you can sustain yourself financially.’ While she didn’t directly give me her blessing to pursue my Master’s, I took it as the ‘green light’ and went ahead with it.
“Furthermore, I scored a four flat for my Master’s so I proved to her that I wasn’t fooling around and it also gave her no reason to voice objection,” he said with a chuckle.
Challenges
Today, Seelan is a licensed counsellor, social worker, yoga instructor, and an accredited trainer who works together with his team from GoodKids Malaysia, where they conduct mental health awareness classes and programs for children from underprivileged communities and for adults in corporate settings.
While he says he’s much happier with his current profession, this isn’t to say that it was a bed of roses either.
For one, Thannseelan said working as a counsellor takes an immense emotional toll as he has to listen to other people’s emotional burdens while managing his own.
“It’s deep, silent, emotional work and counsellors tend to burn out fast due to empathy fatigue and a lack of time in processing our own emotions. To add, the sense of responsibility over a client’s safety and progress makes it hard to set boundaries in our work and personal life.”
Another challenge he faces is financial instability, something which was rather evident when he made the switch from engineering to counselling.
“Mental health topics are still a taboo and not many reach out to professionals for help. Even if they do, it comes with bargaining on the fee because the money spent on counselling isn’t considered “necessary” in comparison to a meal with friends or concert tickets,” Thannseelan explained.
As for the third challenge, it may come as a surprise for some, and that is not being understood by others in his work as a counsellor.
“Counsellors are often expected to know it all when it comes to handling other people’s emotions and feelings while having absolute control of our own when solving everyone else’s problems. As such, we don’t often have the space to speak out about our struggles or be vulnerable.”
‘Zero regrets’
Despite these challenges and earning far less than what he used to, Thannseelan says he is very happy and contented with his current job and will not trade it for anything else.
I’ve found my true purpose in life and now have a reason to wake up every day. Previously, I struggled to get out of bed for work but that’s no longer the case for me as there’s something for me to look forward to.
“Being a counsellor is a tiring and heavy affair and the income is unstable, but it has given me a sense of direction in life. As for regrets, I have none. Zero, in fact,” he added emphatically.
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