LungeloIMG-4055

lungelo mdletshe

Engineer and Podcast host
Although the engineer and podcast host spent his years moving around with his mother who once worked in the rural area of Bhamshela, just north of Tongaat, he spent most of his years living with his maternal grandparents in Umlazi while in school. Lungelo Mdletshe, well known as Lungelo KM, holds two honours degrees in electrical engineering and business management from the University of KwaZulu Natal. He's also a podcast host of 'Engineer Your Life with Lungelo KM'.
How old were you when you decided to pursue your current career path and what inspired you? I remember I was in grade 7 at 13 years old, and we had an excursion at George Campbell School of Technology, and was I amazed. They had these artefacts of items that were built by their learners, and it was incredible to get a glimpse of what technology and engineering can do. Henceforth, I knew I wanted to be in engineering and be part of bringing technical solutions to the problems of this generation. With media, I officially launched the Lungelo KM brand on instagram in June 2021. this came after being recognised as an engineer on Facebook and people enjoying the content I posted, of what I do as an engineer. So, since I always had a passion for broadcasting, I decided to explore that avenue and try to find myself whether I am a lifestyle influencer or content creator. Then this year (2022) around January/February I shot a pilot episode for "Engineer Your Life with Lungelo KM" show/podcast, which is growing as I've built a little team now.  

Did you ever get help with career guidance? Any mentor(s) & what role did they play? When I shot my pilot episode of Engineer YL I approached a friend of mine who is a YouTuber, Naledi M, to ask her where does she think that content belonged and her answer was "YouTube". Since then I've been studying YouTube and getting good at it, and my content resonates with people. With engineering, I didn't. My mother was an educator and my father was not present, so I had no idea what engineering meant but what I had been exposed to briefly lay in my heart and I developed a passion for engineering. It also helped that I was doing well at school academically, so somehow that made it seem like a seamless career choice.

What challenges did you face (or are facing) / had to overcome in your journey? Time management, engineering is a career that's quite demanding because I have subordinates and I have to maintain professionalism around them. I have to make sure that my meetings never clash with interviews that I do in my personal capacity for my podcast. It's a time management game, and at the end of the day we all have to stretch ourselves and explore all our talents and passions.  As a Professional electrical engineer it has been quite a journey, the process to becoming professionally registered involved a lot of travelling, late nights in projects, furthering my studies beyond engineering and giving up a lot of personal time to hone my craft. 

What has been your biggest driver/motivator? My faith. Probably 90% of the music I stream is gospel music. Besides the musical excellence of the genre, I appreciate how it connects me to what keeps me grounded, inspired and calculated in my journey. With the podcast I just want to facilitate people's stories and be the voice of those stories. Try to paint people in a light that represents humanity, and have conversations that don't necessarily destroy but learn and build from people of different spheres and aspects of life. Broadcasting is my passion, and I can't think of anything else besides being a broadcaster and an engineer. 

What key learning points from your journey would you like people to take on theirs? Trust God. Be kind to others as much as you possibly can and be disciplined, be consistent in pursuing the goals you have identified. You have to be faithfully relentless, because no one else will do it for you.  

Any advice for a young person from a rural area / township who currently has no clue where to even start when choosing a career path? Get into technology. The world is technologically advancing. If you are reading this, it means you have access to internet. Google coding, software development, data science and get into tech now! Tech tech tech! You will thank me later. I'd also recommend that you should study and on a part-time basis find smaller platforms you can volunteer to so that you can learn the mechanics of the entertainment industry. Approach & align yourself with independents such as YouTubers, influencers, people with podcasts etc, as it's crucial for growing your own personal brand. However, don't neglect your studies; study and get the academic background of what you're trying to do and what you're trying to be.