How can someone from a different field like engineering transition to Demand Generation?

As an engineer, I suspect you have deep product and user knowlege, and this could be a huge asset in marketing! 

I would start with getting to know the demand gen team at your organization, or, start to network, subscribe to AMA's like this one, listen to demand gen podcasts to better understand:

• role responsibilities- what are they responsible for, how are they measured, what does a day in the life look like
• when targets are not being met, what are the levers demand gen has at their disposal
• learn about inbound vs. outbound, marketing vs. sales funnels, stages of the funnel, conversion rates
• understand how campaigns come together, the teams and tactics involved
• how does product play a role in marketing- from positioning, to automating stages of the funnel, to self serve acquistion
• martech- what is the marketing tech stack, how does this play a role in lead scoring, upsell or cross sell

This is just a starting point, perhaps a way to dip your toes is to ask your marketing team about contributing to a campaign, follow along from ideate to launch, and offer to take on tasks where you can, ie. speaking on a webinar.

Good luck!

I responded to a related question regarding how someone could transition to demand generation from sales. Similarly, transitioning from engineering, I recommend thinking through questions such as:

• Who in my network can provide some guidance on helpful resources to learn more from (e.g., Sharebird is a great starting point!)?
• Why do you want to transition? Do you want to be more so in the creative space? More on the analytical side? This will help give you some direction as demand generation covers many responsibilities.
• Do your due diligence. There are more resources online for demand gen than you will have the time for - many being free! Take advantage of the wealth of knowledge that exists.

It is absolutely doable to make this kind of transition. Start by gaining some exposure in the field and honing in on what you are most curious about.