[Technology Report]
Differing Interests Define Engineering Dream Jobs
Engineering stars and Electronic Design readers alike were able to engineer their dream jobs based on both passion and talent. Those who haven't quite found their yet see home in tomorrow's technologies.
In his senior year at the University of California, Electronic Design reader Thanh Nguyen remembers the chair of the physics department cancelling class so students and professors could watch NASA's firstever shuttle launch. As Columbia lifted off on April 12, 1981, Nguyen's dreams of working for NASA were just taking flight.
"I remember sitting in the physics department's conference room and watching the shuttle lift off flawlessly for the first time," Nguyen said in a recent reader survey. "I dreamed someday I could work on a space program like the shuttle."
Nguyen is now a senior electrical engineer at NASA's Glenn Research Center, working on the Constellation space program, which aims to return man to the moon and eventually reach Mars. Like many engineers, Nguyen found his dream job by responding to a national need.
The final frontier has long driven people to pursue careers in electrical engineering, most famously during the Space Race and the Cold War, which sparked a major influx of inspired people into the profession. Subsequent waves of inspiration came during the computer hardware, software, and Internet era. The latest generation of engineers has a range of innovative fields - like alternative energy, green engineering, and nanotechnology - to motivate them.
Some engineers have achieved fame in their fields, like astronauts Scott J. Kelly and Rick Mastracchio, Apple star Steve Wozniak, and "Electric Boy Genius" Ryan Patterson. But regardless of their renown, personal passion seems to be the most important motivator for today's and tomorrow's engineers alike. In fact, a few Electronic Design readers told us in our 2007 survey that they absolutely love what they do and shared some glimpses of their daily routines. And they told us not only what makes a job a dream for them, they also explained what doesn't.
Elements of a Dream Job
Mike Collette is his own boss. He gets to design products that he loves to use, and he does it as his own pace. He has carved out an ideal niche for himself engineering digital backs for regular film cameras via the company he created, Better Light Inc., about 15 years ago. These elements alone are enough for Collette to say that he's living his dream job.
That's also the case for a number of readers. Maybe they haven't contributed to the launch of a NASA shuttle or designed the next iPod, but many Electronic Design readers do get to do cool things all the time. For example, Spencer Klein tests sensors for a high-energy "telescope" at the South Pole. Meanwhile, Ricky Howard engineers sensors for autonomous docking systems at NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Center.
Many readers were satisfied calling their job a "dream job" simply if they enjoyed it or if they could see the fruits of their labor being used for the greater good, especially in fields like medical electronics and defense technologies. (Fig. 1)
"Working on medical electronics is extremely satisfying knowing that the technology will be applied to healing and improving the lives of others," said Alan Ritter, an Engineering Fellow with Bausch & Lomb.
One reader involved in the defense industry said "working on a significant problem with a great deal of potential impact on human safety" made his a dream job.
For many readers, feeling challenged was another vital element of a dream job, which aligns with those defining characteristics of engineers: they're creative and they're problemsolvers. Ray Dargento's gig with a satellite operating company, where he works with technology that will be deployed in an environment as harsh as outer space, presents constant challenges.(Fig. 2)
"Every facet of engineering must be considered when designing for the space environment: mechanical, thermal, packaging, radiation," Dargento said. "Everything plays a part in the reliability and functionality picture."
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