"I wouldn't suggest engineering as a career path for my child."

So you're an engineer. Maybe you have been for a long time and you have put up with a lot of grief. But still...Would you really tell your kid not to go into engineering?? Apparently 1 out of every 3 electrical/electronic engineering parents or so are. And while these numbers are better than the ridiculous ones I had first thought they were (more like 2 out of 3), they are better than the numbers coming from non-engineering parents (only 20% encourage their children to go into engineering, though it is likely ignorance). I can't stand it. Why? Because it's followed by stories about the US not having enough engineering talent. Then that story is followed by a story about H1B visas. Then THAT story is followed by a commentary about someone lamenting the situation with international workers. But it's worst when I see it on message boards and comment sections and on blogs (see all the comments on the survey page and just about any other article on EDN or EETimes these days). Then I realize it's not a statistic. It's actually people telling their kids why they shouldn't go into engineering.

So, let's be scientific about it (engineerentific?) and look at both sides. Obviously, I'm biased about why parents shouldn't be doing this sort of thing. But I think there are some significant implications if engineers aren't cultivated from a young age by those who know the profession best.

First, let's look at your arguments against your child going into engineering:

1. "Business is all about finance and marketing these days!"
   • Oh yeah, it's true. Marketing is everywhere and it's important. I take personal interest in it and bug my friends about personal branding all the time and why I think it's important and all that stuff. But without a product, there isn't anything to sell. Nada. Without a product to sell, the bean counters and the brokers on wall street no longer have a job. Without them, everyone loses confidence in the company (for some reason) and everyone is laid off and jobs are shipped overseas or everyone shuts down. End of story. A sub-argument here would be that we need people to package and brand products that are made overseas and that the marketers can continue to do that. Well, that's true...but eventually the overseas producers are going to figure out that they can come up with and market the products too. Then it won't just be engineers asking,"Where'd all the jobs go?"
2. "Engineers aren't paid well enough!"
   • I can only imagine this would be a complaint among engineers that move up in the workplace and see other educated people continue to move up in salary for non-engineering positions. Sure, if you look at the top of the management field and the top of the engineering field, there are differences at the top. But fewer professions provide the pay that engineering offers directly out of school (with only a 4 year degree). After that, yes, you have to work harder to get to the top of the pay-scale. If  it worries you that much, go get an MBA and try out middle management.
3. "There's too much global competition!"
   • I hear that Chinese parents were going to tell their children this, but decided against it when they heard all of the American parents were telling their kids that. And now just about every person of power in China is an engineer, helping to encourage policy and investment that will encourage even MORE engineers. Sound scary and daunting? Sure it is. But that's why they call it competition. Eventually the Chinese parents (there are a lot of them!) might encourage their children to become marketers and managers. Then EVERYONE in the US is out of a job. Think about it and tell your kids to study hard and learn their math and sciences. Even if you don't keep going with engineering, it could contribute to your child's career as a CEO.
4. "They will never be in charge!"
   • I would guess disgruntled engineering parents use this reasoning because of timing (an engineer who is 50 might have a child entering college, but if they are still an engineer they may not be "in charge") and because engineers get frustrated being told what to do; it's a conflict of roles when a person gets to define how a system is built but not how much money they can spend on a widget going into the machine. However, in order to maintain a technical career sometimes you have to let others do some of the managerial tasks; it's a sacrifice that is at least in some ways necessary if you want to maintain control over technical aspects of a project. To the ones who fall under this category and wish to do it all, I would encourage you to start your own company; then encourage your children to do the same. One profession that will always have job openings is entrepreneur-ing and there are no greater sources of jobs than small businesses.
5. "I'd rather my child be a _________."
   • I know I'm kind of shouting into the void here, but do you hear yourself? No? OK, close your eyes and imagine YOUR parents telling you this. How do you feel? If there is anything an engineering parent should do, it is warning a child against potential pitfalls in an engineering education and career ("Those double integrals can be real stinkers!"), not steering them off on an alternate course. Tell them the truth about engineering, the ups and the downs. And if there are a lot of downs, maybe take a step back and consider why you are still in engineering.
6. "My son isn't interested in science!"
   • Well what about your daughter? Besides the fact that there is education assistance for women in engineering and support throughout the educational process, research has shown that more and more women are following in their father's footsteps (we're assuming here that the father is the one talking about their son's disinterest). My friend Elaine can go toe to toe with any other engineer out there and I can personally attest to the fact that she helped me get through college. Women do great things in engineering and cutting off your daughter from that greatness could rob her and the rest of the population of her future potential.

OK, I've changed your mind, right? You decided you want to encourage a young potential engineer. What do you say? What are some reasons you should be encouraging your child to follow in your footsteps?

1. "You get to make stuff!"
   • You aren't just pushing buttons. You aren't pushing paper. You aren't yelling at people (well, maybe). You aren't sitting around doing nothing. And most importantly, you aren't just trading companies  and pretending that you're creating value when in fact you're bringing down western civilization by creating horribly complicated investment vehicles just to make a buck and trying to cover your tracks so regulators won't catch you (whew!). No, instead you are going out and making something useful. It's how economies are built. NOTE: If you are making some copy-cat MP3 player with nothing to add other than bottom of the barrel cost, you might fall into the "not-so-useful" category too, so maybe try to steer clear of that. It's true, not all engineering jobs (such as reverse engineering and the fake components that can result from it) are for the greater good.
2. "You get to make stuff!"
   • How fun is that? You get to design stuff that will be used by other people! You get to make something that could last longer than you will on the planet! (hopefully as a useful product, not in a landfill). You get to wake up everyday and say "I can do anything. I can make anything. If I can imagine it (and the cost is feasible), I can build it." Hey, if you aren't excited about the prospects of working on new products, it's cool...we can always ship your job somewhere where they're excited to do that kind of work (and do it at a discount). But if the prospect of making a product excites you (it should, or else you might be reading the wrong blog...), then you should pitch this idea to children who could end up as similarly excited engineers.
3. "Don't worry, you can be happy without money."
   • Wha? Money doesn't make people happy? Well, no, it doesn't, and there are lots of studies to prove it. Sure, it makes things a little easier than NOT having money, but beyond meeting your basic needs, more money does not equate to more happiness. You don't have to belabor this point, because it won't sink in with kids. Instead, emphasize things that do matter: helping people, living simply, taking joy in your work, trying to change the world, connecting with friends, etc. All these are valuable life lessons and things that will help them in life and in their career (it won't hurt them to develop those engineering soft skills either!). They will hopefully figure out the money thing later on when they are enjoying the finer aspects of life.
4. "You won't be doing the same thing every day!"
   • This is what sold me on engineering. When I was sitting around in high school, trying to plan out a future and really not having any clue what I was doing, I decided I didn't like being bored. So that was criteria number one. I wanted something where I could do a lot of different things and not sit behind a desk without any hands-on activities. Some job or calling where I would have to keep learning and keep figuring stuff out every day. I know there are a lot of jobs that really do fall under this category, but I obviously didn't realize it at the time. What I'm trying to say here is that you are more likely to be expected to be an expert on lots of areas as an engineer (technology, science, business, etc) and that will keep you on your toes. And I like that.
5. "My child, look at the big picture."
   • If you can go to work every day and feel that you are accomplishing something that is good for you and your community (local or global), then that should be what you encourage your children to do. As an engineer, I would hope that you feel engineering provides the greatest chance to feel satisfied with how you are contributing and that it makes it worth putting up with all the things people complain about in engineering. Engineering can lead to great technical careers, great management careers or careers having nothing to do with engineering. The skills learned are invaluable in myriad professions, so there's no downside to getting an engineering degree (OK, maybe cost).

OK, so there it is. Two sides of the argument, all presented to you with the skills I learned in engineering school: unarguable logic (10(b) + 10(b) = 100(b)), beautiful prose (technical writing was taught but haikus were my forte) and massaging of data (the hyper link is the new pie-chart). See? TONS of useful skills!

Ah, and now for a bit of perspective. I have been an engineer for 5 years now (counting co-ops). That's not much, it's true. However, I am a continual optimist and I believe that I will continue to enjoy being an engineer (hell, I write about it in my spare time). I also believe that engineering will continue to offer the best option for graduates in terms of career fulfillment, compensation, job opportunity (regardless of off-shoring) and options outside of the field of engineering. Everything else I feel about this topic you can deduce from the points above, doubly so for the points dripping with sarcasm.  It should also be noted that I don't dislike other professions (nor management, which I could very well end up in some day), it's just that when I compare it to engineering I feel I made the right decision for myself at this time. So there that is. I am young and have not experienced all of the ups and downs of engineering that a veteran might encounter, but I am strongly against discouraging kids from it.

Here's what I do know. Tell your kids to make up their own minds. Point them in the right direction and let them make mistakes; don't try to protect them from a potentially great career based upon current (linear) data. I was very lucky in this regard, I have wonderful parents who were very supportive of my choices (although neither was an engineer). As mentioned above, if you are an engineer, point out the good and the bad. Steer them away from the pitfalls in both education and the working world and help to make them a better engineer. Volunteer at schools to let children other than your own know the benefits of engineering and explain to people what you do in a positive light so others know that they can positively affect the world through work in engineering.

If you have any thoughts on engineering or encouraging children in engineering, please contact me or leave them in the comments below!

As you may have all noticed (or at least those that read here more often-ish), I have been posting less lately. Partly because I am fixing up a new house and partly because I have not felt very inspired. I think the recession is starting to get me down a little unfortunately. Worrying takes its toll as I'm sure many can attest to.  But fear not! I have some things I would like to reaffirm about why I enjoy blogging thus far and why I think it's a good idea to keep going with the blog:

1. Resume 2.0 -- I have seen it written that blogs are the new resume. I believe that a little bit, but only for certain industries. If you're in a field like marketing or PR, you'd BETTER have a blog, and it should be better than the other gazillion marketing blogs out there. The people in non-traditional writing fields like engineering don't have quite as much competition but I've never seen whether employers like new hires to write blogs. Heck, some might even discourage it for fear of a leaky mouthed employee talking about the company's next great patent or product (I'm so much smarter than that though).  Any way you look at it, if you have a blog you are much more visible to employers than those without a blog.
2. It opens new windows -- My site is hardly a high traffic site. However, I get enough visitors that when someone leaves a comment I can take the time to write them back and try to get to know them. Already I have emailed with some people in the industry that I don't think I would have ever met otherwise. I have had some people contact me for job interviews and others contact me about potential projects. I like that the blog helps me communicate with people.
3. Build a brand, brand yourself -- Chris Gammell is a brand now. It's a search term. I'm even thinking about making it into an LLP. But when all else fails and people don't make that association, scream out what you want people to know you are. That's why I bought Analog ElectricalEngineer.com last month. If nothing else, blogging has taught me a lot about marketing, especially with "New Media".
4. Options, Options, Options -- I'd like to think if nothing else in this down economy, I might have a few more options than my non-blogging engineering brethren. I think of writing for magazines, trying to blog full time (probably would need more people in the world interested in engineering), consulting, doing contract work, shifting completely and trying marketing (see above) or looking for another engineering position and advertising myself on my blog. While I have learned more and more that it is your experience that gets you a job, the tough part is showcasing that experience to an employer.
5. Analog electronics suits me well --  I'll be honest. I feel that my strengths lie in improving upon existing ideas as opposed to coming up with completely new ideas (engineer vs. scientist). And I think analog electronics intrigue me because even after all of these years since electricity was discovered, there are SO many things that are hard to get right. And there will always be problems with analog circuits where others will need help. You can put everything into digital format but there will still be significant portions of a circuit that need to be processing analog signals. Not only that, I could see a future where more signal processing moves back into the analog domain. Ka-ching!
6. Renewable energy has a long way to go -- I love writing about analog because it makes me geek out. I love writing about renewable energy because it's such a new and exciting field with so much going on and so many new developments. While I don't like talking about things "going green" just for the sake of it, I really do think there are some significant advances in the technology that need to be discussed (or dismissed).
7. I like writing -- Of all the things that blogging has taught me, I was most surprised at enjoying finding my writing voice. Perhaps it's my creative side trying to escape or perhaps I enjoy others reading what I have to say. Either way, I like trying to get my ideas across to people, especially difficult technical ideas that may have been inaccessible otherwise. I hope you enjoy it too.

I know this and other posts have been a bit more introspective lately, but I think that's what tougher times do to people. We stop expecting answers to be external to ourselves and we start to analyze how we can enjoy what we have and what we do. I fully expect to publish more technical entries in the near future because that is something I enjoy doing.

If you have posts you would like to see, technical or otherwise, feel free to suggest them in the skribit box to the right. Others can vote on ideas and I will write them if I can. If you have anything else to say, the comments box is always listening (as am I).

Photo by Woplu

It's 2009.

More importantly I'm still employed. I actually had a blog post planned out for early January in the event that I lost my job. Hey, if you're not going to promote yourself, who will?

I was reviewing my new years resolutions from last year and I realized the only one I really followed through on was finding new employment. And since finding my new employment and starting a blog and all of those details, I have come to some important realizations, mostly about work:

1. If you're doing it right, there are 3 sections to your life: sleep, work, other.
   • Sleep is unavoidable. At least for now. If there are ever advances in sleep technology that allow people to sleep less per night (besides coffee), I will be the first in line. Plus, I have come to the realization that without the sleep component in your life, you enjoy the other 2/3 much less.
   • Other is everything you're not doing when sleeping or working. The most important thing you should be doing (in my opinion) is building relationships in your life and enjoying those relationships. Sure, there are hobbies and time for relaxing and whatnot, but really it's the connections in your life that will enrich your "other" time. And in this economy, you shouldn't be planning for too much "other" time, so savor what you get. Heck, I consider this blog to be under this time category and in the event sleep and work  and my family and friends get in the way, the blog will fall behind.
   • So work takes up that last 1/3 of your life...probably more. What I'm trying to get across is, it's important, much more so than I was ever told when I was deciding what to do with my life. It's important to enjoy what you do, who you work with, how fulfilled you are by the things you accomplish and having an employer that respects your non-work time. For me, I continue to tell myself that on mornings when I'm walking the dog in the snow or when I glance at the forecasts for my old hometown. I think about how I enjoy my job now and how I let that trump some other things when deciding whether or not I wanted to change my life around and move up t0 the blustery north. And given the choice, I would do it all again and have advised others to do the same (pick up and move across the country for a job they might like).
2. A job that pays you to learn is probably one of the best jobs in the world--I'm not talking about being a grad student (although that's not bad either). I know those jobs and assistantships pay you (sorta) to learn and do research and such, but my experience has been in the private sector; jobs where the real expectation is that I produce an item that can be sold for the company. However, the important thing is that you learn in the process.  My job is particularly well suited to learning, mostly because I am handed problems and then told to start fixing them. Jobs that require thinking on your feet and quickly adapt to your situation will give you the steepest learning curve and you should relish the opportunity to be challenged like that.
3. If you learn new skills, you're not a commodity anymore--Let's face it, we're all afraid of losing our jobs at one point or another. I'd say a higher percentage have that fear now that we're in a recession. I was talking recently with a friend that just lost her job and she mentioned a similar thought: to stay employed, you have to be valuable to your employer. A simple but powerful concept. In the end if you're not learning and are not contributing (or not showing off what you do contribute), you are expendable. So in the event that you are in a job that does not allow for learning (either mentored or self-learning), push your employer to let you start new projects that will allow you to do so. If they say your workload is too high, offer to work overtime on your learning project. I think it's that important and it might just help you save your job.

The recession will deepen. But even in the Great Depression, with 25% unemployment, that meant three out of four people were working. I plan on being one of those 3 by continually increasing my skillset in my work projects or in my "other" time (reading new books, working on my piano and blogging). What are you doing to make yourself more valuable to your employer or to any future employer?

Picture by _neona_

I've been a bit more of a Grinch this year than I am usually at Christmas/Festivus/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/etc. I think part of it is my worries about the economy and the rest is because I think the buying of presents is good intentioned, but kind of a waste. Once I get past my own soapbox, I often find that I end up with some thoughtful gifts from the ones I love. Let's get to the part where I am thankful for the gifts I did get:

1. A book -- My gf was kind enough to listen to me complain about being an analog engineer and not having one of the most important books on my bookshelf. She got me Troubleshooting Analog Circuits by Bob Pease. Up until the past few months I never knew who Bob Pease was until an experience co-worker turned me onto his and Jim Williams' writings. I admire both of them for their extensive experience in the field of Analog Engineering and their friendly, down-to-earth writing style (something I try to emulate). The "Troubleshooting" tome is well known as a guide on how to specifically move towards pinpointing issues in an analog circuit. I look forward to reading it and applying it. I also hope to post a book wishlist/review list in the near future.
2. Tools -- My parents understood that people trying to fix up a house and make it more energy efficient require tools to do so; they got me some great tools. I'm sure those tools will help me fix all the mistakes I make in the house too. I have also decided that Lowe's/Home Depot/Etc are the Toys R' Us of the "older kids".
3. A Chord Organ -- This is a gift from previous owner of the house I bought to me...because they left it in the attic. It turns out this is a "Magnus Serenade", and so far it has been pretty hard to find any information on it.  I believe that it is a simple chord organ, similar to the other Magnus models. The idea is that you activate reeds or sets of reeds with keys or buttons (respectively) and then an electronic blower forces air across them to produce a sound. Really it's like a big accordion (without the back pain). I haven't had a chance to pull it out of the attic to try it out yet, but if it does not work, it will give me another opportunity to work on old musical instruments. The video I've included below is a similar model of chord organ...not the best sound, but definitely unique.

I hope everyone had a great holiday and I look forward to continuing to post in 2009!

OK, so I know that just about everyone else on the internet is doing the same today (I've read them), but I thought I would also say what I'm thankful for.

1. My Girlfriend -- I know I am consistently annoying by staying up late writing and sometimes during the few hours we have to spend together after work. My wonderful girlfriend has always been accepting of my interestingly nerdy habit of coming home from working on electronics to...write about working on electronics. I appreciate her patience and her understanding along with everything else she does for me.
2. My Family -- What can I say? Not only was I born into a demographic with more opportunities than most, I was also blessed with a family that encouraged my interest in science and learning. I appreciate how they pushed me to read at a young age and then nurtured my interest in creative toys (Legos, TinkerToys, etc), even when I left them laying around.
3. My Friends -- My buddies are kind enough to support me when I'm complaining about silly stuff like not getting blog exposure and are real troopers who bother to read my blog on a regular basis. Without them, I'm sure I would go crazy and I really appreciate having them around.
4. Electronics Pioneers -- Aside from thanking my loved ones, I really wanted to write this post because when I think about the progress that has been made to get the human race to where we are, it's quite amazing. From the early inventors who developed the math that allows us to calculate what we do, to the first testers of transistors and up to the people that helped create software 10 years ago. What's more, I'm very grateful that they have provided me with the tools to do my job today (such as graphing calculators, SPICE, MATLAB, etc) so much easier and on such a higher level because of all the hard work they did with their slide rulers and look up tables.
5. The Internet -- Similar to the above point, I am very thankful that there are tools available to me on the internet that allow me to get my ideas out with very little hassle. Prior to WordPress, I had tried to start websites many times. After finding simple publishing software, I was able to get my thoughts onto my site with no issues. I also have the opportunity to easily do research on topics that interest me and connect with others interested in similar topics.
6. My colleagues -- In all my jobs, I am thankful for people that take the time to show me new techniques for solving problems or ways to better approach an issue. As an engineer gaining more experience, it is inspiring and makes me want to share knowledge I have with younger engineers. If you happen to be a younger engineer, I would take this opportunity to encourage you to find those willing to help and use them as a resource. Oftentimes it seems like you might be bugging someone or that you should be able to solve something on your own, but asking an experienced person will often give you a new way to solve a problem with a completely different approach than you would have normally used.

So thanks to all those listed and all those I forgot. Have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy the madness of the holiday season that is now upon us!