Estimated reading time: 17 minutes

Flex Talk: New Engineering Talent Joining the Electronics Industry

Figure 6: Ross grinding insulation. (Source: U of M Solar Vehicle Project)

Olson: At this stage of our careers, the primary resource for students would be something through the U of M. A lot of my classmates have received internships and co-ops through the career fairs. I had the privilege of participating in the U of M’s co-op program where I received five credits and was paid while working.

It’s a great program, and the company that I matched with—PaR Systems—was a great fit. I thoroughly enjoyed working there and learned from some fantastic engineers. As far as internship and job opportunities go for students, career fairs are typically your best bet. I can’t stress enough that opportunities present themselves to individuals who take the initiative to put themselves into situations that foster that kind of interaction. For example, last fall, I had a rough semester. I took a few classes at the same time that I should not have taken together. Therefore, I kind of wrote off job hunting given the time it typically takes, and instead, planned to find an internship in the spring.

An alumnus of the team I knew from previous interactions approached me toward the end of the fall semester and asked if I wanted to interview at his company for an internship. The internship was in the industry I wanted to be in and provided the type of experience I was hoping to gain from my final internship before graduating. I could easily chalk this up to getting lucky or being in the right place at the right time, but I don’t think that’s like the takeaway from the story, nor do I want the takeaway to be that something will always fall in your lap, so it’s okay to be lazy about job hunting. The takeaway is that being involved, especially with the right people and groups, will present all sorts of unknown opportunities. Many times, networking is overlooked.

Dunn: Yes, as you saw at Geek-a-Palooza, I am a firm believer in networking and creating opportunities to meet others and build relationships. I am also a big believer in workplace programs for high school and college students. It sounds like having an engineering-based program available at the high school level may have helped you identify your interest in engineering at a younger age. Workforce programs are also gaining a lot of traction as we try to expose and encourage students to look at engineering as a career. What types of programs might have caught your interest?

Olson: You’re right. As I alluded to in one of my previous answers, there weren’t a lot of opportunities in electronics and engineering at my high school, and I wish there had been. It’s interesting because a lot of my fellow students seem to have had some exposure in high school through their robotics team or something else. I don’t have any idea what the percentage is, and maybe it’s because we’re in a metropolitan area of Minnesota, but I’ve noticed a difference here.

Overall, we’re trending in the right direction as far as what is being emphasized in high schools. I played sports in high school, and I think it’s beneficial to be a more well-rounded student. I’m not in education and I’m not claiming to be an expert on the subject matter, but I’ve seen a positive difference between when I was in high school versus the kids coming into college now.

I’m from Wisconsin, and I heard that my high school now has a technology lab space and is even teaching certain engineering courses now, which my younger cousins took. The classes may not offer the same depth as college-level courses, but it’s still a good thing to expose students to all of these different subjects that may help them relate the material they learn in their math and science courses to modern technology and real-world applications.

As soon as I graduate and start working and finally have some free time again, one of the first things I want to do is get involved with a local high school or middle school with some sort of STEM team, and if a school doesn’t have a program like that, I’d love to start one. Because, again, if something like that existed when I was in high school, I probably would have joined and maybe would have selected the correct major for myself on the first try. The point I’m trying to make is any program that exposes students to science, engineering, and technology is great. When you’re growing up, you form opinions about what is possible by looking at what and who are around you, such as projects, careers, etc.; it all shapes your outlook. Everyone’s perspective is relative to their environment, so the more exposure to STEM, the better. Our reliance on technology in the modern world isn’t going anywhere.

I really like the idea of technical competitions like FIRST Robotics. It doesn’t have to be robotics, but that’s the most popular program. Any sort of competition where you can get students working together as a team to complete a project is a great way to incorporate competition while exposing students to STEM. The coolest part is being able to offer the students a tangible outcome to all the work they put in because that’s when it gets fun! When an activity sparks an interest in a student, they might choose it as a career.

Dunn: Through a few internships and your experience with the team, you have been exposed to multiple areas of the electronics and engineering space. What do you see as some of the challenges and opportunities for someone about to enter the field?

Olson: Without sounding too biased or using a cliché, an obvious answer is in the renewable energy area, and I don’t just mean the jobs associated with the things that come to mind when you think of renewables, such as solar panels and wind turbines. I’m referring to any industry or business that may end up supporting the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. I try to stay away from buzz words, but another area I find quite interesting is the IoT space. As you’ve probably noticed, everything is a smart device these days. An insane number of devices now communicate wirelessly, but I still think there are plenty of opportunities for other businesses to utilize embedded technology for their specific application. Finally, there are still a ton of opportunities in the area of robotics and industrial automation. As technology continues to develop, certain operations will become possible to automate.

Dunn: Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me, Ross. I've enjoyed hearing your story and perspective.

Olson: Thanks again for asking me these questions. It has been a pleasure!

Tara Dunn is the president of Omni PCB, a manufacturer’s rep firm specializing in the PCB industry.

This column was originally published in the April 2019 issue of PCB007 Magazine.

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