5 answers
Fernando
Student
East Chicago, Indiana
1
Question
Updated
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What advice would you give to a future engineer who wants to make a lasting impact rather than just simply earning a degree #Spring25?
I will be majoring in Electrical Engineering in Purdue North West.
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5 answers
Josep Antonio Perez
Entry-Level Mechanical Engineer
16
Answers
Reno, Nevada
Updated
Josep Antonio ’s Answer
Hello Fernando,
Great motivation to make a positive difference in the world! It really depends on the kind of impact you want to make—whether social, environmental, or political. Pick one, then try to design solutions around these issues.
One simple way to start is by researching the issues that exist in your community or those that matter most to you. From there, you can think about how to use your education to help develop solutions.
For example, you could focus on innovation in the renewable energy sector. How can solar cells be designed to improve efficiency and utilization, making them more cost-effective to manufacture and more affordable for consumers?
Another approach could be designing refrigerators or other appliances that are more energy-efficient.
Hope this helps!
Joseph
Great motivation to make a positive difference in the world! It really depends on the kind of impact you want to make—whether social, environmental, or political. Pick one, then try to design solutions around these issues.
One simple way to start is by researching the issues that exist in your community or those that matter most to you. From there, you can think about how to use your education to help develop solutions.
For example, you could focus on innovation in the renewable energy sector. How can solar cells be designed to improve efficiency and utilization, making them more cost-effective to manufacture and more affordable for consumers?
Another approach could be designing refrigerators or other appliances that are more energy-efficient.
Hope this helps!
Joseph
Alexa Peruffo
Consulting
4
Answers
Boston, Massachusetts
Updated
Alexa’s Answer
Hello! This is a really great mindset to have going into your degree and it will absolutely serve you well in your professional future.
The greatest piece of advice I can give is to find your niche and pursue passions outside of the regular degree program. When graduation day comes, everyone around you will have gotten the same degree, but the passions you pursued outside of your ordinary studies will mean a lot more, they are what you will remember, and what will make you stand out among your peers. Look for clubs that align with your interests (e.g. building cars, rockets, hackathons, start-up clubs, etc.) and get involved to see what you like. These types of projects will make you both a better student and better prepared for your professional career.
In the end, feeling the impact of your work and degree comes down to the things you do outside of your required coursework. For me, I still have passion projects outside of my day-to-day job that make me feel like I'm making a difference and using the skills I learned to benefit others.
The greatest piece of advice I can give is to find your niche and pursue passions outside of the regular degree program. When graduation day comes, everyone around you will have gotten the same degree, but the passions you pursued outside of your ordinary studies will mean a lot more, they are what you will remember, and what will make you stand out among your peers. Look for clubs that align with your interests (e.g. building cars, rockets, hackathons, start-up clubs, etc.) and get involved to see what you like. These types of projects will make you both a better student and better prepared for your professional career.
In the end, feeling the impact of your work and degree comes down to the things you do outside of your required coursework. For me, I still have passion projects outside of my day-to-day job that make me feel like I'm making a difference and using the skills I learned to benefit others.
William Vvuko
Retired engineer
235
Answers
Moyo, Northern Region
Updated
William’s Answer
Hi Fernando,
Thank you very much for this question. I'm delighted that you are looking forward to becoming an electrical engineer. Engineering has always focused on resolving some of the pressing challenges humanity faces. Your joining the profession affords you the opportunity to contribute to this noble cause. The importance of knowledge lies in our ability to use it for addressing human needs. Practical knowledge, acquired through experience, tends to set us apart from the crowd. Opportunities for internships, mentorships and apprenticeships are excellent opportunities for learning through experience.
A culture of excellence in pursuing your studies and eventually at the place of work puts you in a good stead to succeed in your career.
To be able to utilize knowledge effectively and efficiently, you need to acquire important skills. These include: ability to plan, schedule & execute activities & work; organize; identify and solve problems; communicate effectively; work in teams; time management; collect, analyze & critically evaluate information etc.
Good planning greatly improves your chances of sustainable success. Identifying and solving problems creates improvements. We also need to organize ourselves, our activities and resources so we can efficiently discharge our responsibilities.
Effective communication is at the very heart of human relations and group activities. It's a two way street. Our ability to express ourselves clearly and rationally is just as important as our ability to listen to others.
Being able to work in teams improves our chances of success both individually and collectively. It allows individuals to pull together their different skills sets & experiences especially when addressing challenges. Teamwork also gives us a chance to learn from one another.
Modern decision making is driven by use of data. Our ability to collect, analyze and critically evaluate data helps us in this regard. Data analysis enables us to pick trends, correlations, deviations etc. that improve our decision making process.
How well we manage our time determines how much we achieve on a daily basis. Focusing on spending our time on important things is good practice. Important things are those that contribute in a significant way to the achievement of our goals. Sometimes our time is taken up by urgent things even when they are not important. Balancing our time for work, rest, travel, recreation, family, relatives and friends is crucial. It's achieved through experience and with time.
Social competence allows us to fit into the team environment & contribute effectively to team effort. We need important personal qualities to do this. Such qualities include commitment, perseverance, passion, empathy, self-control, self-drive, positive mindset, attention to detail, assertiveness, curiosity, willingnesss to take risks etc. Being able to get things done is influenced by these qualities.
Thank you very much for this question. I'm delighted that you are looking forward to becoming an electrical engineer. Engineering has always focused on resolving some of the pressing challenges humanity faces. Your joining the profession affords you the opportunity to contribute to this noble cause. The importance of knowledge lies in our ability to use it for addressing human needs. Practical knowledge, acquired through experience, tends to set us apart from the crowd. Opportunities for internships, mentorships and apprenticeships are excellent opportunities for learning through experience.
A culture of excellence in pursuing your studies and eventually at the place of work puts you in a good stead to succeed in your career.
To be able to utilize knowledge effectively and efficiently, you need to acquire important skills. These include: ability to plan, schedule & execute activities & work; organize; identify and solve problems; communicate effectively; work in teams; time management; collect, analyze & critically evaluate information etc.
Good planning greatly improves your chances of sustainable success. Identifying and solving problems creates improvements. We also need to organize ourselves, our activities and resources so we can efficiently discharge our responsibilities.
Effective communication is at the very heart of human relations and group activities. It's a two way street. Our ability to express ourselves clearly and rationally is just as important as our ability to listen to others.
Being able to work in teams improves our chances of success both individually and collectively. It allows individuals to pull together their different skills sets & experiences especially when addressing challenges. Teamwork also gives us a chance to learn from one another.
Modern decision making is driven by use of data. Our ability to collect, analyze and critically evaluate data helps us in this regard. Data analysis enables us to pick trends, correlations, deviations etc. that improve our decision making process.
How well we manage our time determines how much we achieve on a daily basis. Focusing on spending our time on important things is good practice. Important things are those that contribute in a significant way to the achievement of our goals. Sometimes our time is taken up by urgent things even when they are not important. Balancing our time for work, rest, travel, recreation, family, relatives and friends is crucial. It's achieved through experience and with time.
Social competence allows us to fit into the team environment & contribute effectively to team effort. We need important personal qualities to do this. Such qualities include commitment, perseverance, passion, empathy, self-control, self-drive, positive mindset, attention to detail, assertiveness, curiosity, willingnesss to take risks etc. Being able to get things done is influenced by these qualities.
Robert Epstein
General Manager
123
Answers
Wake Forest
Updated
Robert’s Answer
Hi Fernando,
In addition to the other fine answers here, let me add two other thoughts that have worked for me and may help you as well,
The greatest impactful pursuits have been when I applied my EE background at the leading edge of technology—where innovation can make a big difference. For example, seek out from technical magazines or science sources what are the hottest advances in STEM. Then ask yourself how you can apply these to make people’s lives better. For me many years ago, I took field-effect semiconductor technology in the emerging field of lasers, and then developed laser instrumentation for the medical field.
The second area for making a meaningful contribution is introducing existing technology to a wholly different segment of society that can benefit from it. Think about folks that have been doing vital tasks in an old fashioned way, but you know that using some modified tech device would improve their tasks greatly. Decades ago I rebuilt military imaging systems so that firemen could use it during their “mop up” operations. They could now use the redesigned imager to locate hidden dangerous hot spots that still remained after the fire was extinguished, even in smoke-filled rooms.
There are so many new EE developments now where you can make a lasting impact. All the best to you in your career!
In addition to the other fine answers here, let me add two other thoughts that have worked for me and may help you as well,
The greatest impactful pursuits have been when I applied my EE background at the leading edge of technology—where innovation can make a big difference. For example, seek out from technical magazines or science sources what are the hottest advances in STEM. Then ask yourself how you can apply these to make people’s lives better. For me many years ago, I took field-effect semiconductor technology in the emerging field of lasers, and then developed laser instrumentation for the medical field.
The second area for making a meaningful contribution is introducing existing technology to a wholly different segment of society that can benefit from it. Think about folks that have been doing vital tasks in an old fashioned way, but you know that using some modified tech device would improve their tasks greatly. Decades ago I rebuilt military imaging systems so that firemen could use it during their “mop up” operations. They could now use the redesigned imager to locate hidden dangerous hot spots that still remained after the fire was extinguished, even in smoke-filled rooms.
There are so many new EE developments now where you can make a lasting impact. All the best to you in your career!
Raghu Anna
Regional Sales Manager
1
Answer
Cedar Park, Texas
Updated
Raghu’s Answer
Hi Fernando,
I agree with the other advisors—your forward thinking is impressive!
Start by focusing on what you truly enjoy. Aligning your personal interests with impactful work can make a big difference. For example, finding ways to harness more solar energy is a great idea. Electrical engineering offers many paths, so choose what you like. Don't be afraid to switch to other impactful ideas as you explore and implement them.
Best wishes!
Listen to industry leaders that you like.. Steve Jobs, Elon Musk etc
I agree with the other advisors—your forward thinking is impressive!
Start by focusing on what you truly enjoy. Aligning your personal interests with impactful work can make a big difference. For example, finding ways to harness more solar energy is a great idea. Electrical engineering offers many paths, so choose what you like. Don't be afraid to switch to other impactful ideas as you explore and implement them.
Best wishes!
Raghu recommends the following next steps: