Being an engineer

The demand for engineers is at all time high. The number of U.S. citizens who attend engineering schools is low and the Congress has initiated a motion to grant Ph.D. graduates from STEMS area permanent residency immediately. That is, engineering is a promising career.

From my personal experience, I was so exited to get my first job as a power engineer. My company is located in St. Paul Minnesota. My previous three years was spent in Morgantown WV as a Ph.D. student. It was at Minnesota I started to learn America and America culture. What a great opportunity to be in Minnesota. At weekends, one checks all these arts and history museums or has the leisure time at lakes close-by. Summer time is extremely beautiful in Minnesota. While driving, one listens to MPR and the authentic American English. Daily life consists of reading Star Tribune, listening to orchestra at UMN and attending debates at Humphrey institute. Career life is even greater. I met several industry mentors who gave me great help in every aspect of career development and personal life management. And I was busy attending workshops and had chance to meet colleagues around the nation and built connections all around the industry.

The US engineering industry is a place with talented people around the nation and the world. And it is diversified. There are many foreigners. Many current professors at US universities make this kind of comment: it is necessary for an engineering professor to spend a few years in industry.

From the point of view of ``running a business'' at a university and keep a research group, industry support is the key to keep a group of decent size. Industry support gives us prominent position in a department. Close-tie with industry makes research having the balance of practical interest and theoretic depth.

All in all, I shall say I was quite proud of my engineering background.