Endangered species
Where are all the Electrical Engineers?
Those introvert, socially challenged, soft spoken and most are suffering from electrocution trauma are slowly dwindling in numbers.
I graduated BS in Electrical Engineer(BSEE) in Ateneo de Davao almost a decade ago and we were 9 to march successfully on graduation day. The year previous that, there was only 3. Couple of years after that, BS in Electronics Communications Engineering as well as BS in Architechture was added that caused even fewer EE enrollees.
Slowly, Electrical Engineers are getting fewer each year and possible reasons are:
1. You need to be good in MATH. Not only good but exceptionally good. Understanding Fourier Transformations and Transient analysis is not for everybody. It involves complex integral calculus that solving it sometimes makes me vomit.
But until now, I have not used any of these computation stuff in real world work!
2. Limited local opportunities to work with. If somebody asked an EE student where he plans to work after he graduates, all he could answer Davao Light, Meralco, Sky Cable or worse comes to worse be an Electrician. Many would land as software developers even though they are not trained to be such.
3. It ain’t cool to be an EE. I’ve never seen a movie or TV show that the lead character was an EE. Usually it’s a doctor, lawyer or a detective but never an EE. Simply put, I have a degree that is considered boring to many. Simply not GLAMOROUS.
I’m proud to be an EE and I am willing to spend time advocating on saving this endangered species. We still need competent engineers to design electrical systems and other building requirements that ensures the safety of electrical installation on our homes and place of work. We need people to make sure that we have electricity so that we can work, watch TV and have a comfortable life as much as possible. We need people who can invent things and make things cheaper and easier to use.
Although for now, I have shifted to another career - I’m now a Web Developer - I still intend to be back one day and contribute innovative ideas that I learned being an EE.
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Just when I though nobody is an Electrical Engineer on TV, here comes Claudine Barretto just graduating EE from the episode ‘Walang Kapalit’ .
How did I know? Well I’ve seen the EE books she carries to school same as mine when we were in college!
Hehehe. I was actually wondering what course she was really taking because I saw various engineering books, and not just for EE that she was studying. I was so amused that I had to post about it: http://vaes9.codedgraphic.com/posts/bs_engineering
When I was young I remember having a conversation with an old friend (licensed EE) who said that an EE License is only for impressing the chicks. I keep those words in mind when I entered college. And guess what, we was correct.
And by the way, EE are in high demand in Australia these days.
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