Career Day at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences - Ray Murphy of US DOT speaking on careers in Engineering/Transportation May 11, 2012

1. Engineering/Careers
in Transportation
Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences
Career Day Program
May 11, 2012
Ray Murphy, US DOT - FHWA
ray.murphy@dot.gov

2. Topics
Introduction
Engineering
Attributes

3. Who am I?
 Ray Murphy
 Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Engineer
 US DOT / Federal Highway Administration
 Service: 12 yrs with US DOT & 24 yrs with Illinois DOT
 Education: BSEE (Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering)
Illinois Institute of Technology/Chicago
 Career: Electrical Construction, US Navy Officer, ITS Project Manager

4. Average of 40,000 fatalities annually
an average of about 118 people die each day
Winston Churchill’s quote captures it best…
“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.
The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
 Develop integrated solutions
 Leverage resources
 Build markets
4

5. US DOT
RITA
Research & Innovative
Technology Administration
http://www.rita.dot.gov/
www.dot.gov/
51 Federal-Aid Turner
FHWA HQ State Divisions Fairbank
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/field.html Highway
Research
Center
http://www.tfhrc.gov/
Office of Technical Services
Technology National
Partnership Resource Center Highway
Programs http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/ Institute
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hfl/tech.cfm http://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/
Technical Assistance – Technology Deployment – Training

6. Occupation Demographics
Transportation Administrative and
Technical/Clerical Specialist Program Management
Attorney
236 (8%) 248 (9%) 467 (16%)
49 (2%)
Secretary and Typist Civil Rights Specialist
31 (1%) 43 (2%)
Realty Specialist
Community Planner
50 (2%)
117 (4%)
Engineering Technician
*Other
153 (5%)
180 (6%)
Environmental
Specialist
Highway Engineer **Finance 99 (3%)
1012 (35%) 213 (7%)
*The "Other" consists of occupations
such as Student Trainees, Purchasing
Agents, Land Surveyors, Survey Total = 2,898
Technicians, Multimedia Specialists,
Ecologists, IT Specialists, etc.

7. What is an engineer?
 An engineer is a professional practitioner of
engineering, concerned with applying scientific
knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop
solutions for technical problems.
 Engineers are grounded in applied sciences, and
their work in research and development is distinct
from the basic research focus of scientists. The
work of engineers forms the link between scientific
discoveries and their subsequent applications to
human needs.

8. What does an Engineer do?
 Engineers apply the sciences of physics
and mathematics to find suitable
solutions to problems or to make
improvements to the status quo. More
than ever, engineers are now required
to have knowledge of relevant sciences
for their design projects. As a result,
they may keep on learning new material
throughout their career.

9. Some Engineering Professions
 Aerospace  Electrical
 Agricultural  Industrial
 Civil  Mechanical
 Chemical  Structural
 Computer  Systems

10. Careers in Transportation
There has always been a great demand for engineers. As
the economy continues to grow at a rapid pace, so does
the need for the latest technology as well as the people
who invent and apply it. For the past few years, there has
been a shortage of engineers nationwide. Thousands of
engineering positions are left unfilled, even with high
salaries. The average salary of engineers is nearly twice
of that across all industries. It certainly pays to be an
engineer.
Ray Murphy, ITS Specialist / Electrical Engineer

11. So
what
do I do?
11

12. A World With Connected
Vehicles and Travelers
latitude, longitude, time, heading angle, speed, lateral
acceleration, longitudinal acceleration, yaw rate,
throttle position, brake status, steering angle,
headlight status, wiper status, external temperature,
turn signal status, vehicle length, vehicle width,
vehicle mass, bumper height

13. Vehicle-based Probe Data
Weather Data & the
Connected Vehicle
13

14. Exciting and Rewarding Career
 Opportunity to work with experts from across
the nation (and internationally)
 Help customers (colleagues) solve problems
involving safety & technology
 Good pay and job benefits
 Continually face new challenges
 Opportunities to travel, learn and meet people

15. Chicago Locality Pay
Federal Employees
EFFECTIVE JANUARY 2012
Annual Rates by Grade and Step
Grade Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Step 9 Step 10
1 22272 23016 23756 24493 25234 25669 26401 27139 27168 27859
2 25041 25637 26465 27168 27473 28281 29090 29898 30706 31514
3 27322 28233 29143 30054 30965 31875 32786 33697 34608 35518
4 30672 31694 32716 33738 34760 35782 36804 37826 38849 39871
5 34316 35460 36603 37746 38890 40033 41177 42320 43463 44607
6 38252 39527 40801 42076 43351 44626 45900 47175 48450 49725
7 42508 43925 45342 46760 48177 49595 51012 52429 53847 55264
8 47076 48645 50214 51783 53351 54920 56489 58058 59626 61195
9 51995 53728 55461 57193 58926 60658 62391 64124 65856 67589
10 57260 59169 61078 62987 64896 66805 68714 70623 72532 74441
11 62909 65006 67102 69199 71296 73392 75489 77586 79682 81779
12 75403 77916 80429 82943 85456 87969 90482 92996 95509 98022
13 89664 92653 95641 98630 101619 104607 107596 110585 113573 116562
14 105956 109488 113019 116551 120082 123614 127145 130677 134209 137740
Careers in Transportation... 137098 141253 145407 149562 153717 155500 155500
15 124635 128789 132944

16. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
for Success
 Advanced Math and Sciences
 GoodWritten and Verbal
Communication skills
 Leadership, Management & Teamwork
 Advanced Computer application skills
 Passion – do what you enjoy!

17. Professional Associations
http://www.ite.org
Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers
http://www.ieee.org
http://www.geocities.com/awis_chicago/
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18. Best wishes with your education and future careers…
Questions
Ray Murphy, US DOT - FHWA
ray.murphy@dot.gov 708-215-0979
Careers in Transportation...