Career notes I've shared with various student groups

1. An engineer’s
career notebook
David Chandler
BSEE 92

2. why engineering?
fun to create things
pays better than a truck driver
bad engr job > accounting or HR
lim engr major = ?GPA->0

3. highly improbable path
2 yrs GPS engineer
RUnning a Perfect Web Site, quit job
1 yr consulting (aka losing money)
10 yrs contract (sysadmin, Web dev)
5 yrs Intuit, took 6 mos. off
Google

4. the rules have changed
29 yrs at one company is gone
Google didn’t exist when I graduated
or the WWW
engr degree gives you the tools to adapt
contracting has its advantages

5. find a job right for you
research is awesome (get a PhD)
so is teaching (prepare to travel)
and even tech sales (if you like people)
software companies may treat you better
than IT
CA companies are great to work for
(2870b)

6. how to find a job
ask people you know
the best jobs find you
post your resume on dice et al
go to user groups (Java, Ruby, etc.)
talk to recruiters (staffing firms)
Finding a Job You Can Love (Mattson)

7. career fairs
bring me a LONG resume!
that shows you love to code

8. how to keep your job
you can haz
(badSkills || badAttitude)
but not
(badSkills && badAttitude)

9. what will set you apart?
learn to dig (on the space shuttle)
never mind the docs, read the src
if you want to be the answer guy,
BE THE ANSWER GUY
write a blog, speak at a conf
hardest part is overcoming pride

10. professional maturity
leading edge:
search, find solution posted 3 days ago
bleeding edge:
search, no solution, ask, answered in 3
real programmer:
search, no solution, solve it yourself

11. professional maturity
expert:
search, no solution, you solve and post
consultant:
other people ask, you solve and post
aging consultant:
search, find solution ... that you wrote

12. personal maturity
a soft answer turns away wrath, but a
harsh word stirs up anger -- Pr 15:1ESV
the one who states his case first seems
right, until the other comes and
examines him -- Pr 18:17ESV
do you see a man skillful in his work?
he will stand before kings; he will not
stand before obscure men -- Pr 22:29ESV

13. keys for success
LISTEN -- experience trumps theory
DIG -- ‘nuff said
LABORatory, not labORATORY