Successful Career in Science &

Technology
Naresh Chand
BAE Systems, Wayne, NJ 07059

What is success?

Gaining or achieving the desired goal

We must define our career goals

Chances favor the prepared mind - Louis Pasteur

If we dont know where we want to get to, it does not matter which way
we go Cheshire Cat

Work towards achieving the defined goals

Prepare to pay the necessary price

Even to win a lottery, we need to buy a ticket

If we do our best with right attitude, everything is success and

nothing is a failure

I rarely end up where I was intending to go, but often end up somewhere
that I needed to be - Douglas Adams

We are the authors of our actions but the results are subject to hidden
laws of nature Karma Yoga

Primary goal of life

Pursuit of Happiness

Happiness is a state of mind based on perceived needs

PHYSICAL NEEDS
Physiological: Food, shelter, clothes,
Safety
Job security
SOCIAL NEEDS
Belongingness and love: Intimate family members and
friends.
Esteem and status: Drive for higher standing, reputation,
and prestige relative to others.
SELF ACTUALIZATION NEED
Personal system of values leading to self realization.
A right choice of career with wisdom can fulfill most of these needs.
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Happiness for:
An hour :
Take a nap

A day
Go on picnic

A week
Go on vacation

A month
Get married

A year
Inherit wealth
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Happiness for the lifetime

Enjoy what you do for living
(Then you will never have to work)

When work is pleasure, life is a joy.

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Why Science and Engineering (S&E) career?

Fruits of S&E are essential to our modern society.

For a respectful, honest and meaningful life

To improve quality of life, develop the next generation of products and

technologies, combat hunger and disease,

To join the community of intellectuals and exchange knowledge with them

To learn laws of nature and formulate theories for new ways of thinking

To sow seeds and then help the plants bear fruits

To do wonders by combining talent, technical skills, logical minds and proper

human interfaces

To be an entrepreneur

Study of S&E is challenging. It is not for everyone because it is very

rigorous and demanding physically, mentally, and emotionally.
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Scientists and engineers see

themselves
Ambitious
Assertive
Caring
Clever
Confident
Emotional
Determined
Creative
Possessing leadership capability
Rational
Cooperative
Competitive

Persevering
Hardworking
Risk taker
People oriented
Machine oriented
Passive
Team player
Intuitive
Imaginative
Logical
Methodical

S&E offers numerous career opportunities

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University Teaching (need MS or Ph.D.)

Basic or fundamental research (Need Ph.D.)
- More by academia, disappearing in corporate world

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Applied research (MS or Ph.D.)

Defense services
Civil administrative services
United Nations, world Bank, or other international services
Foreign service
Product (both hardware & software) development
Product manufacturing
Communication service providers (TELCOs, satellite and cableTV)
Product or project management
Marketing & Sales
Technical services
Entrepreneurships
Financial world (investment and banking)
Law Patent law
Patent inspector
Medical field Technical jobs
S&E opens more doors than any other discipline.
High School science teachers
If one door closes, another opens so long
Entertainment industry

we are flexible and mobile.

Excel in whatever career you choose

Burn as bright and as long as possible in the service of what really matters
Compete against yourself, not others, for that is who
is truly your best competition - -Feggy Flemming

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A few technological trends in Electronics and Computers Engineering

Continued innovations in consumer products withy friendly human interfaces

Embedded intelligence
Software defined devices and systems
Dynamically reconfigurable communication networks
System of systems
Mobile ad hoc networks
For technology trends:
Proceedings of IEEE
Sensor Networks
January issues of IEEE spectrum
Alternative energy sources
Subjects of Technology Conferences (e.g., MILCOM )
Scavenge of energy
Micro sensor networks
Energy efficient network protocols
Multilevel security
Technologies to deal with terrorist threats

Detect human intentions

Look through concrete walls to detect human movement
Remote detection of explosive material
Persistent surveillance

More functionality at reduced size, weight, power and costs

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Hardware, software, firmware and glueware

Hardware continues to get better, smaller, lighter and cheaper

Software is getting bigger, more complex, and expensive

Through firmware (embedded software), products are becoming

more intelligent

As the product matures, 15% cost is hardware and 85% cost is

software

Often products fail due to software

So software offers more opportunities

Glueware is most important in making system of systems work in

the global economy

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BS, MS, MBA or PhD?

Depends on our goals
Many people find satisfying careers just after BS
MS or MBA can equip us well for professional careers
PhD is required for research and university teaching
No degree guarantees lifetime employment.
You may have to change jobs and even careers
Lay the foundation for your journey, no matter how many
turns your path takes.
We need to continue learning to avoid obsolescence
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Careers in science and engineering have changed

Fewer full-time academic and R&D positions in
Universities, Industries, and Government labs

Global competition and outsourcing

Demand for a breadth of competencies, both managerial
and technical
Working on wrong or risky technologies
Threat from disruptive technologies
Too early or too late in the market
Wall street pressure, downsizing and limited resources
More opportunities in military and home land security
We need to be more flexible and mobile for more
opportunities and control over our careers
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Evaluating possible careers

Watch people around you
People play multiple roles. Find which role appeals to
you
Ask where do you want to be after 5 years
Consider your personal values and circumstances
The more we plan our career, the better we can face
unplanned events.

Decide what you want to do and

make others to pay for it.
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Action points
Talk to people working in the fields of your interests
Their work and how they got where they are today
How do they spend their time?
What do they find most satisfying and most disagreeable?
Does the life that they describe appeal to you?
Ask them if anything they wished they had known early in their
careers.

Pursue every opportunity to gain first-hand practical experience

Go to conferences, trade shows, and job fairs
Build network of friends and well-wishers
If you are in a wrong field, change it.

Most of us would rather hold on to a familiar pain

than trade it to unfamiliar pleasure - unknown

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While employed:

Always respect your hiring manger

Ask, if you dont know
Go an extra mile
Try to work on winning and long-term projects
Find team-mates or collaborators
Give credit to others. They will credit you
Take advantage of career development opportunities at work
Be honest to yourself and others
Never stop learning
In the beginning, learn as much technical skills as possible
Work hard and smartly as best as you can
Be ready to accept higher and meaningful responsibilities
Periodically evaluate your career
Beware of disruptive technologies and economic conditions
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You can achieve anything if you do not care who gets credit President Reagan

Find a mentor
A mentor listens to us and gives advice and objective
feedback with our interests at heart
A mentor shows us the rope at the time of distress
A mentor identifies our internal strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats
A mentor in your organization is more beneficial in teaching
corporate culture and valuable career moves.
Help us think through career options and goals and
develop action plans
We usually have multiple mentors
A two way street
We get advice and the mentor gets the chance to pass on wisdom
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We need to be visionary, innovative and creative

Make full use of head, heart and hands

Self and highly motivated

Self learner, enthusiastic, optimistic, and risk takers

Naturally curious, visionary, humorous, and self-accepting

Adaptive, reflective, committed, intuitive, analytic and collaborative

Articulate, resilient, persevering, and inspired

Tolerate ambiguity, strive for perfection, and love to do jobs at hands

Think objectively and have uncommon capacity for self instruction

Challenge the status quo

Innovators require no policing environment

They want their ideas to be heard and listened

Champions arent made in gyms. Champions are made from something
they have deep inside them a desire, a dream, and a vision.
- Muhammad Ali

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Some winning strategies

We are responsible for our career

Dont count on others, laws and regulations
Be comfortable with yourself and project a winning image
Seek and accept help graciously, and prepare to listen NO
Build clusters and networks of friends and well wishers
If unsuccessful, change the game
Be persistent, never give up
Help others and others will help you
Recognize your hidden strengths and weaknesses
Thank others and express gratitude for their help
Gratitude resonates: People who feel appreciated are more
willing to help those who make them feel valued
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To be mentally strong, bring spirituality in your Life

To be fearless
To purify head and heart

Spirituality: Knowing who am I?

To discover a path for self-realization or enlightenment More we know ourselves, more

burden of the life is gone
We need
Spiritual strength: commitment to our deepest values regardless of circumstances or
any personal sacrifices, and
Spiritual flexibility: tolerance for values and beliefs that are different from ours, so long
they dont bring harm to others.
Spirituality is not religion which is about fear (fear of unknown) and worldly desires

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is to be understood.

- Marie Curie

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Keep your head and heart clean

Anything that is used becomes dirty

Head and heart are used constantly and can be full of garbage, if
not cleaned
A varieties of agents for cleaning body, none for internal cleaning
A meaningful prayer, meditation and service to others is internal
purifying
Remove jealousy, hatred and various other painful emotions and
bring their opposites in your lives
Be kind to yourself and others.
Find out the features in you and others which are definitely
appreciable.
Accept non-conducive situations cheerfully without reacting,
complaining or blaming.
Clean head and heart before going to sleep like cleaning teeth .
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Take a lesson from a tree

Stand Tall and proud

Sink your roots into the earth

Be content with natural beauty
Go out on a limb
Drink plenty of water
Remember your roots
Enjoy the view and your true nature

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Summary

Define your short- term and long-term career goals

Make a careful choice of your career
Take advantage of dynamic, and vibrant global economy
Find a mentor, and ask if you dont know
Seek and accept help graciously
Build network of friends
Continue learning to avoid stagnation and obsolescence
The more flexible and mobile we are, the more
opportunities we will have and the greater will be our
control over the shape of our career
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