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October 21, 2004
How Interesting are Engineers?
I read an interesting article in the latest IEEE Spectrum magazine about why there are not more women in engineering. Yes, I know that this is a popular discussion topic. Over the years of being an engineer, I have seen this topic get talked about to death. However, this article is the first I've read that justifies the lack of female engineers with the simple reason of "engineering is not a cool career". This statement literally made me laugh, ROTFL-style. The writer proceeds to talk about how there are no cool TV shows about engineering. Medicine has E.R., law has L.A. Law and Ally McBeal. There are no cool shows about engineering. I do disagree with the author's statement about Dilbert being the most famous engineer. I mean, Thomas Edison was an engineer. It's just that, way long ago, people were called different titles, like 'inventor' or 'tinkerer'. If I think about it, I would say that McGuyver was an engineering show. Sort of.
Anyhow, this is not to say that engineers are not interesting people. Check out Brian Fu's website, for instance. Brian is by education an electrical engineer. He also happens to be an expert performer of light and stage shows, an artist, a musician, and is working on his first book. The book is not about engineering, by the way. It is likely going to focus on his experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa. Download and watch Brian's movie which will showcase his talents. I'm betting that you'll be entertained. Forget the cool TV shows. We just need more engineers out there who are well-rounded and enjoy doing what they do. I've always thought Dilbert was kind of a loser anyway. Alice, on the other hand, could conceivably be labelled as 'cool'.
Posted by Kathy at October 21, 2004 10:12 PM