systems integration

With all due respect, you sound like you should be in marketing.

You're going to have to do what we all did. Spend a few years designing the boxes that some else specified.

You are being trained to design the boxes. If all you want to do is connect the cables of someone else's boxes, your talents will be sorely underused.

Good engineering is only about 25% creativity. The rest is aquired experience, common sense, discipine and at least a little teamwork. As one of my old bosses said, anyone can build one of something in his garage for $100. A real engineer can build 1000 for $5 each and have them all work.

Reply to
Jim Stewart
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does anyone have any pointers for a computer engineer (only one more year, yay) seeking to move into systems integration?

i'd like to develop hybrid computing systems and consumer appliances of a portable nature. i see the ability to integrate a diverse number of technologies and hardwares as essential to this role. more importantly, i feel myself capable of leveraging these technologies to synergistic ends, that the pieces more than make up the sum of their parts.

when i get out of college, chances are, i'll be given projects and told what to do. the official iternary of my life has always had four years of nose to the grindstone, just out of necessity. with only a year left of college, i'm wondering what do i need to learn, what do i need to do so that i can eventually become the one handing out all the projects i've thought up, be the one figuring out how the pieces go together, not just moving them into place for someone else?

i am an overwhelmingly technical person, and my technical abilities are superseeded only by my creativity. i'd like very much to put both to good use. i am most gracious for any words of wisdom or experience you can bestow upon me.

Myren

Reply to
myren, lord

Myren,

Consider reposting this to misc.business.moderated. There are quite a few self employed people there who are in similar professions, and I've recently seen a few discussions of this nature.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Turco

On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 17:02:00 -0400, "myren, lord" wrote in comp.arch.embedded:

Learn proper punctuation. No matter how cool you think you are, to succeed in engineering, business, or any other profession you will need to communicate effectively both orally and in writing. There are an enormous number of people who will automatically deprecate, or dismiss completely, your communications on this non-conformity alone. Many of these will be people you will need to impress to further your ambitions.

Anyone who natively crafts sentences with phrases like "leveraging these technologies to synergistic ends" does not impress me as one who has a high probability for having a rewarding career in engineering. For a variety of reasons.

In engineering, unless you start your own business, you will have to pay your dues before you can reach the position where you can call the shots. Even then, decisions of the type you are talking about are not engineering decisions alone. Most engineers, left to themselves, would devise and develop, funds permitting, incredible technological marvels that could not be sold profitably, or at all. True success, even in technical fields, requires a wide variety of skills, including even the dreaded marketing department.

Unless you are wealthy enough to bankroll your own projects, you probably have two real choices initially.

The first is to work in engineering and work your way up with experience and proven performance. Possibly take part-time or night classes to get an MBA on top of your engineering degree. While that is not a path that appeals to me, I have known those who have done this successfully. Proper business education combined with technical education and some years experience using the technical skills can be a good base for someone with the right stuff to expand from.

The other possibility also involves business acumen. Put together a business plan and attract venture capital. But without some proven success in technical work, this can be very difficult.

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Jack Klein
Home: http://JK-Technology.Com
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Jack Klein

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