IEEE-USA Careers Conference (picture)
The IEEE-USA 1998 Careers Conference...Engineering Careers into the 21st Century...was held at the Sheraton Crescent in Phoenix Arizona, April 30 - May 1, 1998. Carl Wick, retired from NCR, was the conference chair, and he led a balanced group of presentations and sessions on a breadth of related topics.
The conference spanned the interests of students through those late in their practicing careers. For the former, introductions to HR practices such as performance reviews and statistical projections were balanced by down-to-earth discussions of technology change and the urgent need for continuing education. The point was made more than once that in the 21st Century engineers would be responsible for their own professional market value, and that keeping up to date technically was the only assurance of continued rewarding employment. Nigel Bristow, President of Targeted Learning, Inc., argued that increasingly intellectual capital has replaced physical capital as the main source of shareholder value, thus arguing the employer’s incentives for continuing education. (I would claim he left out operations processes as the third "leg" of value, but his key point is very important for new and midcareer engineers to understand and act upon.) I gave a paper recommending that the IEEE and similar Societies take a major role in performing and leading actual contract R&D, a discussion I have shared with Ken Laker and several Board members.
The program was rounded out with sessions on the role of Professional Societies in career development, and "There’s hope for Over Age 50 Engineers"...including consulting and entrepreneurship. While the attendance in many of the sessions was small (under 15-20) the discussion was lively.
-- Submitted by Ralph Wyndrum, Past President of CPMT Society