An Insatiable Curiosity Make Good Engineers Says Philadelphia CTO
Rob Shaddock is the executive vice president & chief technology officer at TE Connectivity based in Berwyn, PA. TE Connectivity is a $14 billion global technology leader. Its connectivity and sensor solutions are essential in today's increasingly connected world. The company has 80,000 people, including 7,500 design engineers. They partner with customers in over 150 countries across a wide range of industries.
What sort of education is needed to successfully do your job?
"The types of education needed are life teachings, especially in being curious, creative, solving problems, collaborative, communicative, and an engineering education – as well as other key disciplines such as mechanical, electrical, chemical, material science, biomedical, aerospace, computer…you name it!"
What is the most relevant aspect of your education that applies to your day-to-day job?
"In engineering school, you learn how to problem solve from start to finish, cradle-to-grave, and these days with sustainability and reuse, even cradle-to-cradle. You then brainstorm, form ideas, and let the best ones bubble to the top - keep some in the hopper as fall-back plans - assess the pros/cons (risks), choose and develop the best idea, test, deliver, operate, analyze, refine, and report out."
"In school, it is often required you wear all hats - or at least understand all the comprehensive areas vs. working in a silo - to deliver your project. It's your project, your grade. Engineering requires you to be a project manager, inventor, communicator, jack of all trades, all-in-one every day."
What is the most fun aspect of your job?
"The most fun aspect of the job is watching new innovations come to life as we develop everything from futuristic materials, wearable smart textiles, and miniature connectors/assemblies, and we automate our manufacturing factories with vision-guided robots and deliver physical prototypes in a matter of hours using the power of 3D printing."
"Another fun aspect is unleashing 7,500 talented engineers around the world with no barriers to help our customers solve the world's challenges, especially ones they don't even know about yet."
What advice would you give someone just starting out in the field of technology?
"If you have an insatiable curiosity, be an engineer – there are so many disciplines in so many areas! Also, if you love figuring out what makes things work, and how you can make things work better, be an engineer. Last but not least, if you want to be at the forefront of the internet of things, be an engineer. We'd love to have yet another curious engineer in our ranks."
Christina Thompson is a freelance writer living in Philadelphia. She reports on various topics such as; Social Media, Local Events, Entertainment, Food and Drink and more. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.