My semester is now over here at USC. And as I look back, my
interactions with two American engineers stand out - the second one
being none another than the legendary Steve Wozniak.
But let's start with the first one. Now I met this guy in a queue in the career fair held in the University in February and I don't even know his name. But my 5 minutes talking to him left quite an imprint. This guy was wrapping up his Electrical Engg. He had previously done an audio centric two-year course somewhere on the East Coast. After that he had worked as part of Engineers without Borders in China. And, daresay it, in India as well!! He had been to the north of my dear home country to a couple of places even more than I have been to :p
He said he came to USC to do a full fledged Electrical Engg course -and he did it in just as 2 yrs as against normal 4 - as he was really passionate about it. He said he wanted to earn some money now and then go back to working with Engineers without Borders.
I stood next to him all the time wondering how wonderfully this guy following his interest and passion in life. It is brilliant that he knows exactly what he wants to do and is doing well at it. This is something I have rarely seen in myself, and those of my ilk - Desi Engineers. We take up Engg because that's what "smart people" are supposed to study in school (or medical :D ). I guess, inhi baaton mein hi toh maat kha jaata hai India.
And
now onto the second American engineer I had the pleasure of an
interacting with. Steve Wozniak came to the USC and talked about his
love for engineering and his, and Apple's, beginnings. What struck me
was the passion the guy has about technology. I mean he could improve
upon circuit designs of massive companies such as IBM!! And now, after
all these years, is still as much in love about it all. The glint in his
eyes as he talked about his own work - like the first time they were
able to use a TVas a display for a computer - and about technologies
now-a-days - like his PDA being able to recognize his handwriting and
creating a reminder based on his message.
While not many people take up Engineering in this country - the passion amongst those who do seems quite exceptional.
Hope to catch some of that myself :D
But let's start with the first one. Now I met this guy in a queue in the career fair held in the University in February and I don't even know his name. But my 5 minutes talking to him left quite an imprint. This guy was wrapping up his Electrical Engg. He had previously done an audio centric two-year course somewhere on the East Coast. After that he had worked as part of Engineers without Borders in China. And, daresay it, in India as well!! He had been to the north of my dear home country to a couple of places even more than I have been to :p
He said he came to USC to do a full fledged Electrical Engg course -and he did it in just as 2 yrs as against normal 4 - as he was really passionate about it. He said he wanted to earn some money now and then go back to working with Engineers without Borders.
I stood next to him all the time wondering how wonderfully this guy following his interest and passion in life. It is brilliant that he knows exactly what he wants to do and is doing well at it. This is something I have rarely seen in myself, and those of my ilk - Desi Engineers. We take up Engg because that's what "smart people" are supposed to study in school (or medical :D ). I guess, inhi baaton mein hi toh maat kha jaata hai India.
And
now onto the second American engineer I had the pleasure of an
interacting with. Steve Wozniak came to the USC and talked about his
love for engineering and his, and Apple's, beginnings. What struck me
was the passion the guy has about technology. I mean he could improve
upon circuit designs of massive companies such as IBM!! And now, after
all these years, is still as much in love about it all. The glint in his
eyes as he talked about his own work - like the first time they were
able to use a TVas a display for a computer - and about technologies
now-a-days - like his PDA being able to recognize his handwriting and
creating a reminder based on his message.While not many people take up Engineering in this country - the passion amongst those who do seems quite exceptional.
Hope to catch some of that myself :D
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