Networking, telecom and fiber optics offer a host of opportunities for engineers.

 

You’re in good company if you’re planning to forge an engineering career in the fields of networking, fiber optics and telecommunications.

For those considering a path within the networking industry, it’ll continue to experience a high demand, as firms invest in newer, faster technology and mobile networks. In fact, a 6% growth rate is projected by 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

For telecom engineers in 2016, the mean salary was $94,820, and for electrical engineers in general, the average salary in 2016 was $96,270 annually. Employment is expected to grow 7% through 2026, states BLS.

Career pathways vary and are not without their challenges, as we’ve discovered via our interviews with up-and-coming minority engineers in such fields. Overcoming the discouraging national trend, for instance, of girls having limited exposure to engineering, was the plight for a rising star at one telecommunications firm, while learning English proved an early hurdle for a shining star at a multinational conglomerate.

Their stories of educational commitment, perseverance and paying it forward are sure to inspire, inform and guide the paths of those seeking to follow their footsteps and take advantage of the opportunity the engineering field offers.

 

Guevara Forges a Project Management Path at AT&T

For new college graduates, imagine yourself over the next 10, 20 years, what type of profession suits you, what your plan looks like once you’re hired - it’s key to success, asserts Marcos Guevara, professional tech project manager for AT&T.

“Once you know where you want to go, the real work starts. People already working around you will feel your confidence,” says Guevara, who speaks from experience.

A math lover, he knew he’d ultimately pursue physics, math or engineering. After completing a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering in his native Honduras, he came to the U.S. and took English as a second language (ESL) classes in Texas.

“Learning English was a big challenge, but it was the first step for me to continue moving on with my engineering degree. There was no other option,” reports Guevara, who worked here to pay for the schooling. He quickly adopted a self-described “bubble approach” to his studies.

“I didn’t hang out with people who only spoke Spanish. I was able to learn English faster and finish my classes in a year,” he says.

Afterward, Guevara achieved a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas, during which he applied and was subsequently hired for an internship at Ericsson.

“For a better chance at a full-time job, I needed an internship, so I put myself out there. There I learned about analyzing data, how networks performed, how to improve them when sites were down or when there was bad coverage,” says Guevara.

Upon graduation “I received offers from companies like Nokia and Texas Instruments. I wanted to go in to telecom and management. I like to be in control, to see how things get created and evolve. Overseeing a project to the end motivates me,” notes Guevara, who ultimately took a position as a specialist project manager for AT&T. 

“The company has all of the systems and tools and trainings to allow you to improve yourself without help from others.”

Supervisors noticed Guevara’s take-charge ability and handed off projects to him, including one that involved analyzing and resolving external and internal interference of micro towers.

“I had good results, and they knew I wanted to become a project manager. I was ready,” says Guevara, who was rotated to a different department and ultimately promoted to his current role.

“They wanted someone who could create process, manage vendors, stay on track to meet end-of-year goals. This is why I was promoted,” indicates Guevara, who’s finishing up his MBA at Texas A&M University, which is fully paid for by Dallas, TX-based AT&T.

“My MBA will help me to gain more opportunities within my department here. I want to keep moving up - to area manager or director positions.”

Mentors have been an asset to Guevara along his path, as well. “At AT&T you’re assigned mentors within a rotational program as a new hire. I met with mine every other week for coffee to learn what worked out well for him and not. This helped me a lot, as well as having a great boss, who always had a door open for me to ask questions and share my experience.”

Involvement in organizations such as AT&T’s Latino Resource Group has been helpful to Guevara, too.

“It’s opened my eyes to know how many Latinos AT&T has - and that I’m not alone in this. It’s helped me ground myself and keep pushing forward,” he says.

For those interested in his field, Guevara advises: “Do the trainings your employer provides you, take advantage of them and go the extra mile. Think out of the box. Just because something is done a specific way, it may need to be changed. Don’t be afraid to fail, and if you do, fail fast, then pick up and keep moving.”

For updated information on jobs and careers visit att.jobs. Connect on Twitter @ATT, on Facebook @ATT and on LinkedIn at AT&T.

 

Williams Breaks Barriers at CenturyLink

Bria Williams is breaking barriers. “There’s a small percentage of African-American women in the technology space, and I think I’m one of three with big, natural hair at my job,” says Williams, associate engineer for CenturyLink’s Global Operations Leadership Development (GOLD) Rotational Program.

“Wherever I go, I have to ensure I’m representing people that look like me in the best way possible. I want a technical space full of diverse employees to be the new ‘normal,’” she says.

With a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the Louisiana Scholars’ College at Northwestern State University, Williams says: “I had no idea what engineering was until I was about to graduate from college. There are no members of my family who are engineers. The first black technical woman I aspired to be was an actor in the Hidden Figures movie.”

She continues: “I wish I would’ve been more interested in the field earlier, but I didn’t think it would appeal before I immersed myself within a technology company, and saw how innovative and transformational the field truly is.”

During senior year at college, Williams approached a recruiter at CenturyLink’s career fair exhibit table.

“She mentioned CenturyLink was a Fortune 500 company and a leader in the technology space,” says Williams, who shared a common African-American sorority membership with the hiring representative.

“She suggested I apply for an internship, which ultimately transformed in to a full-time position. Whenever I had downtime I reached out to those around me to see if they needed an extra hand. Being proactive helped me to obtain the job I have today,” explains Williams.

“Because of the connections I made by reaching out, my name was not forgotten when it was time to recommend new hires.”

Lacking an engineering background hasn’t hindered Williams’ organizational rise. “If I don’t know something, then I have a friend who knows. People have been my greatest asset for on-the-job training. I’ve tried to job shadow people in various areas to understand how all of the different pieces fit together,” she says.

“For example, I’ve done site surveys with an engineer in the field and then sat with another engineer who takes the site survey data and inputs the information in to the Network Design System. I know I entered this field in a non-traditional way, and I’m very eager to get bits of knowledge from anyone willing to share with me.”

Currently “I analyze data, and compile executive reports on monthly operations and financials for the engineering/construction department. I’m also project manager for an initiative to create an automated scorecard that ranks employees using performance metrics,” she details.

Williams’ involvement in networking and community organizations has enabled her to give back and gain leadership experience. At college she spent much time at Helping Hands, which serves individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, and at Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first sorority created for and by African-American women.

She was also instrumental in reinstating The African American Caucus, which provides space for students to discuss prominent issues in this community.

Once at CenturyLink “I was lucky to be part of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) such as Women Empowered and Alliance of Black Technology professionals,” says Williams, who, through her participation, has had the chance to speak to young girls about the importance of STEM education.

In addition, “last year the company put on a diversity week. Executive leadership was involved, and there were lots of breakout sessions that catered to minorities. One of my favorite events was a roundtable discussing how to incorporate more female leadership at the company.”

Mentors are another key to Williams’ success.

“I have personal and professional mentors that I’ve sought out here as a sounding board. They are always full of wise council,” describes Williams.

“When the full-time position opened in the rotational program, my manager/mentor pushed me to apply. She assured me I was more than qualified. Because she had faith in me, when I didn’t have faith in myself, I’m a part of this awesome program today.”

Being willing to adapt and grow is important, adds Williams.

“I always want to stay current with the field and if that means I need to head back to university, then I’ll pack my backpack. I would love to attend Harvard Business School to obtain a Master [of] Business Administration,” she shares.

“In the meantime I’ve been working on various certifications in project management. My end-goal is to be in an executive-level management position. I plan to reach my goal by learning as much as I can, working as hard as I can and being nice to everybody I meet in the process.”

For updated jobs and career information visit https://jobs.centurylink.com/. Connect on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube @centurylink.

 

Bohannan-Pea Connects for Success at Arrow

There are no bad questions. This is one of the biggest pieces of advice Victoria Bohannan-Pea can offer up-and-coming engineers.

With her self-described natural-born curiosity and confidence, Bohannan-Pea - who today is an associate applications engineer for Arrow Electronics at its Centennial, CO headquarters - recalls wanting to learn how to fix things as s kid.

“Initially I wanted to be a surgeon, but was kind of squeamish, so instead of medicine, I turned to engineering. I thought they (engineers) could do just about everything,” says Bohannan-Pea.

On a partial academic scholarship, she achieved a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering at Colorado State University, where she grew active with The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).

In fact, she helped re-establish her school’s NSBE chapter, and assumed leadership roles throughout her college career - from historian to vice president.

The group encouraged her to attend her college’s engineering career fairs, and at one such event, Bohannan-Pea wasted no time questioning recruiters from Arrow Electronics about its endeavors.

“I told them I was interested in what they were doing, and they gave me an internship opportunity,” recalls Bohannan-Pea, who interned there for the next three summers.

“The experience helped me to decide which classes to take as a sophomore.”

Again, she credits her Socratic manner for helping to establish a winning rapport with her employer.

“Take initiatives. Don’t just sit around twiddling thumbs. The biggest thing I did right was ask questions in an effort to figure things out” shares Bohannan-Pea, who was hired by Arrow upon graduation.

“By then I knew I wanted to go into the Engineering Solutions Center, which supports the field assets and application engineers. We go out and talk to suppliers and companies that need our help. Questions are sent to our department, and we make connections for them.”

During the next three years Bohannan-Pea plans to gain more technical experience.

“This is my first job in general, and as an electrical engineer. I have a general knowledge base in WiFi and switches, and I’m trying to become an expert in this, and work on my coding skills. After that, I’ll see what other opportunities open up,” she says.

“Arrow is guiding innovation forward. I think, in five years, you’ll need a broad background to succeed.”

The company is also a leader in diversity initiatives, according to Bohannan-Pea.

As an on-going advisor to NSBE, Bohannan-Pea reports that “last year Arrow started a summer program with them, through which I meet area kids, encouraging them to think about STEM. It’s nothing to be afraid of - they’re smart enough to handle these concepts.”

What’s Bohannan-Pea’s advice to those following her path? “Don’t be afraid to make connections. Networking is very important. In college get involved with extra curriculars - it’s the perfect way to start networking,” she answers.

“When starting out in the workforce, you’re not going to be able to fulfill every piece in a job description, but if you sell yourself in the things you know how to do best and express that you’re teachable and willing to learn, that’s really helpful,” she concludes.

For updated jobs and careers information visit arrow.com/en/careers/careers-at-arrow. Connect on Twitter @arrowglobal, on Facebook @arrowfiveyearsout and LinkedIn at Arrow Electronics.

 

Liang Innovates the Future of Supercomputing at HP Labs

Di Liang was named for greatness. “My given name comes in part, from Thomas Edison. My parents wanted me to be a scientist, like my great grandfather,” says Liang, who achieved his Bachelor of Science in optical engineering in China, and later, both a masters’ degree and Ph.D. in electrical engineering at The University of Notre Dame right here in the U.S.

“They told me I could go anywhere and contribute a lot to human society in this discipline.”

What drove Liang’s early research as an undergrad and grad student, was his curiosity and interest in discovering something unknown.

“It’s part of my DNA,” elaborates Liang, who says his first chance to see how a product that he initiated got developed was as a graduate summer intern for a Shanghai, China-based company with U.S. headquarters.

There he led an in-depth study on diode laser packaging and reliability, reported on the statistical analysis to design and fabrication departments, and developed the optimal packaging and burn-in characterization techniques for the China facility.

“Optics are powerful technology,” notes Liang. “Besides telecom, it can be used for medical and military purposes, and became something I wanted to continue.”

During post-doctoral work at UCLA Santa Barbara’s electrical and computer engineering department, while developing a “promising new integration platform,” Liang says, “HP Labs approached my advisor about funding the project, and [I] became the first remote researcher in this field to join HP Labs.”

He works in the research and development (R&D) unit at Hewlett Packard Labs. HP Labs works in collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) business groups to deliver the innovation that propels its growth, industry leadership and competitive advantage. It’s charged with fueling engineering innovation for HPE businesses.

Palo Alto, CA-based HPE was established a few years ago when HP split into two companies: HPE, which comprises HP’s market-leading enterprise tech infrastructure, software and services businesses, and HP Inc., which comprises HP’s market-leading personal systems and printing businesses.

“HP is an iconic company with a strong history of innovation in technology. The opportunity to establish yourself in a lab, and share your passion for research and your vision with such a company is rare,” says Liang.

Since joining the company in this capacity in 2009, Liang has become a master-level researcher, built up an entire program and team.

In this role “you have to have a solid understanding of the technology, [and] hands-on experience, be able to work independently, and also demonstrate a teamwork spirit,” he says.

“You have to plan what kinds of colleagues you’d like to join you. To stand out in a company, you also have to think of what you can do in five or 10 years to explore emerging ideas. For example, using optics to compute is a new idea we’d like to pursue.”

As senior research scientist in the cutting-edge field of silicon photonics within HP Lab’s R&D unit, Liang explains how he and his colleagues are developing high-speed internet technology.

“It’s difficult for supercomputers in this information explosion era to move data around quickly and efficiently. There becomes a bottleneck of people using data,” he points out.

“We’re developing high-speed, high-performance computing system to make sure data transmission between different ports is transferred at high speed, without the bottleneck.”

Mentors, including his Ph.D. advisor, post-doctoral advisor and current boss, are still close with Liang, who values such relationships highly.

“My boss not only helps me to grow in my career path, but also mentors me on the work-life balance,” indicates Liang.

As a minority professional, Liang appreciates how the company “has a long history of global inclusion, diversity and engagement - it’s core to the culture. It’s a mini United Nations here - we have people from China, Korea, India, Italy, France and Iran. We come together, share the same passion and work toward the same goals. Any kind of discrimination is completely prohibited.”

For minority professionals interested in following his path, he offers the following advice: “Differences allow you to see and think things from different angles, and to come off with very creative solutions. Different cultures can bridge gaps and make things work. Share differences and use them as an advantage. People tend to be shy on the engineering side. Be confident. People in the U.S. really appreciate leadership and the courage to take on challenging things.”

For updated information on jobs and careers visit hpe.com/us/en/about/jobs.html. Connect on Facebook @HewlettPackardEnterprise, Twitter @hpe and Instagram @hpe.