***Editor’s Note: We’re starting new weekly section called “I Became An Engineer” that will run every friday. To share you story email kasey.panetta@advantagemedia.com***
This week’s story comes to us from ECN reader Bob Curran:
What made you want to be an engineer?
This question raises an interesting twist: Did I ever become an engineer?
While I’ve spent my career doing repair and maintenance of electronic equipment, designing and building prototype and custom electronic equipment, designing and building CATV distribution systems, computer interactive displays, audio recording and editing facilities and even worked on the design of an HDTV production studio for which I ended up as the technical liaison between the contractor and government project manager, I don’t have a degree. Not only do I not have a degree, I was only a mediocre student in high school.
But I had an interest in electronics, audio, and radio since I was six years old. I was fascinated how our local AM station would sign off the air at sundown, then a few minutes later another station from hundreds of miles away would gradually start coming in until it was as strong as the local station had been. At eight years old my interest really got a boost when I successfully repaired my sister’s transistor pocket radio that had been broken in a car crash. After that, I begged my parents to buy me books on electronics theory, vacuum tubes and transistors. When I was 12 my parents gave me an oscilloscope and other test equipment for Christmas, some of which I had to assemble.
By the time I graduated high school I was an avid electronics hobbyist and landed a job working at my local Radio Shack store. A little over a year later I transferred to the Radio Shack regional repair center and spent the next 10 years working as a repair tech on everything in the Radio Shack product line through the late 70s and early 80s. During this time I also earned my amateur radio license.
In 1986, I applied for and was selected, to work for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in the electronics unit of the exhibit production department. For the next 25 years I worked there doing what I described above. Along the way I also earned my GROL license which I felt was important because I was being tasked to be the RF technical liaison with visiting remote broadcast engineers and telecommunications engineers from outside agencies. The last seven years at the Smithsonian I was the head of the electronics, computer interactive, and TV production units within the exhibit production department.
All that time I never set foot in a college classroom for electronics or engineering related studies. Although I did spend a good sum of my income for textbooks on the subjects of electronics, audio/video engineering, and video production.
While some would say I had a wonderful career in the electronics field, my view is that I found ways to get paid quite well to spend my time doing my favorite hobby. Now semi-retired I still enjoy designing electronic devices and building my own equipment for relaxation and self-satisfaction. And I’m still getting paid to do what I love at my part time job!
Did I become an engineer or am I just a really lucky nerd with a high school diploma?
Read the other stories, here:
A Note From The Editor: An Engineer’s Story
I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Lunch Box
I Became An Engineer: Because of Christmas Lights
I Became An Engineer: Because Of The Cool Jackets
I Became An Engineer: Because My Dad Said Not To
I Became An Engineer: Despite Being Bad At Math
I Became An Engineer: Because of Uncle Chet
I Became An Engineer: Because I Can’t Stop Asking ‘Why?’
I Became An Engineer: Because of Star Trek (Specifically Montgomery Scott)
