An Open Letter To Young Professionals and Students

September 20, 2022

What drove you to become an engineer, a scientist or a technologist? I am sure you entered the field because you wanted to make the world a better place and to have an impact on society.

You followed your dreams, and your dreams encouraged you to go big.

But following your dreams may not always go smoothly. Careers can take many paths in technology. Engineers in your parents’ and grandparents’ generations may have expected to work for a single employer for their entire career. Younger workers can expect to change jobs every few years on average.

The question facing young professionals today is how you can tap into the passion you feel for science and technology while managing the complex career paths that so many young people face. How can you dream big, while at the same time navigating a career landscape and continuing to rise up?

You need a professional home – a place that can offer you training and mentorship opportunities, a community of like-minded professionals that share your interests, and is always there for you.

IEEE is that professional home – a place that can help guide you for your entire career, a place you can return to over and over again.

As your professional home, IEEE offers continuing education and training to support lifelong learning, job opportunities and networking so you can improve your professional outlook, mentoring and connections with diverse, dynamic professionals. Our publications and conferences are on the forefront of the global research agenda across a number of fields. Membership in IEEE societies and councils offers opportunities to shape and guide your field for years to come.

The breadth of IEEE allows you to personalize your experience and to build your career the way YOU want.

IEEE provides not just technology tools, but also soft skills, such as leadership, and a whole new way of thinking and knowledge for you to benefit throughout your life.

When you are young, you have nothing to lose. You should follow your heart to pursue your passions. No reward will come without risks. Believe in yourself. Don’t be afraid of failure. Nothing is too big to take on.

In short, IEEE offers you the home base to continue to follow your heart, to pursue the career and build it the way you want to. It is my sincere hope that you take advantage of all that IEEE has to offer.

ABOUT OUR AUTHOR
Dr. K.J. Ray Liu is 2022 IEEE President and CEO. He has served IEEE in numerous capacities, including as IEEE Vice President, Technical Activities in 2019, Division IX Director of IEEE Board of Directors 2016-2017, and the President of IEEE Signal Processing Society (2012-13), in which he has also served as Vice President – Publications from 2006-2008 and a member on the Board of Governors. He was the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Signal Processing Magazine from 2003- 2005.