Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1479191
38 PCB007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2022 Long gone are the days of employees looking for as much overtime as they could get. Tomor- row's engineers are plac- ing a higher value on a work-life balance. ey care more about expe- riences than belonging, and if something doesn't feel right, they are quick to get rid of it. In fact, Gen-Z is estimated to change jobs 15–20 times during their career. e generation enter- ing the work force now wants to be challenged. ey want good manag- ers, and to feel like they are making a difference in the world. However, they are very interested in flexible schedules, the amount of PTO hours and, for some, the option to work from home. It also appears that budding engineers are looking for careers on the edge of technology. Research and development is becoming more desired but that will need to be balanced with a strong foundation of understanding. How then do we keep the basics interesting? In the age of miniaturization and digitaliza- tion, it's important to keep up with the aware- ness of the people behind the hardware. Let's make manufacturing "cool" again. Who cares about designing the newest and coolest tech gadgets if we have no one to build them? e future is electronics, but we can't get distracted behind the user interfaces and fancy so- ware without risking the end of our hardware innovation. PCB007 Paige Fiet is a process engineer at TTM-Logan and involved in the IPC Emerging Engineer Program. To read past columns, click here. industry; it brought the awareness that I was missing previously. Suddenly, it was not just a summer internship for me but a future career. e endless opportunity and job security of the industry excited me. What my peers saw as a dying field, I saw as a limitless challenge. I have yet to be disappointed. An Opportunity to Engage and Excite Aer students become aware of the indus- try, it's time to engage and excite them. is is where mentorship is huge. Although each of my mentors holds a place in my heart, there is one mentor who sticks out because they were closer to my age and showed me what was pos- sible as a young person in the industry. Watch- ing their success encouraged me to see where I could be in the next three to five years. Maybe that's putting the cart before the horse, but I think placing less-senior engineers with their peers is one of the best ways to excite and retain them. Half the battle is attracting new talent. How- ever, I believe the even harder part is retain- ing talent. Although the reason for quitting a job is unique to the individual, there are com- mon themes among this new age of employees. Paige at the TTM Logan golf tournament in August.