Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493016
176 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2023 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE 176 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2023 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE I plan to stay involved in the IPC APEX EXPO Technical Program Committee, helping to drive improvements to the technical content of the conference. This includes encouraging new authors to submit papers, finding new topics, and continuing to improve the quality of the content. I plan to stay involved in PCB- related standards committees and, eventually, I would like to become a co-chair of one of those committees at some point in my career. They're always looking for people to do that, so if you raise your hand, suddenly you're inundated with assignments. Any closing thoughts? We talked a little about my advice for young engineers, but I would like to add that, for high school and college students interested in engineering, I recommend interviewing or shadowing industry experts and profession- als to see what they actually do on a day-to- day basis. It will help you find out what you are most interested in. Seek out internships or co-ops as soon as possible, even in your freshman year of college. I had an internship every summer while I was in college, and it was beneficial to helping me find what I wanted to do. It also set me apart from other candidates when looking for full-time work. Sarah, thanks so much for your time. S&T Nomaan Hussain: Never Give Up Barry Matties catches up with Nomaan Hussain, who was helping at the STEM event. Nomaan talks about his internship at TTM, where he's now working as a regional engineering director. Nomann, what do you hope to get out of your career in this industry? I'm not sure yet. I'm taking it step by step, day by day. What has been the most surprising or memo- rable moment for you so far on this journey? I don't know if I can say one for sure, but I do know that this job is constantly changing. You think you know the answer one day and it changes the next day. It reminds us that we don't know everything exactly. Do you have any advice you would give to a young student that may be considering moving into this industry? Yeah, never give up and keep trying. In order to get the internship I got at TTM Technologies I applied to over 250 positions, so it's a numbers game and you just keep applying and applying. I didn't meet the qualifications of the job descrip- tion, but I still got the job, so don't let that stop you. So, you're here helping at the STEM event. Tell me about the importance of this event. I think it's important to get a young engineer or young potential engineers interested in industry. I think manufacturing needs a lot more people and it's not seen as a sexy or glamorous thing and it's because people don't know and are not educated. Nomaan, thank you very much. You're welcome. IPC's Rising Star Award