Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1510765
NOVEMBER 2023 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 37 ey think they'll be part of robots and automation, so it takes some conversation to understand what they will really be doing. at's where this famil- iarity comes into it. If all your friends are work- ing at Amazon or Tesla, you want to do that too, because it's cool. If you have familiarity with manufac- turing, then it will seem cooler and it's easier to pic- ture yourself doing it. Matties: Paige, what was appealing about circuit board fabrication as a career path? Fiet: Definitely the potential for growth. I watched some who were just a few years ahead of me, what they had accomplished in just a short amount of time and I knew I could do the same just as quickly. Johnson: As a student, I had both vocational skills and academic classes, but those educational opportunities are not so readily available nowadays. Dylan, how important is that exposure to the vocational arts early in your education and how might that influence one's choice? Nguyen: Being exposed to vocational options early on presents an alternative route. I didn't come into STEM and robotics initially think- ing about anything related to manufacturing; but it was a great feeling when I saw people operating the actual machinery and fabricating all our components, and then to get behind the machine and run things myself. It was comparing the difference between being in a shop and sitting behind a computer; that was exactly the difference. When I was working on CAD for the robot- ics team, I sat at the computer and worked for a couple hours; that was it. Once you send it off, you don't see it again until it comes back machined and complete. I learned that I love being in that machining process because I'm making it happen. at exposure reveals alter- nate paths, but whether you take one of them is up to you. Johnson: So, you wouldn't have paid attention to that part of the process without firsthand exposure. Paige, what about you? Fiet: I definitely agree, and I've learned a lot from internships. In my first one, I worked with a circuit board designer, and I thought, "Wow, this is really boring. I couldn't do this for the rest of my life." My second internship was in a manufacturing environment, and I really liked it. Matties: Is there a particular type of person more suited for manufacturing? Thinking about vocational schools, what do those students look like? How do we find them? Nguyen: e "type" you're looking for is some- one who likes high-energy, hands-on work. ings are happening a lot faster, and you need to be more active in your work. You can't make any mistakes, so you need a very specific attitude. Paige Fiet