Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1510765
38 SMT007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2023 Fiet: When I'm helping with a job interview, I like to ask about hobbies and I find that peo- ple who work on things like cars or wood, any- thing with their hands, are more likely to suc- ceed. My hobbies, for example, are hiking and woodworking. Matties: Recognizing that, how do we com- municate with them, and tell an appealing story? When you're giving your attention to an outlet, such as traditional media or social media, where would a manufacturer's voice best be heard and resonate the most? Fiet: e Deloitte article 1 addressed the impor- tance of making your brand well-known, so events like college fairs, and having as many people with a positive experience as possible, helps your voice be heard better. Andy Shaughnessy: In high school, did your counselors talk about careers in electronics? Was it even on their radar? Fiet: Not really. I would love counselors to at least pay some lip service to manufacturing because you can make decent money in this industry, and you don't need a crazy degree to do it. Matties: There are high school grad- uate level opportunities here that will give you a nice career. Companies advertising jobs in our publications are looking for sales reps, instructors, and technical support. What sort of lan- guage in an ad by a fabricator would be engaging to you? Fiet: I like "rapid career growth." So much R&D is done in manufacturing, something I didn't initially realize, so that would be another term that I would look for. Matties: Dylan, what's most important to you in a career path? Nguyen: Upward mobility and engaging work. I want to be constantly growing, and I want the work to be super engaging either physically or intellectually. I'd rather have that over a job that is highly repetitive. Matties: When you say "engaging," I think of Happy Holden. He's a problem solver: He loves designing experiments and figuring things out. Is that what you mean? Nguyen: Absolutely. Matties: Most circuit board shops don't have a lot of R&D; that typically comes from a captive facility or the supply base. Most circuit board shops also aren't Tier 1, capable of investing millions of dollars into R&D, so how important is R&D? Fiet: I guess I think of it as, "What's going on? Can we do this better? Can we get rid of this defect?" Matties: That's a good clarification. Right now, benchmarking and data opportunities exist in these board shops, but they aren't yet embracing it wholeheartedly. How important is Industry 4.0 in your career plans? Fiet: at comes along with how important it is to show that you're using automation. It's something you can see every day. Dylan with Charlene Gunter du Plessis at IPC APEX EXPO 2023.