There are number of new projects on the backburner that I believe would be of use to you, MVP Blog readers. So, I am very excited to introduce to you my partner for several of these projects, Dr. Sunil Acharya.

Sunil is an expert in Multiphysics Modeling and Product Development, as well as a very creative entrepreneur. Since I started talking with him a few weeks back, our list of joint ventures has been expanding exponentially. Just to give you some ideas of what will be coming up in the next several months:

- We are working on putting together a series of materials on effective engineering computer modeling, tailored specifically for industry professionals (think “Cliff Notes”). The idea is to help engineers who are working for companies that actually need to create products (as opposed to prove nebulous theories) to do their job better with the help of computer simulations.

- We are also putting together an on-line conference, that will provide technical professionals with specific tools and techniques that will help them find new jobs, get promotions or simply keep their current employment.

If you are interested in learning more about either one of those projects, please contact me at masha@mvpmodelingsolutions.com.

And now it is my pleasure to introduce to Dr. Acharya and his article: Braving a New World.

Braving a new world

I used to be fascinated with listening to the conversations of people born in the first quarter of the 20^th century. Their stories reminded me of walking from one chamber of a natural history museum to another: horses, lights, cars, phones, A-bomb… I used to think that that those experiences were one of a kind and that there will never be another generation with so many changes in a single lifetime.

In those days of the early 90s, I was a young grad student who came to the USA from India to persue higher education. I moved to a country that was considered an international technology leader, with vast opportunities in engineering R&D and job security in the technology field. Now, nearly two decades later, I am no longer a starry-eyed graduate student, and the US position in the world as a technology leader has taken a number of steps backwards, taking with it the notion of permanent job stability in the high-tech industry.

There are a number of factors that have contributed to the decline of that leadership. Along with the after-shock of 9/11, the pop of the housing and credit bubble, and the declining numbers of USA engineering graduates, another factor affecting the technology industry in this country is steadily gaining speed. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are eagerly demonstrating their competence and resources in science and technology fields.

The sheer size of the new players led by the BRIC countries brings a much larger pool of people into play. Industrial leaders, such as Robert B. Coutts (Exec. V.P., Lockheed Martin), are openly acknowledging the increasing investment and ambition of these countries in the area of higher education and high-tech industry. For the first time, the western world will have to compete for jobs and higher education with new technical labor force from the additional population of over two billion people. The BRIC labor is much cheaper, and the overseas labor force is hungry, eager and determined. For a while, loosing jobs to outsourcing was mostly a concern for lower level, blue collar workforce. But like it or not, plenty of very smart, highly educated “BRICs” are eager to take on R&D jobs and the USA corporations are realizing the potential of the cost savings.

The career path of an engineering professional in the USA has never been less clear. Those in automotive industry have already seen the impact of the ‘global delivery model’ transplanting their jobs closer to automotive facilities across the globe. It is obvious that with the cost advantages, other industries will follow suit. Sometimes the natural tendency facing an unfamiliar future is to dismiss it.

It is easy to site the discussions that focus on lower quality of current technical man-power in the new and emerging countries. Yet, it is hard to miss the fact that companies with strong history of RD&E such as GE, IBM and Cisco have invested immensely in large research operations in the BRIC countries. The hunger from these populations previously devoid of such opportunities is immense.

The new environment is there to stay, and the uncertainty of its size and pace will require every one to be thinking a lot harder about their career plan than ever before.

So how will you handle this new and emerging competition for your job? Would you get mad at the competition for infringing on your territory? Would you protest outsourcing job overseas and complain of unfairness?

Or would you embrace this time as opportunity to make yourself into a better professional? You can decide to commit to taking a proactive career-planning approach. You can start by understanding the nature of changes in your own particular segment of industry.

Take this opportunity for change and engage in networking events, conferences and other venues where you can learn about new industry segments that may hold potential for you in the future. Start taking action steps that will allow you to see new trends and opportunities for careers, despite the crappy economy or overseas competition. Start reading, learning and capitalizing on your expertise. Because there never has been a better time for professional growth.

S. Acharya, Ph.D., is an independent engineering consultant and a founding member of a.t.Q services. After a decade of industrial RD&E, he is coming to terms with the new quantum realities of bi-coastal professional existence (East Coast of U.S and West Coast of India). You can contact him via linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sunil-acharya/1/a04/95

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 6:08 pm and is filed under Guest Post, Successful Unemployment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.