People say we live with the fear of future everyday. Therefore, we take the future seriously, and I believe high school years are when people take the future most seriously. People start thinking of the college or university they would attend, and as following, they start thinking of their future career. As high school student, the college and the career have become a heavy and big burden to me, and I have much stress through anxiety on the future. However, the future career research, which I have done in Writing class last month, has released my burden because has suggested me a job, engineering technician. The reason why I say it fits to me is that it seems that that the life of engineering technician can satisfy my top values in the life, my interests, and my personality. In addition, skills I have now seem to be helpful to reach it.
Before I look on how it fits in, it would help understanding how it fits to know what kind of occupation engineering technician is and what people as technicians do. According to the book The Occupational Finder, engineering technician is combination of investigative, realistic, and conventional occupation. The book says, “Investigative occupations include scientific and technical occupations. Realistic occupations include skill trades, technical occupations, and some service occupations. Conventional occupations include office and clerical occupations” (Holland 2). Then what do engineering technicians do? According to “Occupational Outlook Handbook,” their two main tasks are to test electronic products or appliances using scientific theories and mathematical formulas and to search for development. They may help designing electronic products for their additional task (Engineering Technician). For further information, I have asked my father’s friend, who work on nuclear engineering, about what is required to be engineering technician. He said employers prefer who take at least two-year degree in engineering in college. He also said taking all the possible math classes and winning the prize in math competition both in high school years would help to get this job (Kwon). These show that math and science are basic needs to engineering technician.
With this basic information, I can see that this vocation can satisfy my top values, personality, and interests. First, my top values in my life are having a changeable routine and fitting in. I prefer changeable routine to fixed routine because the fixed routine would be monotonous and would easily make people depressed. However, engineering technician meet different types of machines in different environment, and different environment would provide a changeable routine. Otherwise, the reason why fitting in is my top value is that I hardly concentrated on work when I have bad relationship with others. There would be some time that I have to work with other as a team, and I would get close to people through the teamwork and naturally fit in. Therefore, it would easily satisfy my top value. Second, the task of engineering technician would easily satisfy my interests. I am interested in new inventions because they can change our lives, so I read the articles about them. I am also interested in design as much as in new inventions even though I am not good at drawing or designing. If I became engineering technician, I need to develop for a new invention and design it because their duties are to seek for development and to design a developed one.
Last, my characteristic would satisfy with the life of this occupation. According to the book, Please Understand Me II, I am a crafter who are masterful in tools, equipment, machines, and instruments of all kinds, and my characteristic is said, “… action is more enjoyable –and more effective- if it is unplanned, serving no purpose other than the doing” (Keirsey 4). This characteristic described on the book is pretty close to the real. Technicians’ lives are full of actions in tests or investigation, and they cannot predict what would happen as they test different machines. It means I would enjoy my life as technicians because of unplanned action in technicians’ lives. Therefore, I would enjoy my life as engineering technician since it satisfy all my top values, interests, and characteristics
Therefore, I say this job fits to me, and coincidently, my skills seem to be helpful. Engineering technicians use theories of math and science to test electronic device properly (Engineering Technician), which means I have to be skillful in math and science. I am not showing off, but I may say that I am innate in math. I take Pre-calculus this year while my friends are taking Geometry or Algebra 2 and receive grade A for math, and the same thing happens in science class. I am not innate in science as much as in math, but I still get at least A- for science. Therefore, I say I am innate in both math and science. Otherwise, I analyze mathematical information better than others do because of ability in math. Engineering technicians need to analyze the investigation results, and the results would be mathematical information, but I would not have much problem to analyze information. Therefore, my skills, which are ability in math, science, and analysis of mathematical information, would be helpful to reach it.
My father always tells me that I have to consider whether I would satisfy with a job whenever I seek for it and that this leads to good choice. His opinion is quite true, and I believe so. Now, I start thinking about my future career as high school students as well others. I found a fascinating one, which is engineering technician, because engineering technicians’ life would satisfy my top value, interests, and personality. In addition, my skills would be helpful to be engineering technician. Engineering technician has become the goal I want to reach. I need to go through countless works to reach it, and countless hardships are waiting for me, but I believe I would reach it in the end.
Citation
"Engineering Technician." Occupational Outlook Handbook 2006-07 edition. U.S Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 1 Mar 2007
Holland, John L. The Occupational Finder. 4th. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc., 2000.
Keirsey, David. Please Understand Me II. Del Mar, CA: Prometheus Nemesis Book Company, 1998
Kwon, Myun. Telephone interview. 17 March 2007.
