Grab the Change to Work on the Leading Edge

ach year I make a point to impress on my students the importance of standards to their career. I really want to cultivate in these young engineers a strong desire to participate in standards, because I myself have benefited so much from the experience. Through my standards work, I have had a chance to travel and meet some of the sharpest engineers in the world. So I tell my students that by far the most important reason for an engineer to participate in standards is personal growth. The opportunities for networking and learning are endless. The classic reason to attend standards meetings is to represent your organization when its technology is directly involved. But standards-setting is not simply about winning battles; it is about building consensus. To thrive in this environment, an engineer must be able to argue for a position on the basis of technical merit alone. Even if your organization is not involved in the standards at hand, attending and participating in standards meetings is an excellent way to track emerging technologies. When I attended Posix meetings, I would spend a great deal of time outside the meetings talking about technology and future trends. With the information I learned at each meeting, I was able to come back to my job with new perspectives on the technical problems I was facing. At times, my staff thought I had a crystal ball on the future, though I always told them I was just a lucky guesser. Another benefit of participation in standards is achieving a more global perspective. Engineers from all over the world participate in standards-setting. Joining others in the work of forging an international consensus is an excellent way to develop a global awareness. And there may even be a chance to travel internationally. To be frank, the cost of standards attendance is significant. Michigan State University spent about $8,000 a year so that I could attend Posix. But the value to my career at MSU has been immeasur-able. Without ever having to change jobs, I've been able to maintain career growth. To find out more about how to get involved, start at the IEEE Web site, http:// Note that Web pages devoted to a working group are designed for use by the working group, not necessarily for the casual surfer. Poke around for the meeting announcements. If you have a question , don't hesitate to send …