Challenges in the electrical engineering profession Thursday, 22 September 2016

Opinion piece written by the 2016 National Professional Electrical Engineer of the Year, Dr Jose Lopez-Roldan FIEAust CPEng.

In today’s fast moving world, electrical engineers need to be ready to adapt to change. During my career I have met many engineers that have spent their working life with the same organisation since graduating. These individuals have never written a CV. However, this career model is becoming more and more rare.

It is more typical for engineers to change jobs and move into other industries many times during their careers. In my case, changing jobs also involved migrating to another country. I have worked in France, North America, UK, Belgium and Australia.

People who remain with the same company for several years may be subjected to continuous internal restructuring, causing their duties to change or evolve. Therefore, the capability of engineers to adapt to change and to keep their skills up-to-date is fundamental to navigate the path of our profession.

When I speak with engineering students and recent graduates about career orientation, I always advise that they choose one of two paths: become a specialist or a generalist. The specialist career leads individuals to becoming a technical expert. Depending on the organisation, the technical expert route may or may not be a viable career path. The generalist is often projected towards the leadership path as part of the management structure. The specialist will have much less competition for positions, while the generalist will have less job opportunities, especially if they are restricted by the geographical area they are willing to work in.

Professional organisations such as Engineers Australia aid in coping with the continuous changes in our careers by providing skills recognition and continuing professional development opportunities.

Get to know the 2016 National Professional Electrical Engineer of the Year

Dr Jose Lopez-Roldan FIEAust CPEng has a MSc (1993) and PhD (1997) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Barcelona. During his PhD studies, he was a visiting-researcher at the Research & Development Centers of Ontario-Hydro (Toronto), Schneider-Electric (Grenoble) and EDF (Paris).

Dr Lopez-Roldan was a Senior Engineer focusing on the development of Gas Insulated Switchgear at VA TECH-Reyrolle in the UK from 1996 to 2000. He joined Pauwels in Belgium in 2000 as R&D Project Manager in the Transformer Division, and from 2002 to 2006 was the Engineering Manager of the Substations Division.

Since 2006, he has worked for Powerlink Queensland as the Principal Consultant in High Voltage Switchgear. From 2009 to 2012 he also collaborated with Zenergy Power in Australia in the development of High Voltage Superconducting Fault Current limiters.

Dr Lopez-Roldan has co-authored more than 50 papers on HV switchgear, substations and electrical insulation. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Queensland University of Technology.

Dr Lopez-Roldan will be awarded the 2016 National Professional Electrical Engineer of the Year at the annual Electrical College Awards Evening on Thursday 20 October in Melbourne along with fellow award winner, Dr Alan Finkel AO FIEAust FTSE, who is receiving the M A Sargent Medal. To find out more about the event, visit the website.

Image: Engineers standing in front of an electricity station, courtesy of shutterstock.