Design Your Future

Hardly a day goes by that we don’t see headlines such as “Robots are coming,” or “Automation is taking our jobs.”  According to the 2017 McKinsey Global Institute Report, nearly a quarter of U.S. jobs will be automated by the year 2030. As the next-generation workforce, you should be prepared to face three possible workforce scenarios: your job will become obsolete; your job will require you to have competency with AI; your job will require you to design AI systems. Given these scenarios, it is critical that you are proactive in preparing for a future that will be dramatically different from the past. It’s like the difference between boarding a bullet train that will take you where you want to go, and being left behind.

AI and automation have the potential to transform the employment landscape, and therefore the economy as a whole. Climate change has the same potential. Climate change is a reality, and its adverse impacts are growing. It’s the reason that the 2018 Camp Fire was the largest and most destructive fire in California’s history. A 2012 report by the National Research Council warned that California could experience a sea level rise of up to two feet by 2050.  To put this in perspective, the greater San Francisco Bay Area, including our airports and seaports, will be especially vulnerable.  

AI/automation and climate change impacts are two of the biggest challenges that we face. We are here today because we know with certainty that engineering innovation must play a leading role in response to these challenges. The issues we need to solve are highly complex, rapidly evolving and global in scope. They require a depth and breadth of engineering knowledge possessed by teams of engineers in different engineering disciplines.  No single person, university, or company, can tackle these challenges alone. Increasingly, engineering strategies and teams need to be flexible and adaptable.  

What this means for all of you here today is that your career planning and job search strategy must be grounded in this reality.  It is not something you typically learn inside classrooms.

We were mindful of this when planning this year’s Women in Engineering Conference. We invited women leaders to share valuable insights gained from successes and setbacks in their career experiences.

To pursue a technical education and navigate your best path from campus to career takes discipline and perseverance.  There’s tremendous benefit in meeting women leaders who’ve tackled challenges similar to the ones you face today. Whether to gain knowledge or seek guidance from these accomplished women, the conference provides a rare opportunity for you to connect with them on a personal level and by doing so, build a stronger community in the process. Throughout the day, allow yourself to focus fully on what it means to “design your future.”  It’s an important step on your path to join other women trailblazers in the years to come.