A Career which you can play with lasers daily

[tonyt]

Bill Gate's parents often referred to him as a loner with no direction...look how that turned out.

Later in life it's easy to say "I could have been ...........etc etc"

My response is always the same to those that say that..

"Why weren't you then" and is usually met with a lot of pretty thin excuses.

I agree wholeheartedly!
I was what you could call.. well.. a bit of a criminal before i turned 24. I have always been smart but i had never applied myself. I have always loved space and everything to do with physics in general and literally one day i turned around and applied to uni as a "later in life" student and got my ass studying.
That is all you need to do, put your head in books for a few years. I know that may sound a bit boring but this is what i had to do to do what i am most passionate about.

 

[Spooky]

That is all you need to do, put your head in books for a few years.

Worth reposting as it's fantastic advice !!

cheers

Dave

 

[tonyt]

Worth reposting as it's fantastic advice !!

cheers

Dave

Thanks,

By the way Epicham, You are quite lucky as you are still so young! I wish i hadn't waited so long.. I mucked around for years and now i really wish i hadn't. I think now about all that time i wasted and wish i could go back and tell myself what i know now.. Owel, all i can do now is tell you not to muck around! :yh:

 

[Laser engineer]

I know of a few careers that deal with lasers; 1. Electronics engineer 2. Military weapons technician 3. (Not much money income but still pretty interesting) you can 'join' some laser tag place and be the one that deals with all the technical work...

 

[Spooky]

2. Military weapons technician

Requires a LOT of contacts and usually a degree from one of the upper echelon universities. I did the sub contract work for some military "stuff" a few years back and the security clearances take between 12 and 18 months to get. If you even "know" somebody with a criminal record you won't pass the 4 levels required (BC,CTC,SC & DV) security. DV is a nightmare and is reviewed annually, it also includes full financial checks as well as associations.

Working for a cleared contractor is pretty easy but again the jobs are few and far between (I only got in as I'd known the contractor since I was 13)

Now if you can design something *new* that would have military application....LOTS of doors suddenly open and you can charge "lottery win" kinds of fee's.

best wishes

Dave

 

[ixfd64]

You could also try to get a job at one of the more reputable laser companies. There is a forum member (Event_Horizon) who joined the Laserglow team due to his interest in lasers.

 

[Justin]

Event_Horizon has a college diploma in Photonics Engineering Technology. He actually has a very comprehensive education in photonics and lasers.

 

[comis]

This has become the unofficial thread of career day for the forum...:yh:

I am new here and can't say I know much about laser, but one thing I do remember well is what I learnt from a class I took many years ago in 'organization behavior' that:

"On average, over 90% of US undergraduate student will not be having a career related to what they study in undergrad."

Although it was a long time ago, this statement somewhat remained truth after years and years of my observation.(LPF may have higher than normal concentrated population of scientist...) In retrospect, I'd advise not to count too much on what major/field of study to be what you will do in career later in life. There are simply just too many factors and uncertainty in play. It is similar to video game business, I know I love my fun with xbox, PS or PC games, but I am not entirely sure being a tester of certain games is a career that I love to pursuit and can support me to have much free time to pursuit other interest in life.

In terms of a career related to laser or laser-playing(especially in Hong Kong), the closest thing I could think of is to go into the R&D department of a Chinese laser manufacturer. However, unlike all these high quality builds and models we fancy here on LPF, most majority of them probably are producing the lower ends of the products. And the salary/work condition is probably not as glamorous unless the company is very top notch in the business.

Best of luck!

 

[EpicHam]

This has become the unofficial thread of career day for the forum...:yh:

I am new here and can't say I know much about laser, but one thing I do remember well is what I learnt from a class I took many years ago in 'organization behavior' that:

"On average, over 90% of US undergraduate student will not be having a career related to what they study in undergrad."

Although it was a long time ago, this statement somewhat remained truth after years and years of my observation.(LPF may have higher than normal concentrated population of scientist...) In retrospect, I'd advise not to count too much on what major/field of study to be what you will do in career later in life. There are simply just too many factors and uncertainty in play. It is similar to video game business, I know I love my fun with xbox, PS or PC games, but I am not entirely sure being a tester of certain games is a career that I love to pursuit and can support me to have much free time to pursuit other interest in life.

In terms of a career related to laser or laser-playing(especially in Hong Kong), the closest thing I could think of is to go into the R&D department of a Chinese laser manufacturer. However, unlike all these high quality builds and models we fancy here on LPF, most majority of them probably are producing the lower ends of the products. And the salary/work condition is probably not as glamorous unless the company is very top notch in the business.

Best of luck!

Its not any better here at Hong Kong.
Scientists and engineers often just end up as high school teachers or sometimes as a technician at an utility company.

That's another concern.
The society just doesn't value scientists and engineers as they should....

As a matter of fact, my family looks down on me for taking an engineer degree....

They wanted me to be a banker or a financial advisor or something......

I'm not even sure there would be a place for me to take on a career about laser optics even I do switch majors :undecided:

 

[comis]

Its not any better here at Hong Kong.
Scientists and engineers often just end up as high school teachers or sometimes as a technician at an utility company.

That's another concern.
The society just doesn't value scientists and engineers as they should....

As a matter of fact, my family looks down on me for taking an engineer degree....

They wanted me to be a banker or a financial advisor or something......

I'm not even sure there would be a place for me to take on a career about laser optics even I do switch majors :undecided:

Yes, indeed. But scientists and engineers do come in all shapes and sizes, and I do knew quite a few who had done well in their time, given good business-sense, integrity and great work ethics.

I think one of the previous posts also might have mentioned it--how about self-employment? Maybe to source out the best products/parts for the LPF and sell fairly to the community. Since you are in HK and should have better convenience than most to find the good deals? You could consider that a way to support your hobby and may even do good to the LPF as well. Win-win! :beer: