Career Outlook
offerings. I realized that creating a service to fill the need was feasible and useful for others facing similar challenges. A couple of months ago I decided that’s what I wanted to do and started researching how to make it a business.
HE&IT: What can an intern or student look forward to in a job like yours? Aguilar: Making a real difference from day one. I felt my first internship’s project was something my managers found to keep me busy, but not something that was going to make a lasting impact at the company. I’m looking to build a com- pany where all team members enjoy what they do and make significant contributions.
HE&IT: How can people get a job like yours? Aguilar: I think there are three important attributes to have. One is the ability and desire to learn new things. If I don’t know how to do something, I’ll figure it out. The Internet and software move so fast that it’s impossible to know everything. And, if you happen to know everything right now, your knowledge is guaranteed to be obsolete in short order.
Second is not being afraid to break things. It’s the absolute best way to learn and find novel ideas. If you never break anything you’re playing it safe and not pushing yourself to learn. The process of fixing something by pulling it apart to understand how it works makes you more knowledge- able than if nothing had gone wrong in the first place. And I’ve learned that if you don’t break things, Murphy’s Law will do it for you, so the practice valuable.
Third is share. It’s one of the reasons I made it through college. Sharing helps you better understand what you think you know and learn things you don’t. I struggled with some subjects and because of others’ will- ingness to share with me (I vividly remem-
ber immense help from fellow ΦIA members) I was able to get through those classes. At the same time I was really good at other subjects and not only could I return the favor but it also helped me further improve those skills.
HE&IT: What do you do to recruit? Aguilar: We are not recruiting at the moment. When we do, we’ll use tech social sites like Github, StackOverflow, and its sister sites to see what projects and subjects interest you. Hopefully you’ve also shared your own code with others on Github and have answered questions on some StackExchange sites. With social tools like these, we can see your work and how well you communicate with others.
www.hispanicengineer.com
HE&IT: Did you take part in any summer STEM programs in middle or high school that helped shape your career choice? Aguilar: The summer before my first semester at RPI [Rens- selaer Polytechnic Institute] I took part in its Bridge/Higher Education Opportunity Program. The program was tailored to help with the transition from high school to university. During that summer, I lived on campus so I was already familiar with the area, had completed a core engineering class, and made a network of fellow students. I met some great people I’m still friends with in that program.
HE&IT: What was your major in college and how did you HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | 2012 31
If you need help with a subject I’d highly recommend look- ing at its topic-site on StackExchange: http://stackexchange. com/sites. Another great site is Khan Academy at http://www.
khanacademy.org/
HE&IT: When did you decide to become an engineer or computer technologist? Aguilar: I’m not sure I really decided, but rather continued doing what interested me. When I was young my dad gave me a computer and I decided to go through the books and try to program it. I remember the first program I wrote moved a circle around the screen; very high tech! In high school I took electricity, electronics, and drafting classes. They were fun.
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