carol eidt's 2012 presentation in the uc davis physics alumni seminar series
DESCRIPTION
Carol Eidt describes her career journey and seven lessons learned.TRANSCRIPT
My Journey:UC Davis and Beyond
A Brief Personal HistoryGraduated from UC Davis in 1977 with a BS in PhysicsSang lead & played keyboards with a “cover” band 1977
to 1981Returned to school in 1981 – MS in EECS from Berkeley in
1983Worked at HP for 22 years doing Instruction Set
Architecture and CompilersBecame HP’s first female Fellow
Took early retirement from HP in 2005 and joined Microsoft
My Original Plan
BSNutrition Science
MDOb-Gyn
UC DavisMed School
My Journey
My Journey
Nutrition Science
isn’t for me
My Journey
MaybeBio-Chem?
My Journey
Physics is really
fascinating!… and Physics majors have a
high acceptance rate to Med
School!
My Journey
… hmm …maybe
Medicine Isn’t right for me
Yay!Done with O-ChemI hate memorization
Lesson #1You’re more likely to succeed at what you enjoyMemorization was really not my forte!
While I could manage an A in Organic Chemistry, the idea of many more years of memorization was quite depressing
Having good recall for details is actually an important skill for a doctor in practice – and I didn’t have it
Physics was appealing because it is so grounded in conceptsI really enjoy
Understanding the “big picture” Solving problems
It turns out that computer science has some similaritiesConcepts, logical thinking
BUT … it took me awhile to figure all of this out
My Journey
BS in Physics:
What Next?
Lesson #2:Experience isn’t always the best teacherA Tale of Two Summer Jobs at HP: 1975 and 19761975: Thin Film group (printers for calculators)
Hired to run test equipment, but it didn’t arrive in time Spent the summer programming and absolutely loved it
The work day flew by – I’d never experienced that!1976: Optoelectronics Division (LEDs)
Rigorous, exhausting technical interview No definite assignments or responsibilities
Did a little programming (calibration, simulation) Finished the summer feeling like a failure
But they told me I’d done a great jobWhat I thought I learned: optoelectronics, and therefore applied physics in
general, was not the path for me In retrospect – maybe it wasn’t, but the real problem was the lack of guidance on the
job
My Journey
BS in Physics:
What Next?Music!
Lesson #3:Sometimes a detour is a good thing3½ years in a band taught me
How to pretend that you’re confident even when you’re not And that it’s really OK to pretend
How to walk up to total strangers and strike up a conversation
Some measure of poise and presence in front of an audience
These are all extremely valuable skills in both work and personal life!
My Journey
Time for a change:
CS at UCB
My Journey
HP:A New
Architecture!
Lesson #4: Luck helpsMy father worked for HP, which helped me get a job
thereGetting hired into HP Labs to work on the design of a new
computer was a real stroke of luck & timingI left HP briefly in 1992 and came back just in time to
work on the next new architectureHaving left & returned I had no obligations to keep me from
diving right in
Lesson #5:Shape your own destiny, even on the jobMany employers will hire you without precise deliverables
& expectationsAsk for clarityAlways look for new ways to contribute
If you want a different job, start doing itFind a way to do a little bit of the work you really want to be
doing, while still fulfilling your current responsibilitiesAt HP Labs, I was hired into the architecture team, but
really wanted to do compilersI offered to do some of the “grunt work” in the compiler, and
eventually moved to that team
Lesson #6:Identify solutions not problemsLearned from one of my early managers at HP
“If you don’t have a solution, don’t complain about the problem”
Start on a positive noteIf you start with what’s wrong, people will tune you out“Wouldn’t it be great if we … and that would take care of
this problem …”If you don’t have a solution, at least offer to help find one
Ask for suggestions
My Journey
HP Fellow, Early
Retirement
Lesson #7:You can live a balanced life and be successfulWhen my first child was born, I resolved to work a 40
hour weekI was certain that this would mean reduced career potentialInstead, that’s about the time my career took off
When you have a time limit, you work more productivelyI became more organizedI prioritized & didn’t waste time on things that weren’t
importantOf course, you have to work for a company that values
work-life balance
My Journey
Microsoft
My Journey
Who Knows What’s Next!
Lessons I Learned1. You’re more likely to succeed at what you enjoy2. Experience isn’t always the best teacher3. Sometimes a detour is a good thing4. Luck helps5. Shape your own destiny, even on the job6. Identify solutions not problems7. You can live a balanced life and be successful
What I Would ChangeNot much!
Get a PhDWorry less, focus more on doing the things I really enjoy
Microsoft & PhysicistsMicrosoft is a software company at heartBut, it invests in numerous research and product
development projects that go beyond softwareNew technologies for interacting with computers and each
other Kinect Surface …
Novel processor architecturesPhysics makes a great foundation, but for many jobs in
industry, you’ll need complementary education as well
Advice in ClosingFollow your passion
What energizes you? What “sucks you in”?If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, you’re not likely to be
truly successful