By the end of the third year of his Nanotechnology Engineering degree, Francis Li had already secured the full-time job he would begin upon graduation. As he finished his final year, he looked forward to his new career as an engineer for NVIDIA in California. It was a big shift from the uncertainty he experienced four years earlier.
As a high-school student, Francis faced a common challenge: what should he study at university? He had trouble choosing from among the many aspects of science and engineering that had piqued his curiosity. His challenge was compounded because his interests spanned different fields, and he didn’t know if he would enjoy a real-world job in any of the fields he was considering.
Francis explains it like this: “Even though my high school friends and I tried to learn about STEM jobs and what they involved, we didn’t have the technical background to fully grasp the nature of the work. Our university education and co-op experiences helped to give us that perspective.”
Nevertheless Francis moved forward, with confidence in Waterloo’s co-operative education, to study in the Nanotechnology Engineering program. Its multi-disciplinary nature provided the opportunity to explore several of his fields of interest, and he was intrigued that nano was at the forefront of research in each of them.
While his academic studies shone light on the disciplines of chemical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and chemistry, his co-op placements and the connections he met through them gave him insight into the real world job market and how he might find a career that suited his passions.
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Francis' Co-op Work Term Employment History
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Academics
University was busier than Francis had expected and, as he says, “the academics were not trivial.” The need to interview for co-op placements during exam periods compounded the pressure associated with each.
While he faced challenges with workload, subject matter and school/life balance, he credits his professors for cultivating a culture in which everyone learned critical thinking, problem solving and adaptation. “We learned how to find solutions to our problems – not just how to live with the status quo,” he explains.
Eye Opening and Always Challenging
The skills he developed while completing his degree continue to serve him well. In his job as an engineer, Francis collaborates with various teams of experts to develop tools and infrastructure for chip design workflows. His multi-disciplinary background enables him to see the big picture as they create the next generation of chips that are helping push forward gaming, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence.
His job, which he describes as eye opening and always challenging, gives Francis the chance to continue solving problems, learning and adapting to improve the status quo.
Francis Li is putting his NE degree to work, helping to develop computer chips at NVIDIA in San Francisco, California.
Lessons Learned
Francis acknowledges that a few years of full-time work helped bring his undergraduate studies into perspective. With the benefit of hindsight, he’s happy to share the following advice with Nanotechnology Engineering students:
- Take in all of the experiences available to you during your undergraduate studies. This stage in your life comes only once – enjoy everything.
- Recognize that university is about more than just numbers. It’s easy to get bogged down in the math and forget that there is more to life. University of Waterloo offers excellent non-technical courses that can open your eyes to new things. I loved Music 140: Popular Music and Culture and recommend it highly!
- Build friendships. The people you meet at school can help you make wise decisions in your studies, guide your career path and become your friends for life. Take advantage of on-campus events and volunteer opportunities to meet people from different departments and faculties.
- Learn balance. Of course, your academics are important, and you may be tempted to focus as much of your time on them as possible. But now is the time to learn to manage the things you need to do with the things you want to do. Pay attention to your studies, and learn to balance them with the other things in life that make you happy. Doing more of the things you enjoy will make you happier in the moment, and learning how to balance the necessities with the fun is crucial for being happier in the long term. When you begin working, you will already have the skills to create the balance that will keep you happy, healthy and productive.