Miss Electrician

By Chibuogo Mojekwu

As a fourteen year old student in my eleventh grade, university applications and picking my courses have become very real and fast approaching. Over the past few years, my dream occupation has fluttered between many choices; some being mechanical engineering, computer science, data analysis and surprisingly, even modelling. But thankfully, on one fateful day on campus, I finally decided what I wanted: Electrical Engineering.

Sure, my friends made my choices hard and even made fun of me and called me names for my absurd choice of occupation. I acquired many names, some being Miss Electrician, Alternating Current, name it. I grew to love my course and let's say, the names stuck on me, making me basically 250% sure of what I wanted to be.

Why electrical engineering? That is the question that pops into many of our minds. My peers are all picking computer science as their course because they feel other forms of engineering such as mechanical and electrical are outdated in the working world. Yes, the 'computer' trend is actually the new 'wave' but people fail to realize that electrical engineering is the backbone behind all these computer related occupations. Tell me what modern day machine or computer works without electricity. If you can name some, if any, do these machines work fast and efficiently? I guess not. Electrical engineering is an important field in science and technology related studies and must not be ignored.

Our life would be unthinkable without the use of electrical energy. Let me give a few examples to show the importance of electrical energy. Electrical lighting is indispensable for working during the dark hours of the day. A huge proportion of electrical energy is used for the lighting of shops, offices, homes and for outdoor lighting. Man is relieved from heavy physical labour by the use of electrical devices. There are many buildings where an air-conditioning system including heating, cooling and ventilation is installed for the operation of which electrical energy is required. At higher temperatures, foodstuffs can only be kept for a prolonged period of time in refrigerators or cold-storage rooms which usually are also operated with electrical energy.

Without electrical energy, there would be no broadcasting and television systems, no telephone communication or telegraphy. In order to arrange automatic sequences of operation in production, devices of control and regulation engineering are required which, today, are driven almost exclusively by electrical energy.

To conclude, I will summarize five reasons why I want to study electrical engineering.

� Electrical engineers have good graduate prospects.
� They enjoy high starting salaries.
� Electrical engineers are always in demand.
� They are at the forefront of future technologies.
� They have wide global opportunities.

What discouraged me at first was the fact I am an African young lady and this course is not very common among women, especially negroes. But later on, I realized I can do whatever I want no matter my gender, and I will achieve my now-realized dream in life, even if it means being called ' Miss Electrician'.

Article Source:  Miss Electrician