IBM Engineers Encourage Recession-Proof Profession at The Tech Center

While career opportunities might not be the first thing on most high school students’ minds, Tech Center students at a recent presentation by IBM engineers were excited to learn that engineers are actually needed in the workforce.

IBM engineers Bruno Bagala, Ed Jones and Matt Duftler extolled the advantages of the many facets of engineering at their presentation at The Tech Center at Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES.

“Companies are always looking for engineers,” said Bagala. “There are so many jobs out there, and engineering is not just about math and science. There are a lot of creative opportunities as well.”

Among them are geotechnical, chemical, electrical, biomolecular, and computer engineering to name a few.

The visitors created a hands-on experiment for the students, who made boats out of aluminum foil to investigate how size and shape affect how much weight can be carried and how this relates to the density of water.

“It was great to be able to learn while actually doing the experiment,” one student said.

Bagala explained how the winning team’s combination of building a prototype, testing and research is similar to what engineers do in real life.  “Engineers always have to look at the big picture,” he said.