EE 398
Introduction to Professional Issues

1 credit / Winter 2019

Thursdays: 09:30 - 10:20 am (ECE 105)

Announcements

• Welcome to Class!
• Credit for course content and assignments in class goes to Prof. Martin Afromowitz - thank you!

Instructor: Payman Arabshahi, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics Laboratory, ude.notgnihsaw.ee@namyap, Tel: (206) 221-6990. Office hours: after class (ECE 105), or by appointment.

Class Mailing List: ude.notgnihsaw.u@51ua_a893ee.

Textbook: M. Afromowitz, Professional Issues: a Guide for Undergraduate Engineering Students, CreateSpace, 2010.

Course Description: You were attracted to your area of study for many reasons - perhaps a passion for the technology, your desire to make a decent salary, your enthusiasm for inventing the next best widget, an entrepreneurial bent, a commitment to do research that benefits mankind - and now you find yourself immersed in lab reports, lectures chock full of equations and difficult homework assignments. It is important to take the time to look ahead in a realistic manner at what you can expect from your future career, and, equally important, what will be expected of you once you reach your goal. This class will attempt to shed light on these issues, as we explore such topics as:

• Salary ranges and historical trends
  • What can you expect to earn?
  • How would an MS, MBA or PhD impact your starting salary, rate of earnings growth, direction of your career and potential for promotion?
  • What is the effect of inflation on real earnings?
• Societal expectations of the engineering professional
  • What makes you a professional?
  • What is a code of ethics?
  • Does the law require that you uphold the code of ethics of your profession?
• The corporate enterprise
  • Who's in charge (of your career)?
  • How will you be evaluated for promotion/raise?
  • What are your opportunities for continuing education?
  • How important is your ability to "self-educate"?
  • How much loyalty do you owe your employer?
• Ethical dilemmas
  • Your company is selling a dangerous product, cheating on a contract, polluting the ground water…
  • What do you do?
  • Trials and tribulations of the whistle-blower
• The employment contract
  • Who owns that banana peeler that you invented in your kitchen?
  • Trade secrets, the mobile employee and the non-compete clause
• Intellectual Property
  • What is a patent and why would you get one?
  • Intellectual property and its value to a company
• Outsourcing and the global marketplace
  • Will outsourcing affect your career?
  • How might you adapt to the trend toward globalization?
  • The H-1B Visa, and other challenges to keeping your job

Grading:

Weekly assignments may include:

• Assigned readings
• Web-based research
• Individual analysis and weekly written assignments

Your final grade will be based primarily on the quality of your weekly essays and term paper. Quality is judged on your ability to write clearly and intelligently using proper grammar, spelling and punctuation (see writing rubric). Class participation will also be considered. Late or missed assignments and missed classes will lower your grade.