Igor Acimovic is a radio frequency engineer who grew up in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. The education system is different there. He studied electrical
engineering in high school and the decision to do that was basically made
in primary school.
"My father is also an engineer and so that's probably where the interest
came from first," says Acimovic. (Although his father is a software engineer,
not an RF engineer.)
This early exposure to electrical engineering concepts helped Acimovic
when he came to North America to study electrical engineering. Many of his
fellow students who had attended high school in North America were overwhelmed
at first by the material, he says. But it wasn't as bad for him.
Acimovic says this area of study is difficult because it has, "a lot of
abstract (concepts) like fields and current... that people don't get in touch
with in their normal lives. So it was a challenge, it was difficult, and not
for everybody."
Acimovic credits one of his engineering professors with encouraging him
to focus on RF engineering.
"There were only a few people that were actually brave enough to kind of
jump (into RF engineering), but actually the main credit should go to the
professor," says Acimovic. "In his courses he was able to inspire people to
actually do it, despite the difficulties of the courses and this particular
specialty. I think it's very important to have a good...professor to introduce
the subject properly and then it's much easier to make that decision."
Acimovic now works for a telecommunications company. Here's how he describes
his current work: "Right now I'm working on RF amplifiers, so it's basically
for a cellphone infrastructure. All the cellphone towers that you see around,
basically at the foot of the tower there's a radio transceiver, and... that
transceiver is connected to the network and basically the data that comes
through that radio is transmitted through the air to all the users that are
around. So I'm working on that infrastructure, basically... the part that
provides output power, so that goes to the antennae and that gets radiated
into the air and received by all the cellphones."
The challenging nature of RF engineering means that a competitive nature
is a good quality to have, says Acimovic.
"Having a strong imagination I also think is a big asset," says Acimovic.
"Being able to envision things -- not just follow the group, but to get out
of it a little bit and try to explore new things, even though at first sight
they may seem implausible. It's kind of a little bit of an adventure-seeking...
kind of spirit.
"People should be able to not just take the tasks that other people have
already done [and] not just walk the well-trodden path," Acimovic adds. "One
should be able to kind of go on the margins and try to push the envelope."
Derek McNamara is a professor in a school of informational technology and
engineering. His research interests include antennas, computational electromagnetics
and microwave circuits. In the past he has worked in industry as well as at
a government lab.
McNamara says it was his interest in electromagnetic theory that drew him
to RF engineering.
"It may sound nerdish, but when I went into the electromagnetism course
I thought this stuff was absolutely beautiful, and I've been hooked ever since,"
says McNamara. "It just captured my imagination."
McNamara says RF engineers don't just need to understand abstract concepts
like electromagnetic theory, however. They also have to relate well to people.
He says this is true for all types of engineers.
"In industry, when we had to deal with customers, there were some of my
colleagues that when customers arrived we locked them in a room, figuratively
speaking, because when they spoke they were perhaps a little bit arrogant
or aggressive or didn't explain what they meant clearly or were trying to
impress," says McNamara. "And these aren't good communication skills, as far
as I'm concerned."
Vivian Lund is a senior RF engineer with an engineering consulting firm.
She helps a diverse range of clients with their RF projects. The projects
are low- to mid-powered transmitters and receivers for avionics, ISM (industrial,
scientific and medical) and utility meters.
"When I was about nine, my love of music led me to learning about electronic
audio equipment," says Lund. "When I was about 11, I bought my first electronics
books to learn more about how radios worked. I was fascinated by radio wave
propagation at the various frequencies around the globe, and got interested
in amateur radio. The men in my family were all either engineers or architects,
so some of it was in my blood."
It's a challenging profession. But if you like solving problems, those
challenges can be fun and interesting challenges. "Sometimes the components
in your design do not meet specifications and you have to find a work-around,"
says Lund.
"Sometimes the schedules are difficult. Almost every problem you encounter
has some sort of new twist to it."
Lund says there are a number of things she enjoys about being an RF engineer.
"I love technology, test equipment, electronics and computers," she says.
"I love learning new things. Getting to play with new technology on the job
and creating new products is the best part of being an RF engineer."