I believe engineers alone cannot deliver the new innovations our world demands. The consumer connection is more important than ever. Tech needs bartenders at the table to innovate, and I am going to tell you why.
I started my career in tech twenty-nine years ago. It’s a funny story really. I was happily bartending at the Jersey Shore (long before that show existed) as well as working as a respite consultant for autistic children. I loved both jobs. I was using my college degree and making money.
Then I met Bill, an engineering executive at Bell Laboratories. He questioned my long-term career goals and apparently wasn’t satisfied with my answers. So he got me an interview at Bell Labs. To say that I was not interested, would be an understatement. My gut instinct was confirmed after setting foot in the iconic Holmdel facility. It resembled a prison, and I was sure people might jump down into the atrium to break the deafening silence. Despite all this, after a second interview I accepted a job in technical publications in the Quality, Engineering and Software Technology department. …
