Even though they seem to be quite dissimilar, art and technology are both very dear to my heart: One does not have such an obvious purpose but makes our lives more lovable and the other’s sole function is – or at least should be – to simplify our existence. Technology is able to touch our hearts about as much as art can be explained with equations – still, one wouldn’t be what it is, without the other.
Twenty years back, it was time for me to make a career decision. I was drawn towards the so called soft sciences. I was interested to work with people, to create, to design and shape. If my parents would not have interfered, I would most likely have become a kindergarten teacher. Back then my father addressed me, with these serious words: “Son, your mother and I think it is for your best, to get a real profession. You know, craftsmanship is the base of everything. If you make a smart career choice and follow it thru, I promisse that we’ll support you in any subsequent university studies.”
The outcome of this monolog was, that my parents supported me as a fine art student, after I became a licensed electrician. One might now think, that I wasted four years of my life to receive an unnecessary technical education – an other, that I threw away a perfectly fine profession. I, for my part, am thankful for both.
Nowadays, I am happily married, father of a little girl and work in electrical, automation and instrumentation engineering for renown companies, among which there is one of Europe’s biggest refinery.
Yours,
Martin Bircher