Dream Jobs 2005

Whether they travel the world, work from home, reach for the stars, or dig down in the ice, these 10 technologists love their work

1 min read
Ian Cavén posed in front of an image from the movie classics "Singing in the Rain."

Film Fixer: Ian Cavén spends his workdays restoring movie classics like Singing in the Rain, starring Gene Kelly.

Movie Still: MPTV.net; Additional Photography: Hans Sipma

Bill Woodcock circles the world several times a year, building Internet exchanges in exotic locales; he’s the engineering adventurer he dreamed about being ever since he was a teen.

Ian Cavén, meanwhile, rarely leaves his hilltop home near Vancouver, B.C., Canada, but fulfilling his dream of working at home hasn’t meant leaving technical challenges behind—he works on complex image-processing research for the motion picture industry.

Dreams are personal, as IEEE Spectrum’s 2005 report on dream jobs clearly illustrates. Take Craig Nance: he built telescopes as a child and eventually parlayed his MSEE degree into a job as facilities engineer at an observatory on the Big Island of Hawaii. Victor Zagorodnov, on the other hand, took his MSEE degree and a passion for earth sciences to faraway glaciers and polar ice fields. Would they want to trade jobs? Unlikely.

With the range of experience represented by our 10 profilees this year, there’s bound to be something to spur every imagination. Would you prefer designing and testing recreational vehicles, like Claude Gagnon? How about fine-tuning Formula 1 race cars like Ossi Oikarinen, or sending robots out to wander the Martian landscape like Ayanna Howard? You could sail the seven seas aboard luxury liners like Dale Gardener, or restore landmark bell and clock towers like Keith Donovan, or light up Times Square like Fritz Morgan.

{"imageShortcodeIds":[]}

This article is for IEEE members only. Join IEEE to access our full archive.

Join the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences and get access to all of Spectrum’s articles, podcasts, and special reports. Learn more →

If you're already an IEEE member, please sign in to continue reading.

Membership includes:

  • Get unlimited access to IEEE Spectrum content
  • Follow your favorite topics to create a personalized feed of IEEE Spectrum content
  • Save Spectrum articles to read later
  • Network with other technology professionals
  • Establish a professional profile
  • Create a group to share and collaborate on projects
  • Discover IEEE events and activities
  • Join and participate in discussions