My name is Lukáš, and I successfully defended my diploma thesis in May 2015. The whole year was a period of uncertainty for me when a fresh engineer gets to the stage his high school peers were many years ago. At that time, they had a certain salary and an overall promising career, while I was offered a starting salary at a lower level than they had then because even though I had a higher education than my high school peers, I was missing almost 5 years of practice.
Not that I slacked off and let my parents support me during college, but two years as a Trainee at Skoda Transportation doesn't put anyone in the chair, and the second job I had in medical technology didn't either. However, when things started to get interesting was when I decided to do a Ph.D. (continuing to develop my knowledge in thermal calculations of electrical machines) and my other fellow engineers for going to practice. Thanks to the field of electrical machinery, many times, all I had to do was send in my resume, not completely blow the interview, and the offer was on the table several times. I personally even managed to fight my way through 5 rounds of the selection process once and was offered a job in Brussels with a well-known international company with a starting salary twice the average wage at the time. But in the end, I declined because I liked the freedom and the range of possibilities in research within the FEE research centre RICE, where I am currently employed full time.
I was offered travel possibilities and a corresponding salary here, and 6 years after graduating from university, I am glad for my choice. For my peers from high school, the salary shift took place for about the first 5 years and then slowed down a lot. Despite a lower starting salary compared to that of high schoolers with experience, my university peers managed to match and, for many of them, surpass their remuneration many times over during their first year on the job. However, this was only true for those who studied technically oriented fields. I do not want to put down humanities in general, but it is not a problem to meet graduates of these faculties employed in Lidl or Albert. In general, the best choice these days is to either go the trade route and start a business or successfully complete a technically oriented university. And maybe ours!
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering is a leading faculty within the University of West Bohemia. As far as employment is concerned, and as far as I know, all graduates of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering are employed in lucrative jobs with a salary range of between 50-100 thousand gross per month, which, at the age of 30, I find very interesting and appropriate given the experience. In general, I found studying at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering very interesting in terms of the scope of the curriculum, beneficial in terms of the approaches of the lecturers, and I think it gave me a lot of new theoretical and manual experience. Of course, some memories are not entirely positive (we don't live in an ideal world), but there are far more good ones. If there is any interest, it is also possible to collaborate on interesting projects, and this is not just some platitude. If one shows at least a little motivation, one is invited to collaborate and participate physically and mentally in new things being created. This is an asset compared to other faculties in the field of electrical engineering because other faculties in the country are often envious of our extensive research capabilities and competence. I have this information and experience thanks to my frequent participation in international conferences held both in Europe and beyond.
My travel appetite was also satisfied thanks to the extensive opportunities offered and, more importantly, supported in terms of study, practice, and job opportunities. Some of the destinations I have been to, thanks to the Faculty, include such interesting places as Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Morocco, and Algeria. I won't even mention European destinations; that would be a long list 😊. In the future, I hope to continue to fulfill my dreams, not only scientific or travel plans, but also life dreams, thanks to the Faculty and what it has given me. I am satisfied, do you want to be too? Then grit your teeth, apply, prolong your youth, learn something, travel the world, finish it, and thank me in 5 years. Because that's what is awaiting you at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Pilsen!
#uwbFELforever
