Welcome to the Workshop

"You are not the best engineer there ever was."

Early in my career, every tough problem sent me into a full spiral. I was convinced I was the worst engineer who ever lived, that I'd lose my job, and that my family would end up homeless. Then I'd solve the problem — sometimes in a surprisingly creative way — and suddenly I was the best engineer there ever was.

The truth, I eventually learned, is that you're neither. You're just an engineer with a problem to solve. Keep working it. You'll get there.

This blog is a collection of stories from a long career in electrical engineering — some technical, some philosophical, some funny, and some that are all three at once. They're chapters from a book I'm writing, shared here while the ink is still wet. I hope they're useful, entertaining, or at least make you feel less alone the next time you're convinced you're about to be fired.

— Jeff Penman