Robotics and your Next Opportunity
Careers in Robotics: One of my closest friends is about to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with a Master’s in Robotics and has accepted an amazing job in the Bay Area working for a company that makes surgical robots, how cool is that!?
I learned that The University of Pennsylvania has an amazing Robotics department and the GRASP (General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception) lab, which is one of the top research departments in the country, they even make robots who can play soccer!
Not only am I insanely proud and happy for my friend but I find it fascinating that there is an entire department for Robotics in many universities around the country and as a society we have gotten to a place where robotics jobs are ever more prevalent.
Have you heard of the Uber and Google self-driving cars? They are basically giant robots, and I assume the amount of research and time that went into those is enormous. Not sure I’m ready to ride in one yet.
The future of robotics is WIDE OPEN.
What are some of the highly sought after jobs in robotics today?
Take a look as I explore 3 of the most common robotics careers below…
Software Developer
When I hear the term “software developer” I usually think of someone who programs an application that works on the web, or on someone’s phone. But if you think about a robot, in any kind of form, it requires software to function.
From moving, to making calculated decisions based on surrounding stimuli, to simply turning on and off, software is required for all of it. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that one of the top jobs for people in the field of robotics is software development.
This type of software development is a bit different than say writing code for a website or mobile app, but the basics are still the same, they just add a few layers of complication. One being that there isn’t a screen, the software and hardware are incorporated in a way that is unusual in most developer’s experiences and require extra knowledge and study.
Robotics Engineer
Software Developers work on the coding whereas Robotics Engineers get the whole package, of knowledge of software development, hardware development, and embedded development which are all required.
Robots are extremely complicated and depending on the design, size, and intended tasks of a robot it can require a lot of moving pieces (pun intended) so a robotics engineer is one of the most important jobs in the process.
Robotics Engineers are like the nerves that control the signals from the brain to the rest of the body.
They are not only involved in the planning and design but also integral to execution. They get to design, build, and test robots!
Talk about a dream job.
Robot Operator
The Software Developers and Robotics Engineers have built a functioning robot…
Now someone has to operate it.
This one might sound a little less glamorous but it is just as important as the other careers. After spending a lot of time and money designing and developing a robot you have to have someone who can actually operate it for its intended use.
This job would require someone that knows the robot better than they know the back of their hand and can perform basic break fix problems and troubleshooting.
I know there are tons of more jobs in the robotics industry and just like any industry the job titles could be different for each and every company. This gives you a starting point for understanding a few key roles in Robotics and how they function in the bigger picture.
Want to learn more about the Robotics program at UPenn and possible careers? Visit https://www.grasp.upenn.edu/ to read up.
