Fifteen years ago Dennis Monticelli was named as a National Semiconductor Fellow and just recently has retired from Texas Instruments Silicon Valley (Formerly National Semiconductor) on July 31, 2015. Monticelli spent 41 years at the same company and my recent interview with him summarizes his thoughts as we traveled back to his beginnings in Silicon Valley and on through to 2015. I have great respect for Monticelli; read his advice carefully and put it into action if you want a successful, thriving career as an engineer.

Here are Monticelli’s parting comments in the form of advice to engineers:

Some advice on thriving as an engineer

This week completes my long tenure with the semiconductor industry, all of it with National/TI. Watching a young industry mature and seeing analog go from king to pawn and back to king again has provided a unique perspective. Just because our industry has matured and consolidation is occurring does not equate to a shortage of opportunities to innovate, especially in analog where the real world meets electronics. But in order to maximize the value add innovators will need to understand the performance challenges from the perspective of the system. Increasingly compelling solutions will come from solving problems via a combination of device, circuit, architecture, firmware, and package. This speaks to broadening one’s self and developing the skill to work with people of multiple disciplines. As engineers we embrace the role of applying technology to products that make a difference in people’s lives. Of that we can be proud.

When it comes to career development I can offer a little advice.

Always treat people with respect . Your collaborations will bear more fruit and your relationships will be more pleasant, a welcome thing in any situation. Besides in the greater fraternity of engineers, paths will cross time and again….trust me.

Keep learning . It must be in our DNA, because when an engineer is no longer doing interesting challenging work and/or furthering education, that person becomes unhappy. If you’re not learning then ask yourself why and bring the subject out in the open.

Be a leader, not a victim . I had this posted on my computer during some of the darker years. Victims have things happen unto them. They make excuses and feel sorry for themselves. Leaders make things happen and develop followers. Besides, leaders feel a whole lot better about themselves than victims.

Share successes . Be a “we” person. The bigger things you will accomplish will happen with the substantial help of others. Be liberal with credit and look in the mirror when things don’t go right.

Finally, follow your passion . Harnessing our internal energy is the key. Each of us has to find what strongly motivates us and leverage that to do great things.

Dennis Monticelli