Find out more about Karen Sabo as she shares her career experiences and challenges as an engineer.

Your education in engineering and technology doesn't end the day you get your diploma.

Conferences, professional education, and local seminars are all part of your continuing education as an engineer.

Jeremy Schneider thought he'd be a computer engineer, working for a company like Microsoft. He ended up starting his own apartment rental network business, and retired his resume after college.

Starting out as an electrical engineer at a chemical plant, Alisa discovered her passion for applying her skills to a broad range of problems. Alisa encourages students to seize all the experiences they can and not shy away from opportunities, whatever they may be.

Technology is a competitive field. Keep yourself informed, learn to work in teams, be flexible, and understand the expectations of your employers and customers.

Dutch engineer Maarten Graveland is known by his coworkers as the man who can fix anything. He more modestly admits that he likes to make things foolproof and sustainable. His interest in sustainability recently led him to Guatemala, where he applied his high-tech training to low-tech environmental engineering problems

An important part of any researcher's life is presenting papers at technology conferences.

Maarten Graveland's interest in sustainability recently led him to Guatemala where he applied his high-tech training to low-tech environmental engineering problems. Here's the rest of his story.

If you're considering engineering, there are dozens of areas to specialize in, and you can pursue many branches within each one.

It's hard to imagine a profession that uses more buzzwords, acronyms and jargon than engineering. Here are a few terms to help you sound like an insider.

Increasingly, intellectual property (IP) such as patents and copyrights form the lifeblood of today's top technology companies. Even more so than the products manufactured based on IP, the IP itself gives companies a steady revenue stream that can keep generating income for years to come.

Andrew's passion for developing medical devices directed him to a degree in electrical engineering. A chance encounter triggered a career shift and opened up new opportunities for him.

You probably see them or read their words every time you turn on the TV news or read the newspaper. They're the people who aren't directly involved in a news story, but who speak to reporters because they have some sort of unique perspective on the events in question and can comment on it with a degree of veracity. Who are they? They're expert sources, and some day, you could be one of them. And if that happens, you could soon find your career moving forward to a whole new level.

This is a story about Bob, who was an engineer, then was laid off, and couldn't have been happier about it.

Engineers never seem to stop thinking. Their minds keep coming up with new ideas, and those new ideas have a tendency to become new technologies or processes.

While gender roles in technology still aren't equal, they are getting better every year, and there are more opportunities for women in engineering around the world than ever before.

If you're working on your engineering degree, you probably have one thing in mind: design, design, design. And while an engineering degree gives you the tools to do just that, it can also give you the foundation for a variety of other positions.

You may be nervous about a few things now that you are entering a world as complex as engineering. But some engineers' greatest fears are no longer anything to worry about.

Surviving those advanced integral calculus lectures and organic chemistry labs meant downing gallons of coffee, but that math- or science-related major might just be worth it - in terms of job outlook and high starting pay, that is.

Programmers are usually referred to by the language or function they specialize in, for example Java programmers, or Internet programmers. They are also usually separated into two main types, applications and systems programmers.

Global culture and economics have a tremendous impact on people working in the technology fields. Offshoring, open access, and green engineering are three trends to keep your eye on.

The best job opportunities for engineers aren't always at for-profit tech companies. Non-profit institutions -- which often do work in similar fields as corporations -- offer a wide range or jobs and opportunities, especially for engineers who want to put their technology skills to work going good for the world.

Nearly 400,000 patent applications were filed in the United States in 2005, part of a worldwide trend that has seen the number of patents filed annually nearly double in the last 20 years. Why so many patents? Simple: they're valuable. Companies, universities and even individuals make money from them, plain and simple.

Filing your first patent application is an important milestone for any engineer or scientist. Think about it: your name is going to be registered with your invention, and anyone who later builds their ideas upon your invention will forever need to cite you as an influence.

Looking for information about current technology trends and practical advice about your work in engineering? Here are five sources you should check out.

It's a high-tech world. Engineers bring that world to life.

If you decide that the life of an R&D researcher or computer programmer isn't for you, your engineering education can still come in handy.