Wally’s Water Wisdom – Happy Engineers Week!

Hello friends! If you are a frequent blog reader, you may recall that I asked for you to take a rain check on a future lesson about what type of careers you can obtain in the field of STEAM on a previous blog. Given that it is Engineers Week, I have those answers for you for jobs in… well, you guessed it—ENGINEERING.  

As a water enthusiast, did you know about the possible career opportunities if you major in engineering? I sat down (well, I was mostly floating since, you know, I am a water droplet) with two of my engineer friends, Brian Noh and Eddie Lin from IEUA. Both of my friends are Engineers who work outside of the Engineering Department at the Agency. Think of the engineering career as the overall umbrella, but like an umbrella, there are various pieces. Some engineers find their job in an engineering department, and others have a journey in other departments, such as Asset Management or Planning & Resources.

Let’s wave hello to Brian Noh first as he tells us more about his career in Asset Management.

Brian Noh – IEUA Senior Engineer, P.E. Asset Management

Q: What is your educational background?

A: I have a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering.

Q: When did your interest in STEM begin?

A: I immigrated to the United States in junior high school and had to learn a new language. For that reason, I realized at an early age that I probably would not be very competitive in anything linguistic. STEM was much easier and enjoyable than anything linguistic (for me).  

Q: Describe your role to K-12 students interested in using an Engineering degree within the water industry.

A: Engineering, to me, is a logical thought process. Going through the Engineering courses prepares you to make a decision based on science and sound reasoning.     

Thank you to Brian for talking with me and taking us through his journey to a career in water. He is part of a highly collaborative team and a cross-agency effort to continually maximize the Agency’s level of service while minimizing capital, operation & maintenance, and risk costs. His expertise as an Engineer is valued and appreciated.

Now, let’s swim over to say hello to Eddie Lin from Planning & Resources.

Eddie Lin – IEUA Senior Engineer, P.E. Planning & Resources

Q: What is your educational background?

A: I have an Environmental Engineering degree from UC Irvine.

Q: When did your interest in STEM begin?

A: I can’t pinpoint an exact time when my interest began, but I’ve always been curious about how things work. Let’s just say I broke (and occasionally fixed) a lot of toys.

Q: Describe your role to K-12 students interested in using an Engineering degree within the water industry.

A: Whether it is civil/environmental, chemical, electrical, mechanical, or even software engineering, there are tons of opportunities and need in the water industry. Water is also an incredibly important field to be in because, without it, there is no home, city, country, or even life! I work in the Planning & Resources department at IEUA with other Planners/Engineers to figure out how dependable our water supplies are, come up with ways to protect/improve the supplies we have, and put together plans to get more supplies or reduce our usage.

Thanks, Eddie! Wow, is it just me, or do you all feel like you just learned a new sea of engineering information? I know I sure did. It is one of the things I love most about talking with you – I want to educate teachers, parents, and students about water, and that sometimes also means the people who help us accomplish our water goals, like Brian and Eddie.  Our region is lucky to have talented engineers who are enhancing the quality of life in our community with a superior water supply. Happy Engineers Week to all engineers and shout out to all of IEUA’s engineers. Make sure to follow my friends at @IEUAwater on Instagram as we celebrate all week long.

Your friend,

Wally