Nowadays, the electrical engineering market is in a bad shape. There are over 600 semiconductor companies in China alone, and many start to worry whether they should leave and find another field of specialization. In the olden days, one could become a king with the control of iron. However, during Chosun-Dynasty, handling iron was no longer a talent and became a mundane task for blacksmiths. Through this example, we can realize that the scarcity of work, not its type, was the main value criterion.
James Watt developed steam engine using iron and pioneered the Industrial Revolution. Developing a new concept using the conventional technologies can produce high values. No man-made technologies have as high accuracy and low form factor as electrical engineering. Therefore, electrical engineering can become a very useful tool to realize something much bigger. I wish that KAIST EE students would acquire knowledge of various areas and use their specialty, electrical engineering, to develop new concepts and devices.
