The Department of Defense (DoD) is looking for a few good men and women — especially minorities — to fill civilian jobs.
“Taking the Pentagon to the People” was a two-day event hosted by the College of Engineering & Computing at the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. The goal was to educate students about engineering jobs available with the DoD. FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg gave the official welcome.
“There is a great opportunity at this time for our engineers to serve this nation,” said John L. Volakis, dean of the College of Engineering & Computing. “It’s a win-win – the DoD benefits from workers with diverse backgrounds while our students get stable, good-paying jobs with great benefits and potential for growth.”
The DoD is the country’s oldest and largest government agency, with roots dating back to pre-Revolutionary times. When people think of working for the DoD, they assume it’s serving in the military, which includes the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard. However, this event centered on recruiting civilian workers and also covered funding research projects, particularly in STEM fields.
It is estimated that 40 percent of STEM personnel in the DoD will be eligible to retire five years from now, creating an urgency to fill those jobs. According to Michael J. Cacccuitto, III, chief of Technology Integration and Outreach Division at the Army Research Office, there are 13,800 workers within the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) – about 11,000 of them are assigned engineers.
FIU already has a working relationship with the DoD, as President Rosenberg pointed out in his address. The Army, Navy, Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have all supported ongoing research in the College of Engineering & Computing in the areas of secured power distribution grid, advanced communication systems, advanced materials and nanotechnology, and neurotechnology and prosthetics.
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