Karan
Deep is and Electronics Engineer and is currently working as Product Quality
and Reliability Engineer at Micron Technology, Centreville, Virginia, USA. Born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, Karan
found interest in Electronics at a very early stage of his life. Karan builds
and flies Drones and small planes in his leisure time and took his passion in
Electronics directed him into semiconductor industry. This is his career
journey.
- Can
you please explain your work for us.
Micron
Technology is a company that provides memory and storage solutions. We all
store photos, music, videos on our phones and computers on a day-to-day basis.
Memory cards/storage devices inside these devices store our cherished memories,
music and videos. Micron is a global leader in designing, manufacture/fabricate
and packaging memory devices.
Different
types and sizes of memory/storage chips go inside our beloved electronics like
phones, tablets, computers, laptops etc. As a Product Quality and Reliability
Engineer, I am responsible for making sure that memory/storage solutions are up
to the standards or not. For example, I make sure that memory card that goes in
a phone is designed and manufactured as per the specifications or customer
requirements and I test it properly and hard to withstand device falls, or water
damage etc
- What
is your day-to-day work like?
Most
of my work involves analyzing data generated by testing memory products. But
sometimes I make trips to fabrication plants and check the products in person.
- What
is most enjoyable being an Electronics Engineer?
I am
very proud to say that my everyday work is on the crucial components of our favorite electronics like Mobile phones, Tablets, Computers, Flash
drives etc and I personally enjoy building these cool electronics.
- When
and how did you become so much interested in Electronics?
I
became very interested in Electronics at very early age. Working
on school science projects, attending science and technology shows and
exhibitions, I became curious about Electronic devices. One day I received a
Electronics Hobby Kit as a gift from one of my relatives and I started building
a Fire Alarm . When any Electronic device like radio or TV is broken, I used to
pay attention and ask lot of questions when the Technician is fixing the
equipment. As I grew up, I started fixing any broken household equipment like
radio, TV, Mixer etc
- How
did you pursue your passion in Electronics after your school years?
I
went to study B. Tech in Electronics and Communication in University of Pune,
India. After my undergraduate program, I flew to US to bag MS degree from
University of Texas. With help from
seniors, I selected right courses during graduation and made sure to gain some
real-time industry experience through internship.
Based
on my skill set, and passion, I was offered a job right after graduation and
continued in this industry ever since.
- Have
you faced any challenges in this journey?
I
feel blessed for not having any challenges and I stepped in the right direction
to become what I am today. But I am facing a challenge right now. Ideally, I
would love to move back to India but there is only one company manufacturing
memory products in India and my career options are very limited. US and
Singapore are the best places for starting a career in Micro Electronics. Sandisk,
Western Digital, Qualcomm, Micron, Global Foundries, SK Hynix are few companies
in this semiconductor industry with great career choices.
- How do you see the future of Micro Electronics?
Demand and growth for Micro Electronics is increasing exponentially. Need for very small or nano chips and devices in our favorite devices is growing rapidly. For students interested in semi-conductor field, I suggest reading electronics magazines like Electronics For U, joining clubs like flying clubs, technology clubs, working on science projects or Electronics Hobby Kits.
