{"id":4874,"date":"2017-11-16T14:30:33","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T14:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=4874"},"modified":"2017-11-16T21:24:46","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T21:24:46","slug":"its-my-job-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=4874","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s my job: Will Bates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2017\/11\/Will-Bates-Photos-11-of-11.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4888 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2017\/11\/Will-Bates-Photos-11-of-11-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"590\" height=\"394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2017\/11\/Will-Bates-Photos-11-of-11-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2017\/11\/Will-Bates-Photos-11-of-11-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2017\/11\/Will-Bates-Photos-11-of-11-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2017\/11\/Will-Bates-Photos-11-of-11.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px\" \/><\/a>Will Bates, \u201914 double major in electrical and computer engineering and computer science<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\n<em><strong>Software Engineer<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\n<em><strong>Johnson Outdoors, Alpharetta, Georgia<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>A day in the work life<\/strong><br \/>\nI\u2019ve been fishing since I was 5 years old, and I\u2019ve always had such a passion for it. I never thought I would be working in an industry where I\u2019d feel the accountability and the drive to make the experience out on the water more pleasurable for people.<\/p>\n<p>Most days I\u2019m in the office writing code, typically doing agile development and working to accomplish the software goals we\u2019ve set for ourselves. That usually includes some Linux work, C++ development, and some Python work as well. Some days I\u2019m lucky enough to get out on the lake and work on things I can\u2019t do in the office.<\/p>\n<p>On the boat, we have fish finders that give us sonar, mapping and navigation features that we rely on for safe operation, depth purposes and finding fish. We also have a GPS-guided trolling motor, which is used to automatically navigate with internal GPS. This kind of development work gets me out in my boat where I\u2019m checking navigation, sonar and things like that. Those are the fun days.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-container\" style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qScYDTXNbC8\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><strong>Computer engineering calling<\/strong><br \/>\nI knew I wanted to do something with electronics. I chose computer engineering because it felt like a good mix of electrical engineering with some computer science. Midway through college, I felt like I wanted more, so I added on the computer science major.<\/p>\n<p>Basically, the things that motivated me were my desire to work in electronics and the feeling of empowerment that came with working with software.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Auburn Engineering impact<\/strong><br \/>\nI went to Auburn because of the fishing team \u2013 partially. Auburn Engineering is well known throughout the South, and that was the primary reason I chose Auburn. The campus culture and the chance to compete on the fishing team really put it over the top for me.<\/p>\n<p>During my senior year, my roommates \u2013 who also were on the fishing team \u2013 and I were looking for jobs and jokingly said, \u2018Hey, wouldn\u2019t it be cool to work in the fishing industry?\u2019 I started looking online at jobs with marine electronics manufacturers, and Johnson Outdoors was looking for a software engineer. I applied and got the job.<\/p>\n<p>Auburn Engineering is fantastic, but Auburn itself is such a great school. Auburn Engineering specifically is, to me, one of the most practical, hands-on schools. We did a lot of Linux development, which I feel gave me an advantage over others coming into the industry. Participating in practical team applications, like our senior design groups, was so important. Working as a team is critical in the engineering world, and I feel like Auburn did a good job preparing us for that as well.<\/p>\n<p>Auburn also offered me opportunities to do undergraduate research. I worked with Dr. Saad Biaz in computer science and software engineering on autonomous aircraft, and later with Dr. Chase Murray in industrial and systems engineering. These experiences were invaluable to me, not just in the technical aspect of learning new technologies, but also in the mental aspect of self-driven accomplishment. I learned how to figure things out and overcome obstacles without relying on someone who has done it before to help.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Career success<\/strong><br \/>\nTechnology is going crazy in the fish finder industry. We\u2019ve gone from a single, low-frequency beam pointed straight under the boat to 360-degree imaging beams, and we have megahertz frequency beams.<\/p>\n<p>The user interface on the fish finders is going crazy, too. Eight years ago, a touchscreen was unheard of. Now touchscreen on the high-end electronics is pretty much standard. Bluetooth connectivity is something we\u2019ve been working on lately. You can hook your fish finder up to your phone, to your trolling motor, and to your shallow water anchors. The technology has just exploded.<\/p>\n<p>I also use the equipment outside of work. If I find something is not right, I can come in and fix it, and I can get excited about it.<\/p>\n<p>At one point, for example, I came up with an idea to improve the heading calculation on our units. I asked my boss if I could come out on the water to work on that for a few days, and now we use the algorithm that I developed.<\/p>\n<p>I feel I\u2019m very lucky to come out here and do what I do. I\u2019m lucky to be able to work on something that I enjoy and have passion for.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m looking to progress in my career with Johnson Outdoors, to maybe become a lead software\/senior software engineer sometime in the near future. I think I\u2019d like to get a Ph.D. at some point \u2013 at Auburn, of course \u2013 and maybe even work as a professor one day. But for right now, every day feels like a blessing because I\u2019m able to come in and do what I enjoy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Will Bates, \u201914 double major in electrical and computer engineering and computer science Software Engineer Johnson Outdoors, Alpharetta, Georgia A day in the work life I\u2019ve been fishing since I was 5 years old, and I\u2019ve always had such a passion for it. I never thought I would be working [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[1015,138,1014],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>It&#039;s my job: Will Bates &raquo; Auburn Engineer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=4874\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It&#039;s my job: Will Bates &raquo; Auburn Engineer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Will Bates, \u201914 double major in electrical and computer engineering and computer science Software Engineer Johnson Outdoors, Alpharetta, Georgia A day in the work life I\u2019ve been fishing since I was 5 years old, and I\u2019ve always had such a passion for it. 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