IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2017 - 59

its own effectiveness and impact. The
public sector sets and enforces rules
in order to maintain a level playing
field and an enabling environment
for all societal actors. The private
sector produces and sells products
and services that enhance our quality of life. Enterprises spur innovation and reward entrepreneurial
efforts. The implicit incentive mechanism and market feedback system
embedded in enterprises make
them particularly suitable for investing, developing, and scaling practical, inclusive, and sustainable social
innovations. Finally, the social sector
safeguards inclusion and sustainability, builds the capacity of at-risk
populations, and reduces investment
risk for the private sector. A particularly important social subsector
includes universities, think tanks,
and research organizations that create and disseminate new knowledge
for the benefit of all actors. Success
is interdependent among all actors -
innovations come from individuals,
informal groups, and established
organizations; they come from startups, large corporations, nonprofits,
governmental agencies, and increasingly, at the intersection of these
entities. And there is a need for innovators and problem-solvers in every
single organization.
All organizations have their uni que work culture. Innovators need
to test drive as many platforms and
find which (kinds of) organizations
align with their values, worldview,
and way of getting stuff done. For
example, an electrical engineer by
training but storyteller at heart, Chris
Hsiung, did not find an organization
doing what he wanted to do and so
he started his own company called
Hidden Story Productions. He educates people by telling the story of
human achievements and failures
through film and video. He helps
clients use video as a tool to educate, engage, or advocate for social
DECEMBER 2017

issues through short documentary
stories and creative projects. Timothy Carter, an environmental engineer, applies his engineering skills
to improve water, sanitation, and
hygiene in sub-Saharan Africa. Tim
draws his motivation for engaging in
sustainable development challenges
from his religion. Therefore, he prefers to work for an evangelical Christian aid organization, Samaritan's
Purse, whose values align with his
religious beliefs. There are as many
rationales for engagement as there
are people and there are adequate
platforms for every school of thought.
Nature abhors a vacuum and the
sustainable development ecosystem
is always growing and evolving to
address needs as they emerge.

#3 Essential Professional
Competencies
While most traditional jobs are advertised on companies' websites
and job search engines, most nontraditional jobs are not advertised
but rather discovered, or even created, through extended networks.
This is often because there are
scarce resources and opportunities in the social sector and people
are taking less risk if they can distribute them to people they trust. In
addition to building your network
to discover these opportunities,
your portfolio of rigorous work in
sustainable development will help
you get the job in this highly competitive field. The majority of the
innovators I interviewed had a graduate school education; some had
earned their Ph.D.s or professional
degrees like an M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H.,
or M.P.A. The majority of the innovators had leveraged fellowships and
service opportunities like the Peace
Corps, Teach for America, and Fulbright Scholarships. At the same
time there were several innovators
who decided not to pursue graduate school.
∕

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

Toby Cumberbatch and Pritpal
Singh, both Professors of Electrical Engineering, penned an article
on the pros and cons of pursuing a
Ph.D. degree. They encourage young
professionals to think through what
they really want from their career
and particularly whether they want
to become subject matter experts.
Good reasons to pursue a doctorate
include wanting to learn in a focused,
dedicated, disciplined manner; pursuing a career that requires a Ph.D.;
desiring a fast track to a senior
position; and wanting to build your
network with researchers. However,
Toby and Pritpal encourage you not
to pursue a doctorate if you want to
become an entrepreneur, be well
compensated for your work, or if you
already have in-demand technical
skills or are already an exper t.
Different roles and organizations
need different educational levels,
expertise, and prior experience.
Some organizations do not care
about educational qualifications as
long as you can get the job done,
while others have prescribed educational requirements for each role.
For example, to become a professor
at most universities or a research
director for a nonprofit, you need to
have a Ph.D., but to become a program director for a nonprofit or an
engineer for an energy company,
gaining more experience is often a
better investment of your time than
advanced graduate education.
While the degree and experience
appropriate for each platform varies, most sustainable development
professionals we interviewed had
a graduate education and in general
recommended nine professional
competencies: 1) oral and written
communication skills; 2) knowing
multiple languages; 3) global competence; 4) empathy; 5) entrepreneurial
mindset; 6) contextual understanding; 7) ethical decision-making;
8) resilience and adaptability; and

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2017