From: "Michael D. Crawford" 
To: atm{at}shore.net
Reply-To: "Michael D. Crawford" 


I recall seeing some professional opticians and optical designers on the
ATM list.  I'd like to ask you for some advice on how I can make a career
of optics.

I've been working as a programmer for fifteen years, but for various
reasons I am unhappy with it and have been thinking of changing careers,
but I'm not sure what I might do.  Yesterday my wife asked me when I am
happiest, and I said that I am happiest when I am working on telescopes. 
So I thought I might be either an optician or an optical designer.

I emailed David Hilyard of the Lick observatory optical lab, looking for an
optician I once knew who used to work there, and Mr. Hilyard said the best
way to become an optician is to work as an apprentice at a company that
offers apprenticeships.  He said this takes 6 to 8 years.

I'm 38 years old now, and I can't make a change anytime real soon, so I
don't know that I would be able to take the time to do an optics
apprenticeship.  But perhaps optical design would be a better choice for
me.

I have a bachelor's degree in physics from UC Santa Cruz.  I successfully
petitioned for credit in the optics course offerred by the physics
department there, based on my experience with telescope making and doing
well on the final exam.  (A petition for credit allows you to get college
credit for a course without actually taking the course.)

I would enjoy still working with computers, for example to write lens
design software.  It's just that the software business has always been
crazy; I'd like a job that was a little more predictable.

I'm also interested in lasers, and have helped some friends build a couple.
 I thinkered around on a dye laser for a while but never got it working,
but I expect I could if I really set my mind to it.

I would also like at some point to get a graduate degree.  One possibility
might be to study electrooptics.  I would ultimately like to get a phd if I
do go to grad school, but I would probably break that up and get a master's
first, and get a phd after working for a few years.  I think that getting
another degree would help more for being a designer than an optician.

What I feel would really be ideal for me is to design novel optical systems
and then build them myself.  I don't know if anyone actually does that.  If
I were to do fabrication, I would be more interested in doing custom or
one-off systems rather than production work in a factory.  I would be
really stoked to work in an observatory's optical shop.

I have a complicated requirement though - it would be very helpful if I
could do all this in Canada.  Even better if it could be in Nova Scotia. 
The reason is that my wife is Canadian.  We live in the U.S. now but she
would like to move to Nova Scotia sometime within the next year.  She might
be willing to move elsewhere within Canada while I attend graduate school,
but I don't think she's going to want to move back to the U.S.

Thanks for any advice you can give me,

Mike
--
Michael D. Crawford
GoingWare Inc. - Expert Software Development and Consulting http://www.goingware.com/
crawford{at}goingware.com

         Tilting at Windmills for a Better Tomorrow.

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