Sherry Ramsey earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, in 1978. She holds a Professional Engineer's License from the state of Texas. She has been very active both as a student and as a professional member of the IEEE and the Society of Women Engineers.

Now with Southwestern Bell in San Antonio, Texas, until recently Ms. Ramsey was a member of Technical Staff at Southwestern Bell Technology Resources, Inc., in St. Louis, Missouri, where she was responsible for managing the Technology Resources program for corporate projects. She initiated and led technology transfer activities for SBC in the areas of network planning and provided expertise in business concerns and market needs as they related to technology deployment in SBC.

Ms. Ramsey is a Senior Member of the IEEE and a Senior Member of the Society of Women Engineers. She has served in various capacities for the Houston Section of IEEE, including Section Chairman. She also served on the Executive Committee of the National Telecommunications Conference in 1982 and as Registration Chairman for the Globecom '86 Executive Committee. She has served as the IEEE Region 5 Awards Chairman and was the Region 5 representative to the 1990 Sections Congress. She served as Chairman of the United States Activities Board's (USAB) Awards and Recognition Committee, and currently she chairs the USAB Member Activities Council. She was also on the Executive Board of the Vehicular Technology Conference '91.

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Engineering is an extremely interesting, dynamic, and exciting profession. The expectations of recent graduates with respect to what their careers will be like can be very different from the realities faced in a professional working environment. This presentation is an attempt to share a few of the facts, fallacies, and fancies which often are encountered by new entrants into the engineering workaday world. Some of these challenges, both professional and personal, are discussed and hopefully will provide a little insight and add perspective to the various situations that may be encountered. Basic questions such as "What is the real meaning of life?," "What is the true value of my existence?," and "Which way to the john?," are explored.

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