Nathan Yoder:  

t involved in it which is under-emphasized by the surgeons and is only for certain people (and families supporting them) strong enough to endure it. The end result is worth it boy from a very practical physical standpoint and from a social standpoint. School I have become a computer geek who has branched from programming/computer science (software) into the computer & electrical engineering (hardware) side of things. Because I had known a lot of the software side prior to going into college (self-taught), I changed my major from computer to electrical engineering part way in college. This allowed me to learn more of the hardware side, which I was less familiar with and was more challenging to me. I originally had a computer engineering concentration (sort of a mini-minor) to allow myself to learn more to the digital (as opposed to analog) side of electronics, but now I plan on changing to a biomedical concentration when I go back to college so I can work on human-connected medical equipment, medically related lab equipment, bioelectronics (implants and the like) and things related to this, especially those that interface closer to biological elements. This is both out of a personal interest (I love safety critical equipment; think avionics, space shuttles and medical equipment) and to make a contribution to help people with medical problems. I may even go into a microlectronics (design and manufacturing of semiconductors like computer processors and DNA testing microchips) to pursue MEMS, which deals with microscopic mechanical systems to manipulate and analyze microscopic materials, such as locating specific genes in a drop of blood or using many tiny 'color wheels' and tiny mirrors to produce an image for DLP projectors. Technology has progressed so far and has many interesting fields that I could go into. It's definitely hard work with all of the rigorous math, physics, lab and other requirements, but it's worth it for the interest things you get to design and work on. I also have many side interests (mostly in the software side of things) that I pursue as a hobby which, while I wouldn't be disappointed to work on professionally, would prefer to work on personally, while pursuing the above fields as a professional career. The whole of the open source movement (and corporations trying to 'compete' and/or imitate it) has provided a great way for many people to get into this without having to pay a lot of money for access to development tools, source code to learn from and utilize, a community of people to talk to and more. It's a great way for hobbiests (in the serious sense of the word, not just someone doing casual work) to work. Given the wide available of open content and other information now available on the internet for free, quick and easy access, so much of this can be self-taught.