Career Opportunities in Optics

Abstract

It's the bandwidth, stupid! That's the most concise explanation of the explosive growth in interest in optical communications. This year's Optical Fiber Communications conference drew a record 17 300 people, an astounding 70% increase over an already robust attendance last year. The number of exhibitors at the meeting, which was held in Baltimore in March, was up by 25%. More than 3400 jobs were posted for consideration by a record 300 job seekers—11 jobs per seeker. Similarly, the Photonics West conference, held in San Jose in January, drew a record attendance of 12 141, surpassing the previous year's attendance by nearly a thousand.