Meet Polar's New Engineer Jess Hollenbaugh 

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

At PCB West, I spoke with Jess Hollenbaugh, a recent college graduate who has now joined Polar Instruments. In this interview, she shares her journey from a physics student focused on high-energy astrophysics to her new role at Polar. Her insights provide a glimpse into the dynamic opportunities awaiting those who venture into this evolving industry.

Andy Shaughnessy: Jess, it’s always great to see young people joining this industry. What is your background? How did you get into this industry?  

Jess Hollenbaugh: I graduated with a BS degree in physics. My research interests have been primarily high-energy astrophysics and nonlinear optics. I have been very explorative, dabbling in the research world. I decided to look into electronics and digital signals, and it's been very enlightening. 

Shaughnessy: What do you like about this industry? What's the best part so far? 

Hollenbaugh: There's just so much knowledge in the industry. With an aging workforce demographic, there are so many people here who are exciting for me to talk to and love to share their knowledge in design, fabrication, and theory. There are so many different characters and players. 

Shaughnessy: You will find a lot of characters here. I like that you have a physics background. We have our fair share of EEs in the industry, but we can’t forget about the physics part.

Hollenbaugh: Don't forget Maxwell! 

Shaughnessy: Jess, where are you from originally?

Hollenbaugh: I'm from Boise, Idaho and I went to Portland State University. I was drawn to Washington County, Oregon, because of its career opportunities in semiconductor and the electronics industry. There was a lot of room to explore.

Shaughnessy: What are you working on at Polar now? 

Hollenbaugh: I'm just starting with Polar as a technical specialist in sales focused on customer support. I'm still learning about the industry and how it all works. 

Shaughnessy: We need more young people since so many people are retiring. 

Hollenbaugh: The industry will change a lot very soon. 

Shaughnessy: How did you find out about this industry? 

Hollenbaugh: Honestly, I just saw that Polar was hiring. I had never heard of the company and didn't know anything about the industry, but as a physics student, electronics came up everywhere. I have some electricity and magnetism training. It has always felt like an area in which I could explore and strengthen my skills. Even if I ended up going into a different industry, I knew it would be a great opportunity to develop my skill sets, and I've just loved it. But basically, I fell into it. 

Shaughnessy: That's how a lot of us ended up here. When you were growing up, what did you think about what you wanted to be?

Hollenbaugh: I thought I wanted to work in astronomy and astrophysics. I did an internship and it was a ton of fun, but it was all coding, online data analysis. I was missing the observational aspect, and I really wanted something more dynamic with more range. 

Shaughnessy: For your degree, did you take any thermodynamics? 

Hollenbaugh: Oh, yes, that was one of my favorite classes. In my thermo midterm, the grader corrected his key based on my test, and I never let him live that down.

Shaughnessy: That's awesome. What advice do you have for your fellow graduates? 

Hollenbaugh: I would tell them that there's a ton of opportunity here. This industry wants young people. They want people with new ideas. They want fresh eyes and people who have recently graduated. Like you said, a lot of us didn’t really plan to be in this industry, but there's so much here. 

Shaughnessy: Jess, welcome to the industry. I appreciate your time.

Hollenbaugh: Thank you. It was my pleasure.