Fred Bouchard
Sparetech.com
New Milford, CT USA
"If you come into it with love and humility, you are going to be successful."
Career Roadmap
Fred's work combines: Technology, Business, and Working with Others
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
There is a need for many different skill levels in different positions throughout the industry. If you want to become a technician, I recommend training in both mechanics and computer interface. If you want to go into the equipment process side, I recommend a background in material sciences. Whichever direction you choose, if you go into it with passion and humility, you will be successful.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Chemistry, General
Université de Montréal
Doctorate
Chemistry, General
University of Waterloo
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Sales Manager:
Bachelor's Degree: Materials Science
Graduate Degree: Chinese Language and Literature
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
I was born in Quebec, Canada.
2.
Growing up, I was always interested in the physicality of objects—I enjoyed playing with physical objects and assembly toys.
3.
I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the Université de Montréal, and then moved to Ontario, Canada, to pursue my doctorate.
4.
After graduating with a Ph.D. in chemistry, I was hired by Tosoh Corporation in Ohio, which makes high purity materials in the semiconductor industry.
5.
Once I got my foot in the door, I was able to grow with the industry and move through positions like technical support, support manager, and sales manager.
6.
After several years with Tosoh, I moved on to Sparetech.com and have been a sales manager here for 15 years.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You'll always be working alone in a clean room in the semiconductor industry.
How I responded:
There are some misconceptions that your work is very isolated in this industry. People imagine the engineer or technician in a clean suit working alone in a clean room. While that is a part of it, the semiconductor industry is actual very team-oriented. Each part goes through many, many different steps and many different people. It's also a global industry, so we work with many different countries and cultures. There's a good sense of community and larger purpose in the semiconductor industry.