“I wanted to be the shield, not the sword,” said Jonah Wright, Laser Technician at IDEX Health & Science in Rochester, New York. Originally from Ottumna, Iowa, Jonah first encountered IDEX at a recruitment fair after completing a Laser and Optics Program. Of the multiple companies in attendance and potential job offers, IDEX was the only in-house health manufacturer. “I liked the idea of helping to protect life.”

When a few friends spoke highly of the same program he later enrolled in, Jonah discovered he had an interest in Laser Technology: “they loved the properties of working with lasers and optics, and how it’s such cutting-edge technology. It really drew me in, and there are so many opportunities.”

Jonah’s responsibilities revolve around manufacturing, troubleshooting, and analyzing laser and optical systems, and, after 3 years with IDEX Health & Science, one of Jonah’s favorite parts of his job is “learning from other experienced engineers and technicians.” There is a strong collaborative environment at IDEX. Although developing an understanding of an issue, especially if it’s not a common problem, can be challenging, there are always coworkers willing to “work through a problem.”

As for advice for anyone thinking about this line of work: “Don’t be afraid if you don’t know what lasers do or how optics work. Dive in, there’s tons to explore.

There are new developments happening all the time that will change everyday life as we live it.”

Jonah currently resides in Scottsville, where he and his fiancé recently welcomed the birth of a child, so “my time is all things ‘baby,’ right now, but I also enjoy hiking, gaming—I constructed my own gaming PC—and fish keeping.”

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