The Pioneer

Steve Wozniak is notably known for being the co-founder of Apple. While Steve Jobs was the brains behind making the product famous and influential, Woz was the brains behind the state-of-the art engineering that went into Apple hardware and software. Woz used deducive reasoning and his engineering skills to find solutions to every problem he faced.

Woz designed and engineered the hardware, circuit boards and operating system for the Apple 1 computer. Apple 1 was a complete success because of its amazing hardware and software solutions. While Apple is regarded as the pioneering computer and technology startup of its time, many forget to mention the dedication of Woz to create the engineering processes and products that made Apple into the tech giant it is today.

I've think these quotes about Woz are very interesting:

Between Woz and Jobs, Woz was the innovator, the inventor. Steve Jobs was the marketing person.

Everything I did at Apple that was an A+ job and that took us places, I had two things in my favor ... I had no money [and] I had had no training.

The Engineer

Steve Wozniak's love for engineering and his willingness to solve problems is what motivates me to put him in my list of role models. His entire focus during his engineering projects was on trying to make the technology better. That was his focus and goal which in my opinion should be the aim of all technology. Whatever we do, however financially successful our endeavor might become, we as engineers should always strive to make things better. Our focus should always be about making lives better rather than trying to find ways to make money.

Engineers often come with a stigma and stereotype that they are arrogant and unfriendly. Junior engineers are often scared to approach their seniors anticipating to be treated harshly for asking "dumb questions". Steve is always interested in helping out junior engineers and loves to solve problems with them. That is very inspiring to me and I try to incorporate it into my life as much as I can. I try to help my juniors without belittling them or making them feel that their problems are insignificant. Woz is highly respected among engineering community and therefore is an easy inclusion into my list of role models.