Hi!
I was highly involved in FIRST between years 2001-2006, but since my time with FIRST I have been very active in instigating the advancement of robotics by working at various companies and robotics startups.
If anyone here is interested in working at a robot company, or starting one, you should really check out RoboBusiness in Santa Clara, Oct 23-25 (next week) http://www.robobusiness.com/2013/
If you cannot make RoboBusiness in person, you can use a remote-presence device, called Beam, to drive around and chat with people at the event: http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=6ca2a86e0aad1e9ad8e6c6c80&id=fdd79933a2&e=9bc38842a6
The Beams are easy to use, and most of my job offers have stemmed out from conversations at RoboBusiness - I hope this new generation of FIRSTaholics can take advantage of the event as well - many robot companies are growing and are in need of talent.
Thanks!
erin