 Upon graduation from MIT, where he had worked as a teaching assistant and discovered an aptitude for teaching, Dr MacDonald aspired to be a professor at the prestigious school.He was offered a position as an assistant professor at MIT and spent a year in this role when he was approached by UBC to join the staff of the Electrical Engineering department there, which he accepted.In 1965 he moved his young family back to Vancouver and started his career as a professor at UBC.