GregH Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Some time ago, I was talking about a project I'm working on in my spare time to my sister. She works for NASA as a satellite engineer... Anyway, it was a problem I was having with a little circuit I designed - She suggested I call an old classmate of her's who lives and works in the town I work in. So, I put it on the back burner for a while. I finally got around to calling him a few weeks ago, and explained my delima with the circuit. He asked if I could scribble the problem down and email it to him. I tell him, "no problem, it's all stored on my computer, I'll just .pdf it and send the pertinant bits to you." I got a reply some days later - he was quite impressed. He gave a few helpful suggestions, and that was the end of that. Or so I thought. A week or so later, he comes to where I work. He shows up first thing in the morning, and asks if I can talk to him outside. Once there, he asks me if I would like to be an engineer... Seems he passed this little design I had made around, and his peers were equally impressed. So, tomorrow I have a lunch planned with the whole engineering staff where he works. They asked for a resume' in a "handout" form - just something informal that gives the pertinant information. Also, a few examples of other projects I've made... I don't know what to think. The parent company is an aerospace manufacturer with a worldwide client base. This spinoff is an "engineer for hire" sorta thing that has a workforce of about 100 professionals. Lots of private and government contracts.. Anyway, wish me luck... This goes down tomorrow, and I'm a bit nervous, to say the least! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchan68 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Hey good luck! If you managed to impress a few engineers, and he took the time to seek you out, GO FOR IT! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanik Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Wow. Thats really cool. Good luck. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Mutter Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Holy shit thats cool man! good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Yes, good luck! This is the kind of opportunity that you should not ever pass over. Even if it does not work out from either side it cant happen at all unless you go! I would love for an opportunity to fall my way, unfortunately it would have to guarantee more money as I cant afford to move left or right until the kiddies get older and the Mrs. starts working again. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rockon.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rockon.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rockon.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rockon.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rockon.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwayneGorniak Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Definately congratulations! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cheers.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup.gif Never Ever pass up an opportunity of a lifetime like this. All the luck in the world in to ya. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cheers.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveS Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 AWESOME! It's great just to be considered when you were not even looking for it! I hope that it leads to something exciting and rewarding; GOOD LUCK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BustedKnucklez Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Good luck and God bless. Hope it pans out for you /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff_E Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Good luck Greg!!! I hope it works out, but even if you escape this industry, I hope you still stay involved on this site. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony302600 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 GOOD LUCK GREG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregH Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 Whoah. I. am. speechless. That place is a freakin' playground!! Every engineer has a desk that is piled with integrated circuits, computer cards, schematics scribbled on bar napkins, you name it! And some seriously sexy computers - racks of quad core xenon's, terabyte drives, and 20inch monitors... (insert Homer Simpson drooling over a donut). And the place is inhabited by children. Children! Fresh out of college! Oh, and then we go to the lab... First I see an acoustic project they are working on. It's a self contained package of electronics, microphones and a battery that detect the vector to a sound source matching a stored profile. That data, along with the device's position (from an onboard GPS) and it's orientation (from an onboard compass), plus the same data from at least one other unit in the vicinity, will pinpoint the sound source. They are linked by 2.4GHz WiFi (for now) The second project is determining how vibrations in aircraft structural members cause cracks and corrosion. This one is a large piece of aluminum girder, some large concrete blocks, a plethora of accelerometers and strain gauges, and a pneumatic actuator. It was seriously cool. Anyway, great group of guys. Some hardware types that were genuinely easygoing, some software types that were a little high strung, and some management types to bind it all together. I hope to hear back, but hey - if not, then I got to look at some high end stuff that not many people get to play with. And met some people I'd probably only meet as customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwayneGorniak Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Way cool. Hang in there. Hopefully you will get a call soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveS Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Whoah. I. am. speechless. That place is a freakin' playground!! ... (insert Homer Simpson drooling over a donut). There are entirely different worlds out there, aren't there? At least you got to see another reality, even if it does not become your reality. I am sure that they have their good/bad points, good people/total flakes, good projects/complete loser jobs. Still, when I took college classes (as an adult) a number of years ago, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do. All the assesment tests indicated that I was doing what I am best suited for. So if you can find something else that you like (or even love) doing that is more challenging and rewarding than what you have now, grab it while you can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregH Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 Oh, and I forgot to mention this - As different as these two career environments are, engineering and auto repair, there is some common ground. After we ate lunch, and were on our way back to the office complex, one of the engineers in the car with me says, "been a while since we went by the pool." Seems the engineers like to ride around the local college campus and look at the pretty girls too - just like we technicians like to do on our lunch breaks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Used to love going to the food court in the mall, lots of eye candy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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