Looking for some career advice 2

[on4now4]

Hello all,

I have had a very long road on my way to being an engineer. I started out of high school with very little math and ended up getting my associate in CAD. I then decided it just was not enough and worked very hard to make it through all the math classes at night while I worked as a designer during the day to pay for it. Then I transferred from the local community college to U of M. Now I am in my first semester at U of M studying Electrical Engineering with a minor in physics but I still have some concerns.

From my experience as a designer in the hydroforming world for 4 years. I have learned a lot of things about the industry one of which is that generally speaking especially in the auto industry there is not much actual engineering that happens. Its mostly just you work on one little piece of the puzzle and how your going to make it fit in with all the rest of the pieces. I want a job where I can be a part of something bigger. Something that will allow me to really use all this math I have learned and work as a small team to make something really big happen.

I have had my heart set on a career at NASA for some time now but am also realistic in the fact that it probably wont happen. Yes I'm still applying for internships and so on but I want to explore other options if I can not secure a job.

So my question is this. I live in Michigan which means um surrounded by everything automotive (Which I don't want to be involved with any longer!). I am willing to relocate for the summer to take an internship somewhere exciting but besides NASA I am somewhat at a loss for ideas of places I would be interested in. Can any of you recommend somewhere like what I am describing that I could apply for a summer internship with possibility of full time position after? Somewhere that's really exciting and will allow me to be a part of something really big and exciting.

As well I have a lot of interest in propulsion methods. I would love to be a part of new space travel propulsion systems...

 

[metman]

on4now4 (Automotive) (OP)Q
Google these:

http://questaircraft.com/

Quest Aircraft

http://gfworldwide.com/

Ground Force Worldwide

I had an acquaintance years ago who was a mechanical engineer that worked for an automotive company. His job was designing hooks for parts to hang from a conveyor to go through the automated paint station. I can't imagine a more boring job but I would do it if necessary and find a way to make it interesting by improving methods and intra-relationships (teamwork). I'm like you, in that I had to really study hard on math in college, but later when I got to use the math to solve real engineering problems, it was very gratifying. Working for a small company you will generally be exposed to the big picture even if your just a cog.

I am retired now but always worked for small companies and because I had many different job "opportunities", gained a fairly broad experience as a metallurgist and design engineer. Whether working as project engineer, research, or cogging, I always felt a part of the team and could see the overall picture in a small company.

Following are some examples of what kind of projects to expect with small companies:

I was one of three initial engineers to design a prototype underground coal mining machine. $750,000 120,000 pound machine. I got to do all the gear and bearing calculations for a $40,000 cutter-head gear-case and I performed all the stress analysis for the whole machine. Earlier while in the Quality Assurance department, I performed numerous failure analyses which later helped me to design for reliability on this new machine. I got to go underground about 15-20 times for failure analysis and design follow-up.

At Metallurgical Consultants, Inc., I got to design furnace brazing procedures for Rocketdyne propulsion systems, aircraft assemblies, and metal/ceramic explosive bolts for spacecraft separation devices. Also I performed failure analysis on aircraft and spacecraft components. Also I designed several (for metal)heat-treating/brazing furnaces that we built and used.

At Quest Aircraft, I was the 4th employee where we designed and built the Kodiak airplane. I made the first engineering part drawings, the first assembly drawings (flaps), designed the first assembly fixtures for flap and ailerons, designed and 3D modeled components for all over the aircraft, manually machined 80% of components for the prototype Kodiak, and set-up the sub-assembly department for production. First flight? Very emotional - talk about teamwork - WHEW! However, engineering-wise, my experience with designing the underground-coal-mining-machine was most memorable along with my last job with:

Ground Force, I was hired as their first employee for their new division, Underground Force. My first assignment was to research Rimpull, which you would not have heard of unless you are a mining or civil engineer and to develop an Excel spreadsheet of competitor equipment vs spec's. Later I did dynamic stress analysis for a Caterpillar truck with our 40,000 gallon water tank and helped design our first conversion of a Caterpillar Motor-grader for underground hard-rock mining. Then I researched Canadian underground government requirements for diesel exhaust emissions and other safety issues such as braking etc. (much more strict than USA MSHA standards)
At Plasitflex Company I got to design special production equipment that I later installed in 3 plants; one in California, one in Georgia, and one in Belgium.

I don't mean to sound like a resume - my point is; there is a lot of diverse and interesting work out there and unlimited opportunities for continued learning plus - you should not feel limited to your particular field of engineering discipline, for example:
1) My immediate supervisor on the underground coal mining machine project, was an Electrical engineer with a mechanical aptitude better than most Mechanical engineers.
2) The project engineer for the fuselage on the Kodiak airplane was a Civil engineer.

Typical college engineering curriculum offers opportunity for basic principles in general for most engineering disciplines which allows one to branch or at least teamwork with others of different discipline(s)on a project.

I like your spirit and I think you have a good attitude. If you can find a company like Groundforce, you will get everything you are looking for.

Design for RELIABILITY, manufacturability, and maintainability