[BradleyView]

I work as an Applications Engineer for a company that makes various specialty adhesive tapes. It's the right mix for me between playing in the lab, working with manufacturing, and interacting with the customer. Best part is I get to go see people who is using our products to make some pretty cool things.
I have to say, FIRST is one of the primary reasons I got this job. My degree is in civil engineering. I was interviewing for a new training program for a sales position and I didn't really on paper fit what they were looking for. The HR manager wasn't convinced, and his first question for me was Why should I even consider you for this spot? Usually I would have thrown your application away in the first 15 seconds. Well, I explained my various responsibilities as a mentor though FIRST, and he liked it so much that he called me back for the Application Engineering position which they had not even advertised online less than a week later. They ended up offering me both positions, and I firmly believe I would not have had a shot at either without my FIRST experience.