View Single Post
  #15   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 12-06-2012, 21:13
Garret's Avatar
Garret Garret is offline
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
AKA: Garret Smalley
FRC #0691 (Hart District Robotics)
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Rookie Year: 2008
Location: Goleta, CA (UCSB)
Posts: 203
Garret has a reputation beyond reputeGarret has a reputation beyond reputeGarret has a reputation beyond reputeGarret has a reputation beyond reputeGarret has a reputation beyond reputeGarret has a reputation beyond reputeGarret has a reputation beyond reputeGarret has a reputation beyond reputeGarret has a reputation beyond reputeGarret has a reputation beyond reputeGarret has a reputation beyond repute
Re: Learning by Making Rockets & Robots

Quote:
Well, personally, I love being well rounded, and I like when everyone else around me is well rounded. It lowers the possibility of history repeating itself, allows for intelligent cross-curriculum discourse, and makes enjoying both works of fiction and natural creations much more invigorating. But I don't need that to be an engineer, if all I'm gonna do is engineering. And that's my point; being a successful member of society means being able to do a job, but also means knowing the context of the job. If I was just studying engineering, I wouldn't want me to vote on the future of this nation.
Many people who go to school to become engineers don't actually end up doing pure engineering work, my dad for example was a process engineer but now is a US patent Agent. Especially if you want to work at a start-up or even in today's job market. I can guarantee you that any engineering company will take an engineer that has good communication skills (as well as meeting job requirements) over the most brilliant engineer in the world. Engineering is very collaborative and requires engineers to communicate effectively with both other engineers and non-engineers. Furthermore if you don't have the skills to sell your idea to your manager, it won't get implemented in most cases.

Don't let yourself lapse into the faulty "I'm an Engineer, I don't need English" mentality I see far too often with students and classmates.

I could go on and on about stories my dad and numerous guest speakers (usually VP of Engineering at various companies) have told me about how important communication is to being a successful engineer and competitive job applicant.
__________________
7 Years of FRC
"You students are at the top of the mountain, at the pinnacle of success, and what is it that you do?
You become the future guides to help others climb the mountain."
Reply With Quote