[Wayne TenBrink]

Back when I was in college, I did a lot of manual labor for summer jobs. I once spent a week shoveling manure in the basement of a barn. With every swing of the pitchfork, I told myself "Once you get that degree, you'll never have to do this again."

Fast forward 30 years. I have a 30 acre hobby farm and raise a few cattle of my own. I get to spend plenty of quality time in the basement of the barn with a pitchfork. Now, I just smile and think "This sure beats sitting in a staff meeting."

Manual labor is a necessary and honorable thing, but I'm glad I don't have to get up and do it every day on somebody else's terms.

And for what its worth, some of the best practical experience a mechanical engineer can ever get comes from working on farm equipment.