What's your day job?

[team4187mentor]

I work for Continental Tire in the Maintenance department. I started as an electrician for automated machinery and moved up to supervisor. I currently work as an administrative supervisor handling scheduling, payroll, and reports. My bosses have been wonderfully supportive of the team and allow me to adjust my schedule according to the teams needs. Continental is also a big sponsor of the team.

[s-neff]

Product Engineer at SunPower Systems. I'm responsible for ongoing support of our Oasis C1 Tracker utility-scale power plant product. That includes supporting plant/project design team, construction team, quality & commissioning team, and operation & maintenance teams whenever they have an issue with the mechanical panel mounting/tracking systems, electrical controls, or DC collection. I'm done when the DC coming off the panels gets to the inverter. It's a fun, wide-ranging role, covering over 1GW installed capacity these days. The green revolution is coming!

Mostly, that means that people ask me questions and expect me to know the answers. Sometimes I can answer them, sometimes I need to ask other engineers. Often, I need to figure it out on my own from codes & standards. (Reading! It's important!)
I need to write clear emails and instructions, in terms non-engineers can understand, because I'm almost never the one actually doing the work in the field (somewhat disappointing). Communication is key! It's even more important than math!

FIRST prepared me with a diverse set of skills, a strong work ethic, and my first forum for exhibiting technical leadership, and inspired me to continue assuming technical leadership in extracurricular projects during college.
It also provided the connection to my first summer internships directly after high school and freshman year of college. I swung those experiences into additional internships the following summers, and swung those internships into a Sweet Job In My Field starting two weeks after graduating from UCLA.
I am INCREDIBLY LUCKY to have had the FIRST experience to push me in this direction.

[gerthworm]

I write embedded controls software for big yellow machines.

Then I come to robots and help write embedded controls software for smaller red and white machines.

Embedded controls software is fun!

My thoughts from doing this for two years:

What exactly is a STEM field look like on a day-to-day basis? Lots of problem solving. Real-time problem solving. The skills you learn through First, or in school, or at work, or in your free time, these are tools to help you problem solve. The most important tool in your bag is your desire to learn new things - this is what lets you add new tools to your problem-solving bag at will.

You'll probably start out solving problems directly related to specific issues with products. Some people like that and stick with it for their whole careers. Some folks move on to solve higher-level problems, like planning larger-scale projects, or finances, or people management. All of these, through the lens of "STEM", can be thought of as simply a problem to solve. A problem which can be solved by drawing on your knowledge and experiences (the tools in your bag). A problem which may push your boundaries, and force you to develop new skills.

[s_forbes]

I am currently employed by Intel, where I help develop and optimize the wafer singulation process for new products in addition to resolving tool issues on the factory floor. It's a very rewarding position; I get to get my hands dirty in a lot of really cool high tech products and equipment. A lot of the tools we use have similar pneumatic components as those used on FIRST robots as well, so I feel right at home.

Related fun story: I was originally introduced to FIRST as a senior in high school when a few friends and our dedicated chemistry teacher started up a team (the NERDS, team 1726). We got guidance from team 842 when we were starting up, and they gave us a lot of pointers that influenced how our team ran. 5 years later, I graduated from the University of Arizona with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and moved to Phoenix to work at Intel (I can thank FIRST for giving me the background necessary to get the position). Given my close proximity to team 842, I now serve as an engineering mentor for the same team that helped get me started in robotics in the first place. What goes around comes around!

[Tom Line]

Manufacturing engineer for machining and assembly lines at an engine plant building 6.2L engines, as well as a manager line workers and trades on the afternoon shift.

[EricH]

Mechanical Engineering student, class of '12 (and by my count, 16 days of class and 1 or maybe two tests and then it's graduation). After that, I'm still looking for work, though I'll be taking a week at the end of May to compete with my senior design group.

[sanddrag]

Mechanical Engineering Class of 2010 at Cal Poly Pomona. Currently employed for the second year as a full time Engineering and Technology teacher at Clark Magnet High School. I have participated in the development of robotics and engineering curriculum for Los Angeles County high schools and a local community college, and currently serve as the Technology Department Co-Chair and lead advisor of FIRST Robotics Team 696 at Clark. I have written small and received small grants and have been a part of the brainstorming, writing, and application process for a multi-million dollar STEM grant. During my time teaching, I have developed entirely new products from scratch, for use in my classes. I have also managed the budget for and implemented a new 2500 square-foot engineering projects lab on campus.

In short, I do everything. Teaching, especially in STEM, is a career in which you do anything and everything and need skills from all areas. One day I may be hauling cargo in the back of my truck, the next day I play IT technician, the next day I may be advising top officials in the school district on how to spend millions of dollars. The bottom line though is that everything I do is for the students in the end. It's really a varied job. In the right school and district, it's incredibly exciting and rewarding. There has not been a dull moment since I started in August of 2010, and there's only greater things still to come.

[MrForbes]

I send my wife off to work every morning...she's an engineer at Ft Huachuca.

She makes enough to support us, so I enjoy life...that includes putting in a lot of time in winter working with the NERDS, and then in spring working with my family on NURC. The rest of the time I goof off and play with old cars and trucks. My latest project is a 55 Chevy step van.

[Donut]

I am a Controls Engineer for Oral-B Laboratories (part of P&G). I work on the automation systems that create and package toothbrushes. We produce something like 400,000,000 toothbrushes a year here and supply most of North America. My job is a mix of design (creating electrical schematics, modifying PLC programs, installing vision systems) and support (troubleshooting software bugs, helping electricians, reading through datasheets). It's interesting because I have a cubicle but the manufacturing is also on site, and I get a lot more hands on involvement debugging machines than one might expect for an engineering role. Some days it's like working in the pits at an FRC regional, which can make it a challenge to get your "real work" done.

My usual response to "what do you do?" is "I make toothbrushes all day"

FIRST experience has really helped me out because I actually knew something about relays, servos, vision, and motion control coming in. Most of the people in my college classes didn't know what a relay was due to the courses being so focused on things you'd see in the semiconductor industry. Once you explain that a relay is basically a power MOSFET a relay makes sense, but FIRST experience allowed me to skip some of that learning curve. Being a part of a FIRST team also gave me some good answers for interview questions.

[Andrew Remmers]

I work as a Documentation Drafter / Reverse Modeler for Hernon Manufacturing. An adhesive company that competes against Loctite. My area of expertise is robotics, I can not say much more than that at the moment. However its a running joke on my team... "IT'S NOT LOCTITE IT'S THREADLOCKER!" I am a sophomore in College and would have never gotten this job without FIRST.

- Andrew

[team222badbrad]

In my previous life I was a production machinist (for three different companies) and a quality inspector at an aerospace machine shop.

I currently own and operate Print To 3D. Print To 3D is a FDM 3D print service provider. Since I have no employees I get to do everything from answer the phone to tape up packages. The downside is that I'm my own boss and employee... So if the boss takes off the employee must go to work for him or vise versa. I also think the boss is yelling that break is over...

On a daily basis I get to 3d print parts for a long list of customers which come in all shapes and sizes. Anyone from a hobbyist to Inventor to fortune 500 companies.

I wouldn't be here without FIRST!

[Madison]

I am newly a software engineer working on products relating to high-volume mailing solutions and data-quality products. It's been an exciting new challenge and a complete change of pace from the mechanical design work I've done for the prior 6 or 7 years.

Previously, I was a mechanical designer working on destructive and non-destructive crash test systems for automotive and aerospace applications.

[tsaksa]

I am an electrical engineer working for a large computer and technology company. I develop automated test equipment used to determine the performance and expected life of our products as well as to track down process and manufacturing problems. I have also worked with automated electro mechanical systems, automated test and measurement equipment, ultra high speed imaging systems, high volume manufacturing lines, PLC's, lasers, microwave systems, MEMS devices, and more. I hold several utility patents and have a few new ones in the works. But the best thing about my job is that it helps to provide me the knowledge and resources to pursue all manner of fun after hour projects in my secret lair, a laboratory workshop hidden behind a secret passageway in my basement.

[thefro526]

My Job Title is Engineering Designer & Project Manager at a shelter company based out of NJ and I'm also a part time student. My involvement in FRC is primarily why I was offered a job here while still in HS and part of why I got the hang of things so quickly. My employer is a big supporter of FRC, he was the title sponsor for my former team.

[Ravage457]

After Robotics, I am an aircraft mechanic, working on commercial and military engines for Kelly Aviation Center/Lockheed Martin..... i mainly work on the the Accessories for the engines like the Main Engine/Fuel Controls