JPL/NASA Anyone want to work there?

[DougHogg]

One of the cool things about JPL is that it is managed by Cal Tech (California Institute of Technology - http://www.caltech.edu/) for NASA, so I think that it has probably has a more academic feel to it than some NASA centers. (My son Robert works there, although he is on a sabatical at the moment.)

[Greg Needel]

Originally Posted by DougHogg

One of the cool things about JPL is that it is managed by Cal Tech (California Institute of Technology - http://www.caltech.edu/) for NASA, so I think that it has probably has a more academic feel to it than some NASA centers. (My son Robert works there, although he is on a sabatical at the moment.)

I can’t speak for JPL but APL is managed by Johns Hopkins university and having worked there it is really not an academic environment. I am actually not sure about the university partnership beyond faculty and grad students.

[Elgin Clock]

For a long time I have wanted to work for the LEGO corporation as some kind of model maker... LEGO's were definately an inspiration for my career path as I grew up. So was architecture for that matter.

Now, I just want to work somewhere close to home. I worked for a place where the commute everyday was a nightmare. Ughh..

Anyways, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

It would be great if I were independently wealthy to back up some of my eccentric ideas I have at times.

How did Dean do that again??
Oh yeah... that hard work thing... Hmm... Well, there goes that plan.. lol j/k

Anyways.. I don't know where I would like to work.

I do like doing things with my hands, and I also like seeing a project from concept to prototype to final stage. So, I don't know...
I guess my current studies at college for CAD are good for now, and then I will go from there.

I think I will always be in school. As much as I hate structured learning, it's the only way I actually do learn stuff. Actually, that is false, I learn a lot from side projects I do, like being involved in FIRST and also restoring an older vehicle.

The only thing that I do know is that I never want my career to take up my whole life.
If I have to devote more than say 40-50 hours a week to work, I don't want to spend all my time making money for somone else. I'd rather devote myself to my career if it were for me and my ideas - no matter how eccentric they may be. I know that may seem kind of selfish, but... Oh well.

[phrontist]

If by some miracle I matriculate, China looks like the future hotspot for innovation.

Engineering is high stress though...

I think its more important to be good at what you do then to do what you want and suck at it. Engineers are the only thing preventing the technological meltdown of modern soceity. A minor mistake could kill many, many, people. Remember, with mass manufacturing, your mistake could copied millions of times.

I think I wanna be a highrise apartment engineer, nuclear power-plant engineer, or how about designing assembly lines for slaughterhouses. Yeah, those'd be a low-stress jobs

As if the saftey of the consumer isn't enough to worry about, your throwing around some suit's wad of cash...

Honestly I think it would be hard to have enough confidence to be a professional engineer.

[Erin Rapacki]

Originally Posted by phrontist

If by some miracle I matriculate, China looks like the future hotspot for innovation.

Engineering is high stress though...

I think its more important to be good at what you do then to do what you want and suck at it. Engineers are the only thing preventing the technological meltdown of modern soceity. A minor mistake could kill many, many, people. Remember, with mass manufacturing, your mistake could copied millions of times.

I think I wanna be a highrise apartment engineer, nuclear power-plant engineer, or how about designing assembly lines for slaughterhouses. Yeah, those'd be a low-stress jobs

As if the saftey of the consumer isn't enough to worry about, your throwing around some suit's wad of cash...

Honestly I think it would be hard to have enough confidence to be a professional engineer.

This is the exact reason why we need MORE engineers! Yes, many people who go out and get an engineering degree may not have enough talent to provide a confident design, but at least they are trying to get a degree in something difficult... which means they are capable of learning, which means they could handle tough situations.

Many engineers work in teams to design a part or a product. As engineers grow within a company & get older, they may wish to specialize in an area. One of the areas is called Quality Assurance. This includes making sure all the documentation is in place for test procedures, assembly & manufacturing procedures, getting design changes signed-off, and making sure everyone is trained properly for their specific position.

If more people get engineering degrees, we could have more engineers designing... and equally, more Quality people nagging the engineers about making sure the product works properly.

I've worked on projects for the Air Force, NASA, and I'm very familiar with FDA approval procedures... trust me, everything is checked & rechecked hundreds of times.

The Glitch? At least one engineer may be aware of a problem but doesn't speak up about it. This could be either because the engineer is particularly shy or "low-level," or bad company politics would force them to ignore the problem hoping that nothing becomes of it. This is the real problem... and it's needing of a good solution.

This is where FIRST comes in with "gracious professionalism." Be honest, be caring, and in the workplace... speak up if something bothers your conscience. In FIRST, we are being taught the Ethics necessary to continue to grow as a technological society.


ByE

erin

[ElfMaster]

Well after college and graduate school, I hope to work with NASA. I'm interning at a satellite lab now. Its fun. After that... Pirate for a year!

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by phrontist

Honestly I think it would be hard to have enough confidence to be a professional engineer.

It doesn't take confidence, it takes judgement. Even the PE exam is an exercise in good judgement.

Fortunately, you need to practice for several years under the authority of a more experienced engineer before you can even attempt the exam. So you have an opportunity to develop good judgement before you get into a position where you can get people hurt.

Remeber:

Good judgement is the result of Experience


Experience is the result of Poor Judgement

[Michael Hill]

I would definately love to work at NASA. It is my dream job. I am trying to get to Purdue to major in aeronautics and minor in astrophysics.

[KarenH]

Originally Posted by phrontist

Engineering is high stress though...

I think its more important to be good at what you do then to do what you want and suck at it. Engineers are the only thing preventing the technological meltdown of modern soceity. A minor mistake could kill many, many, people. Remember, with mass manufacturing, your mistake could copied millions of times.

I think I wanna be a highrise apartment engineer, nuclear power-plant engineer, or how about designing assembly lines for slaughterhouses. Yeah, those'd be a low-stress jobs

Honestly I think it would be hard to have enough confidence to be a professional engineer.

Actually, the mistakes made by California P.E.'s can be pretty dumb. Go to:
Complaint and Enforcement Information and click on one of the "Disciplinary Actions Against Licensees" to view a whole slew of idiotic mistakes made by these people. The causes seem to be mostly ignorance or ethical deficiency. Most of these are civil-engineering cases, and most of them result in gross financial inconvenience for the customer, not injury or death.

I've been fascinated to read about these cases, ever since my husband got his P.E. license (he passed the exam on his second try, after gaining more mechanical experience in one season with a FIRST team).

The Board has also stated that there is a shortage of land surveyors in California, so if someone likes working outdoors, has good spatial reasoning abilities, and doesn't want to be an engineer, he or she could look into being a surveyor.

[Adam Y.]

... I have several connections to the FBI, and would deffinately like the benefits of a federal job. I know the government would love to utilize my IST degree and Albany's field office isn't that far from home. :shhhhh:don't tell Greg

Hey I know the CIA wants engineers. I don't know why but they really really really want engineres. So much so that they were trying to recruit FIRST students at Atlanta. I got a pin and a pen light that didn't work.(I hope they don't want engineers to design pen lights.)
CIA
IRobot
Nuts and Volts or Servo Magazine
Animatronics

I think its more important to be good at what you do then to do what you want and suck at it. Engineers are the only thing preventing the technological meltdown of modern soceity. A minor mistake could kill many, many, people. Remember, with mass manufacturing, your mistake could copied millions of times.

Actually there have been many many engineering mistakes when you think about it. There have been a few arenas that I know of that collapsed. The Tacoma Narrows bridge was technically built correctly even though it collapsed. I could go on but I really can't remeber anymore.