I'm kind of looking for a new job- and I thought I'd see if anyone has any thoughts for me. I am really fascinated with anything that goes (like everyone else here of coarse) and I started school at ISU for Aerospace Engineering - while I did good the time I was there it got too be too much time I invested and it burned me out - I'm a perfectionist. I really like that kind of stuff - and I've been building R/C airplanes, boats, and cars and what not with my dad since I was born- along with a super mileage vehicle - so I have good shop skills and know how most t hings work and I can figure things out well - good problem solver...I don't do alot with metal work - I've taken a few different classes in highschool- but I don't have the means to do it at home now so I'm not good at any of it - but I know composites well - as I've worked with them a quite a bit. I like artwork a lot and I'm going to try and get into airbrushing pretty heavily this spring. I also got a 3d rendering program I am going to try and learn - I have a good backround in ACAD so I have a good start. So my question is ... with all that said - Is there anything that I could get into as far as a job? I went to school for engineering, and then again for industrial design- but school just doesn't work out for me for some reason - I'm smart - and I got good grades - but it just doesn't click. So I'm trying to figure out another path without losing accomplishments I've made - and putting my knowledge to waste. my super mileage car project turned out to be a dud too - my teacher didn't like the idea of me doing composites cause I would be the only one that knew how to do it - and it'd be a project I'd basically have to do myself - and he wanted it to be a group project - so long story short - we didn't get a long well because he gave me the ok to do then told me he's cutting me off failing me and scrapping the project - so I just used my own money and finished it - and he was back on again - and it went back and forth a lot - I got it all done in the month of time I was giving - many late nights and lots of hours everyday ... he ended up not racing it even though it was ready just to spite me. I really want to make another car - but make it with better quality parts - I could really do something great with it - I have a lot of ideas I'd like to incorporate into it.... someday maybe.
Suck it up and finish school. It's just not about how smart you are that employers are looking for. Not finishing is a pretty good signal to them that you don't want to buckle down when things get tough and put in the effort necessary to get things done.
My boss and I actually recently had the conversation about schooling and it goes right along with what wall of tvs said - it's about showing you've got the dedication to finish something. That counts for a lot these days he said.
A college degree will open way more doors than it will close. Get the degree. I had a false start in to college. Went back and finished. Worth every penny. And I paid dearly for those pennies. "Click" later on when it means something.
Enroll in Aerospace Engineering (why not Mechanical???) at the University of Minnesota and join the Solar Vehicle Project. http://www.svp.umn.edu/past_vehicles.html I worked on the ’93, ’95 and ’97 cars (Aurora I, II and III) and loved every minute of it. The trick to school is finding practical examples in which you can apply your classroom learning. The entire chassis and body shell are all composite structures engineerd and built by the team.
