Name:
Robin
Career:
Engineer
Company Field:
Aerospace
Located In:
Seattle, Washington
Grew Up In:
Houston, Texas
Graduated From:
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Majored In:
Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering
Graduated In:
2011
After College Lifestyles
Mechanical Engineering
Seattle
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Robin is an Structure Design Engineer for a major Aerospace company in Seattle, Washington. Robin's job entails making sure that the changes customers request on the design of their aircrafts are possible. See how Robin got into the field and his recommendations.
Overview:
Name:
Robin
Career:
Engineer
Company Field:
Aerospace
Located In:
Seattle, Washington
Grew Up In:
Houston, Texas
Graduated From:
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Majored In:
Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering
Graduated In:
2011
Quick Stats on Aerospace Engineering:
Work Hours/Week:
40 hours
Work Hour Flexibility:
High
Quality of Lifestyle Outside of Work:
Medium
Work Stress Level:
Medium
Level of Routine Work:
High
Interaction with Co-Workers:
High
Pay Level (out of 5):
$$$
Life of a College Grad Aerospace Structure Design Engineer:
I am a structures design engineer working in post production modifications of aircraft. Essentially, customers come to us with changes they would like to make for their aircraft and we make sure that the aircraft's structure can handle the changes.
Aerospace Engineer's Daily Routine:
5:00 AM Wake up
6:00 AM Arrive at work and eat a breakfast
6:00 AM - 9:00 AM Work on project X, answer emails
10:00 AM Staff meeting
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM Work on project Y
3:00 PM Leave work
5:00 PM Play sports
7:00 PM Get home, relax
10:00 PM Sleep
How To Get Into The Field
I majored in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. All of the classes that I took that were required for my degree helped with obtaining my job, however everyone that's an Aerospace or a Mechanical Engineering major take all of the same classes. Doing well in these classes and what you do outside them I believe is what led me to obtaining this job. I was very involved in community service, social events, and cultural clubs. Also don't be shy to be enthusiastic in showing your desire to work in a certain field.
What Do You
Really Do?
Everyday I work in CAD/CAM software like Solidworks. Most of the time I am working multiple projects, which may entail having to work on multiple models of aircraft. On any given project, I research what changes the customer desires and how it affects the structure of the aircraft. I come up with a design that will reinforce the structure to accommodate the change. The position requires a lot of communication coordination between different groups, and good time management.
Pros/Cons of Your Job
I enjoy the office environment that I work in, like the culture and my coworkers. I really enjoy the type of work and the variety offered in this type of work, being to work on different aircraft. One of the frustrations is that with all of the people involved in a project, it is easy to have some miscommunication at times that can delay the project a little.
Tour My Seattle, Washington Apartment
Quick Stats on Seattle, Washington
Job Opportunities:
High
Competition for Housing:
Medium
Housing Cost:
Medium
Population of Young People:
High
Nightlife:
Medium
Safety:
Medium
Biggest Industries:
Technology
The Life of a College Grad In Seattle Washington
What's it Like to Live Here?
The pacific northwest, particularly Seattle has a lot to offer, especially the outdoors. There are seemingly endless amounts of outdoor activities to do, especially in the near perfect 3 summer months. There are also lots of microbreweries for the beer aficionados. A good amount of other nightlife activities and key tourist spots.
To me it isn't as rainy as people made it seem like. The rain really just a light drizzle, but it is a constant light drizzle. It's odd at first but it's worth the wait to the summer. Being in the north, summer days begin around 6 and the sun doesn't come down until 830 or so, and beginning in July till the end of September it is straight sunshine 90% of the time. A lot of the people out age go hiking, climbing, or camping and go to the many microbrews and bars that are around. Also Sounders games or any major sports team for that matter are really a lot of fun too.
How Did I End Up Here?
I grew up just outside of Houston, TX. While in high school, I decided that I wanted to try living independently from my family and see if I could deal with not having the luxury of having support a day's travel away. So I applied to schools on all corners of the country and landed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After college, I went back home to Houston in search of jobs, and did not have a preference on where the job was and landed one in Seattle.
My Set-Up
I live in a single bedroom apartment by myself. Although I did enjoy the company of a roommate(s) in school, I like living by myself. I originally chose to live here because it was close to work.
Closing Advice
Be sure to make academics your top priority, but don't overexert yourself. Take some time out to do things you enjoy, join some clubs, help out with the community. I believe if I hadn't done the extra-curricular activities I was involved in, that it would have been much harder for me while applying for jobs.
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