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Guest Speaker QuestionsPreparation:What GPA in high school is required to become an engineer?It depends on the school, but typically engineering schools will look for students with a B average or higher (3.0+ on a 4.0 scale).Did you get into engineering in high school?Unfortunately, no. Engineering-specific classes were not offered at my high school when I went there. I did TA for some summer school robotics classes though.What classes did you take in college?Lots of math and physics-based classes. For Engineering, I studied a lot of dynamics, statics, fluids. Also, my favorite classes were the project classes where we got to make things.How hard did you work to become a successful engineer?I studied a lot in school to get good grades, which got me into a good college, and took an 8-hour exam to get my professional engineering license. I continue to work hard every day to be a successful engineer. When did you first want to become an engineer? How did you get into engineering?What is the reason you decided to become an engineer?During freshman year of college when I took an introductory Mechanical Engineering class, I decided I wanted to take my love of Math and Physics and apply it to design, build, and explore new ideas. Along with my passion for sailing, that eventually led to my pursuit of Ocean Engineering as a sophomore and I’ve been doing it ever since.How hard was it to balance college and life?It was challenging, but worth it. It definitely helped to be on the sailing team because that was a fun activity and gave me lots of good friendships that helped me in school.Did you work while in college?I was doing an internship while I got my Master’s degree. During undergraduate, I would work during the summers – a few years as a sailing instructor, then I started internships before senior year. Where did you go to college? Was it an engineering college specifically?I went to MIT, which is primarily an engineering school. There are other non-engineering majors – such as Math, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry – but everyone there gets a Bachelor of Science. Even the History majors! Also, the mascot is the beaver – nature’s engineer. Did you always want to pursue this career?I wanted to be an astronaut growing up, but ever since college I’ve wanted to be an engineer. How many years of school did you need? I took 6 years to get all my degrees. I did more than I needed, though, because I got a Master’s and most engineers only get a Bachelor’s, which takes 4 years. Did you need to go to a specialty school? Not really, but it makes it easier. Some engineers have a background in other subjects and learn the basics along the way.What is the most crucial aspect into choosing what college to attend? For me, it was finding a school that I would fit in at. Talking to current students at the school, visiting the campus, and doing research online are great ways to find out the information you need. What were your study habits?I liked to get as much of my homework done during my breaks at school whenever I could. Having less to do at night when I was tired after a long practice gave me more time to enjoy things like TV and movies. I also like to plan my work to keep as much of my weekends free as possible.Your day:Is your job fun? Do you enjoy what you do?Is your job challenging?Yes, yes, and yes! Every day is something different, and I’m always trying to solve new and exciting problems. Sometimes the challenge can be frustrating, but once I figure it out, it’s very satisfying.How long is a typical day? Describe a typical day.On a typical day, I’ll work about 8-10 hours. Most of it is spent on the computer (even more now with virtual meetings), and if we’re having a design discussion, we’ll write out our work on a whiteboard while we sit around a conference room.Do you have to work a lot of overtime to complete projects?Sometimes, yes. But it is rare. When we have a deadline – usually for writing a report – I’ll stay extra hours in the office. I almost never have to work through the weekend, though.Your Work:What is the most enjoyable thing about your job?The best thing about my job is I get to work alongside extremely smart people, so I am always learning.What company do you work for?I work for Navatek LLC.Do you use CAD in your work?Yes. I use a couple different CAD programs.How long have you been doing your job?I have been working as an engineer for about 10 years now. What is the most difficult project you’ve had to do?Do you have a favorite project that you have worked on? What project made you most proud? All three of these are the same project – a meta-visualization project. It was a months-long project that required me to learn a new data analysis technique that involved generating surrogate models using surface fits, basically making a “model of models”. I had to learn the math behind the process, how to code it, and create a good-looking GUI for the user. At the end, knowing how much time and effort I put into that made me really proud of the result.How much freedom do you have over your projects?There is lots of freedom. Other than meeting certain deadlines, the way I go about solving problems is rather flexible. There’s always more than one way to solve a problem.What exactly do you do?I do lots of things, but most of my work involves using computer models to predict what will happen to different designs.What was the longest project you worked on? It’s a project that we’re still working on now – developing a more hydrodynamically efficient hull form that rides smoothly through waves. I’ve been doing it off and on for about 8 years now.What is your specialization?I specialize in Computational Fluid Dynamics, which means I use computer programs to simulate different conditions for different vessels or vehicles that we design for the marine environment. Everything from calm water runs, to waves, to beaching.Do you keep an engineer’s notebook?Yes, in a way. Most of our notes are digital, usually in PowerPoint slides or written reports. It is important to document my work so that if someone else picks up the project, or I need to go back and get results from some analysis that I ran months or years ago, it’s easy to reference what we did. It’s important to show your work!Your Profession:How will your professional field change in the next 10 – 20 years?I believe that my profession will shift to a lot more digital and simulation-type work as computing power increases and becomes a more viable option.Is hand-sketching still used, or is it obsolete?Yes, we still use hand sketches very often to convey ideas quickly. Drawing on CAD takes time and often that level of detail isn’t needed. For example, when collaborating on different ideas in a meeting, you need to be able to sketch quickly to throw around different concepts.Did all of the graduates in your class get a job?Most of them did, yes. Many of us also went on to graduate school to study for a Masters’ degree or PhD. If a product design had a defect, how much responsibility will the designer have? The designer has lots of responsibility to create a product that is safe. During prototyping, you’ll find lots of designs that will fail and that’s okay. Learning from the failure helps improve the design.Is your field very competitive? In some ways, yes. Different companies compete for different contracts. But within different companies, or in school, almost all the work is collaborative, and everyone works together to find a solution.What does an entry level position pay?Engineering jobs are some of the highest paying at the entry level. Your Team:How many people are working on a project at a time?It can be as few as 2-3 people for a small project, all the way up to over 50 people for the larger ones. How is a huge project distributed to engineers? Each engineer is tasked with a responsibility based on their specialty, and everyone comes together on a regular basis to discuss ideas and how the project is moving along.How many people do you work with each day?Some days I’ll work all by myself doing focused work like analysis or report writing, but other days I’ll have larger meetings with sometimes 15-20 other people. It really depends on what I’m working on.You Personally:Where did you go to high school? I went to Punahou School in Honolulu, HI.Did you want to do something else besides engineering?Yes. Growing up I wanted to be an astronaut, and going into college I thought I would be studying math or physics. It’s never too late to change your mind about what you want to do!Did you know what you wanted to do in high school? No, but I took every opportunity I could to try new things and figure out what I liked.What was your greatest achievement? I’m very proud of the fact that I graduated from MIT and was able to come back home and get a job in Hawaii.Where did you grow up?I was born and raised on Oahu.Would you do anything differently? That’s a very good question. I probably wouldn’t have changed my path if I could, but if I had the opportunity to go back to high school now I definitely would take some type of class in robotics, machining, or other intro-type engineering class. What was your first job?My first job was as a summer sailing instructor at the Waikiki Yacht Club. Probably the best job ever.What is your favorite thing to do?Sailing. I get out on the water as much as possible – for fun, as a competitor, or as a coach.Do you have time for hobbies?Yes. Especially now with no commuting, I am spending even more time reading books, listening to podcasts, and sleeping a lot.Have you considered working abroad?Maybe for a shorter period, like a couple of months. I really enjoy traveling for work, since it’s fun to get out and see the world. But I also love living in Hawaii, so it would be really hard for me to work anywhere else. ................
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