Overlake School – career talk



Career Day Response

From Steve Snelling – Industrial Engineer

1. A general overview of the career field. What are some of the different paths to pursue in the career field?

▪ Engineers in general are problem solvers

▪ Frequently, engineers design things that have real world applications

▪ Many of the products and man made structures that we use in our daily lives, required engineers

▪ There are a number of types of engineering, but all types have the same first two years in college, covering fundamentals

▪ Main engineering fields are mechanical, electrical, civil, aerospace, chemical. Industrial is a smaller specialty, as are nuclear, environmental, petroleum, ceramic, agricultural

2. What you actually do, perhaps using a specific case, transaction, or project as an example to add focus and concreteness?

▪ I am an Industrial Engineer and I work on Process Improvement projects for the Boeing Co. at the Everett Final Assembly facility

▪ I work on 3-6 month projects (usually two at a time) that analyze 747 & 767 airplane final assembly processes, like material handling, defect reduction, inventory reduction, cycle time reduction, etc.

▪ I worked on a 3 person engineering team (and representatives from production and functional areas) to improve our control of portable tools. Steps included: define the project’s objective & scope, document our existing processes, identify our current problems, perform statistical analysis, benchmark what other companies do, develop & evaluate alternatives, make recommendations, help get management approval & budget, and consulted during extended implementation. 4-5 months for study, 1.5 years for implementation

3. Your background. How did you get to where you are today?

▪ In grade school I enjoyed learning about how things work and took toasters, radios, and TVs apart; I also was obsessed about which method was the most efficient (like the quickest overall time to complete a paper route, or the true shortest route to a destination by car)

▪ My father and an uncle were engineers, and my brother also studied engineering

▪ I enjoyed math and science and in the 8th grade was put into an Accelerated Program (would be called Advanced Placement now) for math & science, throughout high school

▪ I had a summer job after high school with the Virginia Highway department, as a trainee doing preliminary engineering for the development of a new freeway (working with Civil Engineers)

▪ I went to an ABET accredited engineering college (Virginia Tech) and was a Co-Op student (working 7 quarters as an engineer trainee) in Industrial Engineering

▪ I worked 5 years as an Area Industrial Engineer with Reynolds Aluminum Company, then 10 years as a Management Consultant (with 3 different consulting companies), and the past 17 years as a Process Engineer with the Boeing Company (I’ve been doing project type work ever since I was a Co-Op student)

4. What are the rewards and challenges of your job?

▪ I get to work on interesting projects, that are not easily solved problems

▪ I enjoy being around large airplane assembly work

▪ I have good computer software that simplifies a lot of project tasks

▪ I earn good pay, with good benefits, and I get time to do professional & community volunteer activities

▪ I work with a fun group of engineers (industrial & mechanical)

▪ I get to work with a lot of interesting Boeing people, at all levels of the company

▪ But, I get frustrated with Boeing’s bureaucracy and slow implementation progress

5. Future trends/technology’s influence?

▪ Computers and the internet will continue to impact all engineering fields, including engineering education

▪ Virtual Reality will continue to integrate into design applications, and computer games may influence some engineering software

▪ Artificial Intelligence (AI) will combine with robotics to create much smarter machines

▪ Civil engineering will be critical to replace bridges & older structures & provide greater public safety

▪ Industrial Engineering will continue its shift towards the Service Sector and Consulting and away from traditional manufacturing

▪ Teaching Ethics to engineers will become more imperative as the individual engineer and scientist has fewer reviews prior to initiating actions

▪ Engineers will help design more leisure time activities as well as pleasant sensory environments (“soft touch” to off set “hard” technical overload)

▪ The Internet and interactive technologies will help engineers pursue lifetime learning, which is required now to stay up in any engineering field

6. Outlook for young people entering the field?

▪ Excellent job prospects with unlimited variety of work

▪ Must be very good in math & science and have good study skills

▪ Requires practical experience in addition to education, so recommend Intern or Co-Op work during college

▪ Your job experience and later interests will control the type of engineering work you will do

7. Advice – e.g. What should high school students study? What opportunities should they take advantage of to gain exposure to the field?

▪ Excel in math & science, but also do well in English, History and other high school general courses

▪ Do some reading about types of engineering, check out web sites, and Discovery type TV shows, and instructional videos

▪ Try to go on local manufacturing tours or interview working engineers (including any members of your immediate family)

▪ Look at engineering school’s web sites and particular departments of fields that interest you most

▪ Make sure you apply to an ABET accredited engineering school, that has the engineering specialty you are most interested in

▪ When at college, continue to investigate the type of engineering work that interests you most

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Career Day Response.doc

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