We’ve talked briefly about your journey to become an engineer, but can you summarize that again for me?
So I got my business economics degree from CC and I worked as an executive for ten years. Decided to go and get my mechanical engineering degree at the University of Colorado. Go CU! So I graduated and started to work as a design engineer, but found that I needed more interaction with the people and with engineering there’s a lot of seat time where it’s just you and your computer and I wanted a team dynamic. Plus there’s more growth for me as a program manager. I did the program management for ten years and after ten years I needed to do something different and I knew there were opportunities to improve things on the production side of the company. Then I became and operation analysts.
How did you decide to go back to school for engineering?
When I got my business degree, I had a hard time deciding between engineering and business. While I was working as an executive, I kept getting visions of me being an engineer So I decided I’m going to go back and get this engineering degree. It was one of those things where I probably should have done it first, but I realized I had to go see what the engineering cravings were all about.
How long did it take to get your degree?
Three years.
How did you end up at SNC?
It’s funny I was searching for engineering jobs and I noticed that I knew the HR for this small aerospace company. SO it’s all about networking. I got ahold of her and she said “Oh great! I remember you! I’ll get you an interview!”
What do you love about your job here at SNC?
I like the diversity. No two days are the same, and there isn’t a routine. And the technology! Aerospace is cool. We’re working on cutting edge designs with cutting edge technology. We’re putting things in space, which is really sweet.
Would you change anything about your job at SNC?
I’d spend more time improving processes and how we get work done. I wish we had integrated reporting. {To improve efficiency in the work place and in everyday activities}
What changes have you seen in the field of engineering? Are they positive or negative?
Positive in that space is getting commercialized. And the design tools are so advanced. The CAD software is a lot better. But there’s an opportunity to improve the overall link between all the systems (CAD and purchasing). There’s tons of room for improvement there.
What is the most challenging thing about your field?
To compete for new work when there’s so many limited missions into space. When there’s only so much funding that gets approved for different types of missions. When there’re only a few companies, like Space X and Boeing and Lockheed that have the capital to develop their own missions. We’re a small private company, and to get your foot in the door for a new mission or a new line of products you haven’t done before is really hard because it’s so competitive. We don’t have a history with space flight. Buyers say: “Well when have you put anything into space before. How do we know it will work?”
What training, education, or life experience has been most valuable to you professionally?
Being a part of a sports team has been invaluable. You can’t place a value on theat. That’s where you learn that you can get way more stuff done as a group than as an individual. Then, outside of college course-work, studying engineering tolerancing for design and how to do solid modeling are both big.
So I got my business economics degree from CC and I worked as an executive for ten years. Decided to go and get my mechanical engineering degree at the University of Colorado. Go CU! So I graduated and started to work as a design engineer, but found that I needed more interaction with the people and with engineering there’s a lot of seat time where it’s just you and your computer and I wanted a team dynamic. Plus there’s more growth for me as a program manager. I did the program management for ten years and after ten years I needed to do something different and I knew there were opportunities to improve things on the production side of the company. Then I became and operation analysts.
How did you decide to go back to school for engineering?
When I got my business degree, I had a hard time deciding between engineering and business. While I was working as an executive, I kept getting visions of me being an engineer So I decided I’m going to go back and get this engineering degree. It was one of those things where I probably should have done it first, but I realized I had to go see what the engineering cravings were all about.
How long did it take to get your degree?
Three years.
How did you end up at SNC?
It’s funny I was searching for engineering jobs and I noticed that I knew the HR for this small aerospace company. SO it’s all about networking. I got ahold of her and she said “Oh great! I remember you! I’ll get you an interview!”
What do you love about your job here at SNC?
I like the diversity. No two days are the same, and there isn’t a routine. And the technology! Aerospace is cool. We’re working on cutting edge designs with cutting edge technology. We’re putting things in space, which is really sweet.
Would you change anything about your job at SNC?
I’d spend more time improving processes and how we get work done. I wish we had integrated reporting. {To improve efficiency in the work place and in everyday activities}
What changes have you seen in the field of engineering? Are they positive or negative?
Positive in that space is getting commercialized. And the design tools are so advanced. The CAD software is a lot better. But there’s an opportunity to improve the overall link between all the systems (CAD and purchasing). There’s tons of room for improvement there.
What is the most challenging thing about your field?
To compete for new work when there’s so many limited missions into space. When there’s only so much funding that gets approved for different types of missions. When there’re only a few companies, like Space X and Boeing and Lockheed that have the capital to develop their own missions. We’re a small private company, and to get your foot in the door for a new mission or a new line of products you haven’t done before is really hard because it’s so competitive. We don’t have a history with space flight. Buyers say: “Well when have you put anything into space before. How do we know it will work?”
What training, education, or life experience has been most valuable to you professionally?
Being a part of a sports team has been invaluable. You can’t place a value on theat. That’s where you learn that you can get way more stuff done as a group than as an individual. Then, outside of college course-work, studying engineering tolerancing for design and how to do solid modeling are both big.