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Joshua Cortman
Ms. Stark
8 February, 2017
Mechanical Engineering
Introduction:
I have always loved building new things as a kid and every time I use a new piece of
technology, curiosity floods my mind as I attempt to understand how it works. Little did I know
that my curiosity was developing into a passion for mechanical engineering. However, now that I
am here at Florida State University as a mechanical engineering major, I feel I still have a lot to
learn about how to get involved here and how to begin building credentials as I look to begin a
career in the field of engineering. Regardless of where I focus my education and interests, I am
confident that an engineering degree will provide me with the skills required to be successful in a
variety of careers. You can find engineers in human resource departments, in accounting firms,
editorial staffs, and medical settings. You also see cross-engineering jobs where mechanical
2016). I plan to focus on life within the major and the opportunities available to me.
Engineering is known for being one of the most difficult undergraduate degrees with a
heavy course load especially in math and science. As described by a mechanical engineer, Core
science and math classes form the foundation for learning the analytical tools mechanical
engineers use when solving problems. Therefore, its important for students who are prospective
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engineers to keep working hard in those areas (Sullivan, 2011). While I am worried about the
difficulty of the course work, Im looking forward to the challenge and hope that what I have
learned from others will make me more prepared to handle the work. I hope through the
interviews I could provide a clearer understanding of the differences and similarities between
different disciplines. I am excited to learn about ways to become involved outside the classroom
perspectives regarding graduate degrees and how they could influence promotions or immediate
job opportunities.
Methods:
First, I interviewed Daniel Cerrutti, a junior mechanical engineering major here at Florida
State university. Before Mr. Cerrutti, I didnt know any upper level engineering and I was very
excited to learn more about his perspective and opinions of the engineering program at FSU. I
asked him a variety of questions to get a better understanding of why he chose mechanical
engineering, his experiences so far, and what he hopes to do with his education. My questions
included: Why did you choose mechanical engineering? When did you know you wanted to do
mechanical engineering? Why did you choose FSU? Why did you choose mechanical
engineering over other disciplines? What are the benefits and drawbacks of mechanical as
compared to other disciplines? As a junior in the major what do you think about the difficulty of
coursework? How does the difficulty Compare to other disciplines from what youve seen? Have
you had any relevant internships or jobs? What type of job are you looking for and why? Any
idea what youre doing after graduation and where do you hope to be in the next 5 years? Based
on what youve seen from employers, statistics etc. What do you think about the credibility of
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FSU engineering program and the opinions of employers? How could I get involved outside the
they have gone through engineering education themselves and gone on to teach it to others.
Because of this they have a clear understanding of the education process. I chose to speak with
the professor for my intro to engineering lab, Dr. Melodee Moore. She went to Howard
university to obtain a Bachelors degree in chemical engineering and went on to get her doctorate
in biomedical engineering at Northwestern University. As the professor for an intro class, she has
a broad understanding of all the different disciplines and has had contact with students of all
disciplines offered at the FAMU-FSU engineering college. I asked her first about her experiences
with engineering and went on to ask more about her opinions on the different disciplines of
engineering and their consecutive course difficulty and job outlook. I asked her the following
questions: What did you get your undergrad and graduate degree in? What research have you
done? Have you had a job in the field outside of the classroom? What did you like/dislike about
it? How would you compare mechanical with other disciplines (specifically electrical industrial
and civil) as far as difficulty as undergraduate? How does job outlook and salary compare for
different disciplines? What should I do this semester to help me decide which discipline I want to
focus on? What could I do to get a better general idea of each discipline? What should I start
doing now to find internships and job opportunities other than engineering day? What should I
do to build my resume and gain experience? How could I get involved outside the classroom?
How beneficial is a graduate degree from employers perspective? How would a graduate degree
I also hoped to obtain a better understanding of the job field from someone who
experienced it themselves. I interviewed my uncle Michael Renaud who graduated from The
work for Texas Instruments, and Peak technology before starting his own company, Kare
Technology, with two business partners. I was excited to learn from someone who has been
working in the field for a while, obtained a job directly out of school, and has seen and worked
with engineers throughout his career. I began by asking him about his college experience and
extra-curricular involvement. I went on to ask him more about his career experiences, his
company, his partners, and his views on an education in engineering and the relevance of
graduate degrees in the industry. I asked the following questions: Where did you get your
bachelors degree and what was it in? Why and when did you choose mechanical engineering as
your major? What is your personal opinion on different disciplines (mechanical, electrical, and
industrial) as far as job outlook and variety of applications? Why didnt you pursue a masters
degree? Did you have any internships before graduating? Did you have any extra-curricular
involvement while in school? How did you get a job with TI? What were you doing for them?
Who did you work for after TI and why did you want to start your own company? What degrees
do your business partners have? How and what types of engineering are relevant and
incorporated with your company? What, specifically, do you do? From what youve experienced
and seen in the engineering field and with your business how important/helpful do you think a
Results:
Mr. Cerrutti was very open to sharing his own experiences whether it be success, failure,
real experiences. He chose mechanical engineering due to his life-long interest in cars. my dad
was a mechanic and that is my special interest. Im in the formula 1 club right now for example
and while everything Im doing now is on paper, Ill get to start doing more hands-on design and
construction. While Mr. Cerrutti chose mechanical because of his dream to work on cars
someday he also said that upon making the decision for which discipline to stick with, it is
important to look at the classes and teachers. Mr. Cerrutti was a physics major for a semester but
switched to engineering after feeling intimidated by the professors and classes. After asking Mr.
Cerruttis opinion on the differences between disciplines he said that he has had some experience
with electrical since some of the classes converge but most of the people he knows are in
mechanical and thats the only discipline he has really dabbled in. He has a friend who is an
electrical engineering major but his experiences as far as difficulty did not differ much from
Mechanical. He said that once youre in the major, teachers and advisors are there to support you
and do everything they can to help you do well on move on in your field. Some teachers will put
large curves if a class is very difficult and students have consistent and widespread troubles. One
specific recommendation was you will have a class called ME tools in your first semester. In
that class youll learn MATLAB. Once you learn it, dont forget it because you will go a year
without using it but after that you will need to know how to use it again and its easy to forget if
you dont review. When I asked about his relevant work experience he said that he plans to
intern with his uncle in Ohio who graduated with a mechanical engineering degree but now
works for a company which provides backup generators to hospitals all over the U.S. he
recommended to take an internship whenever the opportunity is there. As far as ways to get
Engineers), and any other clubs which interest me such as SAE (Society of Automotive
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Engineering). He also suggested that I go to engineering day to network with companies and
Dr. Moore was quick and concise with most of her responses but provided some very
helpful information and was very willing to share her opinions. Her research area for graduate
school was biomechanics and she was working with a group of students to learn more about how
stress on veins effects healing. When I asked her about her experiences outside of the classroom,
she said I had an internship at Merck and company which is a pharmaceutical company. The
first two summers I worked in the area of project management so I was mostly in an office and I
would take occasional trips out into the field. My favorite experience was my third summer when
I was in technical operations which was a division of Merck manufacturing which means I was
on site verifying new materials. When I asked her for an opinion on the differences in the
difficulty between different disciplines, she said the difficulty depends more on your personal
interests than course work. For mechanical engineering she said issues come in with issues using
math learned previously. As far as job outlook and growth, Dr. Moore felt that all fields are
growing and again the important part of picking a discipline is choosing your passion because if
youre passionate about something then you are more likely to successfully implement the skills
youve obtained and be successful regardless of what the numbers and salaries say. When I asked
what I should do to help me make my decision and get a broad understanding of different
disciplines, she, similar to Mr. Cerrutti, suggested I join ASME, IEEE (Institute of electronics
and electrical engineers), IIE (institute of industrial engineers) to get a broad understanding of
each discipline. She said these clubs are a great place to meet older students who have had
internships and experience with classes. Upon asking the best route to take to build my resume,
she suggested taking summer classes this coming summer so that Ill be able to do internships
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during the summer following my sophomore and junior year. When I asked her about her opinion
on graduate degrees, she said itll make a difference on hiring and progression through a
company. If you take a job right after getting your bachelors degree, it is difficult to come back
because the money is too good. I always say that if youre considering a masters degree, get it
Although it was not the first conversation about mechanical engineering Ive had with my
uncle, he was excited to help me in any way he could. He shared his own experiences throughout
college and went on to explain some aspects of the job field and some of his opinions regarding
the importance of grades, internships, and graduate degrees. When I asked him why he pursued
mechanical engineering, he replied, my father had a lot of tools and was a very handy guy. I
would always tinker with different things in the garage and my dad even had a section set aside
for me to work on my own projects and thats where my love for mechanical engineering came
from. When I asked about his opinion on different disciplines, he said the most important skill
I gained from pursuing an engineering degree was the ability to think critically and thats
something thats really important once you start working. No matter what discipline you choose
youll gain the ability to think critically so just go for whatever interests you. When I asked how
he was involved as a student and how he recommends I get involved, he said he didnt get any
internships or join any engineering clubs but did work with his dad (in an engineering company)
as a floor worker. He strongly suggested looking for an internship and feels that it is something
employers look at heavily and it could very easily set you apart. (Renaud, 2017)
Conclusion:
I now feel much more prepared to complete my undergraduate degree and Im more
educated with regards to the job field and the benefits and drawbacks of obtaining a masters
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degree. Talking to a student, professor, and business owner provided me with various unique
perspectives towards mechanical engineering. Through talking to Mr. Cerrutti, I learned more
about how passionate many of the mechanical engineering professors and advisors are and I look
forward to working with them more in the future and learning more about my passion. Mr.
Cerrutti provided me with some suggestions regarding difficult classes and skills which are
important to retain. He also suggested that I make use of resources such as advisors and teachers
office hours. Hopefully, implementing his suggestions into my study habits over the next three
years will help me be successful in the difficult upper level classes. Speaking with Dr. Moore and
Mr. Renaud provided me with some helpful information regarding a masters degree and I now
feel more informed on whether or not I should pursue a graduate degree. They both agreed that if
I want to pursue it I should do it immediately rather than planning to come back to school after a
few years of work. They disagreed slightly however on the importance of obtaining a masters
degree. Dr. Moore seemed to stress its importance while Mr. Renaud described it more as another
way to set yourself apart from others. They both had interesting perspectives on graduate degrees
and although I was not originally planning on obtaining one, I certainly now feel more prepared
to make an informed decision when the time comes. Mr. Renaud heavily stressed the importance
another way to set myself apart. The third thing he stressed was the importance of grades. These
suggestions from Mr. Renaud and Dr. Moore will certainly help me properly build my resume in
a way that will set me apart from others. After speaking to others about engineering, Im more
excited than ever and I know Im on the right track. I am confident that their advice and opinions
Works Cited
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Sullivan, Megan. "Mechanical Engineer." Science Teacher 78.8 (2011): 74-5. Print.