I Graduated

[The Metal Butcher]

With a BS in Mechanical Engineering. No retirement for me yet! :P I start my first full time job at a defense contractor in a little under two weeks. Wish me luck!

[Dave C]

Congrats! I know you are glad to have that process over and done with. Good luck with the new job.

[ikdor]

Well done! Engineering is great fun as long as you remain curious.

[Doozer]

Give yourself a graduation present.
An HBM, radial drill, turret lathe, and an upright drill
sound like a good place to start giving.

-Doozer

[Baz]

No need for luck. Most engineering jobs are massively over-specified and over hyped to get people in who actually have a brain cell. You were probably the only applicant who actually knew what a lathe was let alone had used one, not that it is important as defence work is all about the paperwork. I did 20 years in Defence work where 100 off over 3 years was a massive order then to commercial where 10,000 units a shift was a slow day.

[brian Rupnow]

May you be as happy in your career as I was in mine. I may have had some bosses or customers over 50 years that I didn't really care for but the job has been wonderful.---Brian

[old mart]

Good for you! Having the relavent papers and a practical understanding of how mechanical things work is such a big advantage. The toys at home will have to get by with a little less attention.

[The Metal Butcher]

Congrats! I know you are glad to have that process over and done with. Good luck with the new job.

Thanks! It's actually not a new job per se, I'm just going full time at my current company where I was an intern, more or less.

Give yourself a graduation present.
An HBM, radial drill, turret lathe, and an upright drill
sound like a good place to start giving.

Lol. I'm gonna have to pass on those. I'm going to start looking for more completed projects. Maybe a Deckel or something.

No need for luck. Most engineering jobs are massively over-specified and over hyped to get people in who actually have a brain cell. You were probably the only applicant who actually knew what a lathe was let alone had used one, not that it is important as defence work is all about the paperwork. I did 20 years in Defence work where 100 off over 3 years was a massive order then to commercial where 10,000 units a shift was a slow day.

I've actually done a fair bit of machine work as an intern there. But I don't intend to do it a lot. Sucks the fun out of it as a hobby. We're pretty small, probably sub 2k parts processed per year.

[Joel]

Congratulations!
I predict that you will do quite well in this curious and rapidly changing world.

[mattthemuppet]

woohoo, congratulations! Definitely worth a pat on the back. Keep in touch with your old profs too, not only do they like hearing success stories but you're also a valuable contact and source of information/ advice for future students. I'm still in touch with one of my undergrad researchers who I worked with in 2016 and recently helped contribute to her getting a job, and I'm still occasionally in contact with my PhD supervisor even though I finished that part of my life nearly 20 years ago (oof, that makes me feel old).

Keep your eyes and ears open for future opportunities to gain other qualifications, like a Masters, especially if you can do one through your employer. They like having more qualified staff and you get paid more/ put on a better promotion track.

[Rich Carlstedt]

Congrats .
I always found that engineers who get their hands dirty far out do the average design or fabrication engineer.
Like Brian said , Enjoy the job and have fun.
I wouldn't trade my 60 years on the shop floor either.
Rich

[reggie_obe]

Congratulations!
Remember those parts or machines you design or modify have to be made by somebody. Keep it real.

[lynnl]

Well done! Congratulations, Noah. Best of luck. Hope you have a rewarding and happy career; I know you'll be successful.

Lynn

[J Tiers]

Very good!!!!

Now get that PE as soon as you can. I assume you took the test already (I didn't bother, which may have saved me from a boring career designing substations for the Powerco!) The PE is optional, and I know a lot of folks who do not bother. In fact, most of my employers did not want a PE.

But it opens options, which is more important now than it was in the past. Back then I could "walk down the street" and get another engineering job, but that probably is not the case any more, different environment, changing fast.

[nickel-city-fab]

Congratulations! Getting into Defense is not the easiest thing in the world, it can be very interesting and rewarding. Hoping you have the best of luck --