Interview Assessment #2

 

Name of Professional: John Turner

 

Profession/Title:  Mechanical Engineer

 

Date of Interview: 5 October 2017

 

Assessment:

    John Turner is a very experienced engineer and gave me a great insight into the field of engineering. The first topic we talked about why he decided to go into the engineering field. He told me that he lived on a farm when he was growing up and would fix other people’s lawn mowers. He also mentioned that he had never heard of mechanical engineering as a kid, but he had the skill set to be a mechanical engineer because he could weld, fix motors, and do other handy work as a kid. After hearing this I felt that our paths were different because I grew up hearing about different jobs fields such as being a doctor, biologist, or an engineer. We did have a common similarity, or love of math, we both have always been good at math and we both love to problem solve. Another topic we discussed for the majority of the interview was Mr. Turner’s experiences in the field of engineering. He started off by telling me about his first job as a mechanical engineer working as a manufacturer of airplane parts. His job was to oversee the production of different plane parts. I did not think that that job would be something I would gravitate towards. I feel that I would be a better fit as more of a hands on worker, which he agreed with which is what brought him to his next job at NASA.This job sounded me interesting to me because he was able do more hands on work for the international space station. After hearing him talk about his work at NASA and how his work is being used today. I became very interested in the idea of being able to leave a mark on a huge name such as NASA. After his job with NASA Mr. Turner said that he now has his own company and does private projects. This could be another option down my path of engineering. I could, eventually, use my knowledge to have my own company and do a private practice when I am older. After talking with Mr. Turner I have been provided with new insight into the field of engineering and the many different job options you have.

 

    One of the major takeaways I had from my interview with Mr. Turner was how your job could change in an instant. For example, you could work on cell towers then your next job could be working on vehicles. This is one reason why I chose the engineering path because it is so broad. This means, and Mr. Turner explained it well to me, that in college you will not only be taking courses for mechanical engineering you will also take classes that are about other types of engineering. This is because the different projects you work on will not be strictly mechanical, you will also have,maybe, electrical, civil, or chemical engineering aspects. Mr. Turner, overall, did a great job by, not only, sharing his different experiences with me but explaining how each of his different jobs influenced and shaped his career. I had a great time being able to learn from a very talented and experienced engineer.