While in high school, I took drafting courses and later worked on some competition teams where we designed, built and raced our moonbuggy. It was when my industrial tech teacher and team sponsor worked with me that he recommended I go into engineering. I looked more into it, and I took his advice and haven’t looked back.

I would recommend taking vocational tech courses that allow you to get your hands dirty. Science and upper level maths are good, but if you really want to stand out in the engineering world, take public speaking and get good at it. A lot of your job as an engineer is commmunication, and public speaking is the toughest form (in my opinion), so getting comfortable with it goes a long way.

Ford, Chrysler, Rolls-Royce, Beckman-Coulter, and a long list of others. I highly suggest getting any and all experience that you can get—it helps you learn what you do and don’t like about a job.

The most rewarding part of my job is that I can see the fruits of my work. I know the work I do makes a difference. I see on a daily basis the processes I’ve put in place or the equipment that’s making it easier or safer for someone to help create our product.