***Editor’s Note: The “I Became An Engineer” blog runs every friday. To share your story email sarah.goncalves@advantagemedia.com***
This week’s story is brought to us by reader Bob Blinn.
I became an engineer because of a wise father and the possibility of death.
When I was young, I liked to take things apart so I could figure out how they worked, but it never occurred to me that there might be a career here. In fact, I had no long-term focus at all. I was an underachiever, just sort of floating along aimlessly.
Near the end of my junior year in high school, my father took me aside and asked, “What are you going to do with your life?” I had no answer. He went on to say, “It would be a bad idea for you to follow in my footsteps.”
My father ran a hardware store, but his real passion was being a volunteer firefighter. When I asked why he didn’t want me to be like him, he said, “Your mind is always calculating things. As a firefighter you need to trust your training, your equipment, and your fellow firefighters, and take action. You can’t be standing around calculating things; you’ll get yourself killed! You need to find a career where calculating is important. You should go to college and study engineering.”
I took his advice and looked into engineering and found it fit me very well. The lights started to turn on in my brain. I stopped underachieving and began putting out more effort. I went to college and got a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and for most of my 39 year career, I have been in computer aided engineering groups doing calculations in support of products for the auto industry.
While I was initially stunned that my father didn’t think I would succeed as a firefighter, I am thankful every day for the advice he gave me.
Read other stories, here:
- A Note From The Editor: An Engineer’s Story
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Lunch Box
- I Became An Engineer: Because of Christmas Lights
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of The Cool Jackets
- I Became An Engineer: Because My Dad Said Not To
- I Became An Engineer: Despite Being Bad At Math
- I Became An Engineer: Because of Uncle Chet
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Can’t Stop Asking ‘Why?’
- I Became An Engineer: Because of Star Trek (Specifically Montgomery Scott)
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Was A Really Lucky Nerd
- I Became An Engineer: But ‘Nobody Knows’ Why
- I Became An Engineer: Because of Nuclear Submarines
- I Became An Engineer: Because of a Sewing Machine
- I Became an Engineer: Because No One Was Hiring Shoe Salesmen
- I Became an Engineer: Because of Mr. Kenny, the TV/Radio Repair Man
- I Became an Engineer: Because of a Book (And My Mom)
- I Became An Engineer: Because of a Cattle Ranch
