***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 Robert Bowman.
I became an engineer because of my father, Star Trek, and popular music.
My father was a U.S. Marine who worked on jets, and I hung around the base jet engine shop for a few years (whenever my Dad wasn’t on a ship somewhere or another country). I became attracted to what these guys were doing—problem solving using engineering and scientific principles and methods.
In the 1960’s, I was always glued to the old, round screen-TV we had for every Sci-Fi show that existed then—particularly, Star Trek. That universe gave me joy as I imagined how every gadget they had worked, and I went to the library every day to learn how stuff like that could work.
As I learned and grew up a little into my teens, popular music grabbed me, and I wanted to learn how audio and our ears worked, so I studied acoustics and electronics. When it came time to graduate high school, my path was very clear!
In college, I studied architectural acoustics, physics, electronics, and, eventually in later years, software systems and more. Now in my 50’s, I haven’t stopped (and I cannot), and I contribute to elevator designs in my day job—and I have for all of my adult life.
I teach a lot of people as well! Being an engineer doesn’t mean you have to know everything… just know what you do know very well and know how to find out about the things you need to learn (and never give up!).
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
- I Became An Engineer: Because of a Wise Father and the Possibility of Death
- I Became An Engineer: Because of An Evil Mastermind
- I Became An Engineer: To Get Off the Tractor
- I Became An Engineer: Because of My Rodeo Coach
- I Became An Engineer: Because the Air Force Equipment Kept Breaking
- I Became an Engineer: Because My Mom Let Me Take Apart the Old Vacuum
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Liked Tearing My Toys Apart
- I Became An Engineer: Because of the Mysterious Glowing Tubes
