***Editor’s Note: The “I Became An Engineer” blog runs every Friday. To share your story email jennifer.delaosa@advantagemedia.com***
This week’s story comes to us from ECN reader Brett Bellmore.
The heroes of all the juvenile science fiction I grew up reading were engineers/scientists. I wanted to be like them, go into space, and explore. I knew I’d never make it as a pilot with my coke bottle glasses, but a billet in the engine room actually seemed feasible and rather appealing. I was the kind of kid who asked for boxes of parts for Christmas, not toys.
I even built an RF noise generator with a notch filter for the station Star Trek was on, because otherwise my dad would have been watching football when it was on. Good thing he never found out why the reception was so bad on Saturdays!
Over time, I started noticing that things weren’t advancing as fast as I’d expected, so I decided that I’d have to do something about my longevity. I started aiming for a career in genetic engineering, and got voted “most likely to become a mad scientist and conquer the world” in my high school yearbook. That was 1977.
Sadly, I got seduced by computers, and went instead for a dual major: computer engineering and human biology. I had to drop out in my senior year to take care of my mom after a bad auto accident. Eventually, I became a mechanical engineer by apprenticship, working my way up from detailer.
Space is finally heating up, and here I am approaching my retirement, blast it! Maybe I’ll become a bio hacker after all, once I’ve got some free time.
Read other stories, here:
- A Note From The Editor: An Engineer’s Story
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of MacGyver And Comfortable Clothes
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Small FM Radio
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Model Airplane Contest
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Loved LEGOs And Tinkertoys
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Magazine Ad
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Grew Up In Kenya
- I Became An Engineer: So I Wouldn’t Have To Go To Vietnam
- I Became An Engineer: By Just Being Myself
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of The Cool Jackets
- I Became An Engineer: Because My Dad Said Not To
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Couldn’t Stop Tinkering
- I Became An Engineer: Despite Being Bad At Math
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of Christmas Lights
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of Uncle Chet
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of Star Trek (Specifically Montgomery Scott)
- I Became An Engineer: But ‘Nobody Knows’ Why
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Couldn’t Be An Astronaut
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of Nuclear Submarines
- I Became An Engineer: Because No One Was Hiring Shoe Salesmen
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Book (And My Mom)
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Wise Father And The Possibility Of Death
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of An Evil Mastermind
