High school senior

[aarquette96]

ello, spt. I am a senior at Yakama Nation Tribal School this year and am enrolled in an engineering class where we will be building solar powered water heaters. Today was the first day so mostly introduction and such. We will be working with out local partner Heritage University, and their engineering students on this projects as well. The mentor/instructor is a Nobel Peace prize recipient for his work on Chernobyl and he is an astrophysicist. I cannot remember his name as we were only introduced once briefly but I'm sure Google may turn up facts. My long term goal to achieve with this class is get the education to be hired on at our Yakama Nation Power utilities company installing on-grid supply panels both on homes and in field type settings (we have lots of sage brush being unused) as well as have a Green and solid career foundation. I'm searching for any feedback or advice available and am willing to keep any/all posted as well as possibly involved.

[J.P.M.]

ello, spt. I am a senior at Yakama Nation Tribal School this year and am enrolled in an engineering class where we will be building solar powered water heaters. Today was the first day so mostly introduction and such. We will be working with out local partner Heritage University, and their engineering students on this projects as well. The mentor/instructor is a Nobel Peace prize recipient for his work on Chernobyl and he is an astrophysicist. I cannot remember his name as we were only introduced once briefly but I'm sure Google may turn up facts. My long term goal to achieve with this class is get the education to be hired on at our Yakama Nation Power utilities company installing on-grid supply panels both on homes and in field type settings (we have lots of sage brush being unused) as well as have a Green and solid career foundation. I'm searching for any feedback or advice available and am willing to keep any/all posted as well as possibly involved.

Aarquette:

Welcome to The forum, and I really mean welcome. Stay curious. I'd respectfully suggest to start with the basics of science and engineering, and methods of finding, learning and understanding the underlying "why" of the information presented, and try not to get too ahead of the curve on details and what we choose to call facts. The science is the method of the acquisition, not the results of the search. Those facts, or laws are the things we choose to believe until other data comes along that's a better fit with reality.

Learn to think like an engineer thinks and looks at the world. You could do worse. A very wise teacher, who was something of a rarity - in that he was also a very good engineer - once told me he used science and engineering principles in the classroom, not as facts to be memorized and casually applied as much as tools to show examples that may help to enable his students to learn to think like engineers think - and find their own answers - the details - which is what he stressed as much or more than facts. He used the analogy that a good tool & die maker can do good work with a few tools (sometimes in ways not intended by the tool designer), but is always looking for more and better tools.

Similarly, an engineer doesn't need formal education as much as an engineering outlook and some common sense. But, adding the tools (the engineering principles often learned through formal education) and ways to use them, while never a substitute for hard work, persistence and a fair amount of common sense, will allow a sharp and clear thinking engineer to do superb work. Not coincidentally, that engineer will also stand out from engineering peers, increasing the probability of a successful and rewarding career. Do that, and you will be a seen as a "value added product", and garner a premium in the job market with more and better choices.

Stick with the basics. Stay curious. Ask well thought out questions. The details will come soon enough, and I bet you'll soon find more and more of those details will come from your own brain, and then confirmed by observation, fact checking and experiment.

I'd not focus my goals as narrowly as you seem to be doing. I've spent some time in the Yakama Valley in the past. Lovely place. But, I'd bet you'll have a lot of opportunity to see the rest of the world before too much longer. Learn how to think and along the way, get a recognized formal education. The synergy of those two attributes will allow you to have your pick of the litter for jobs, and more importantly, a choice of how you can make your best contribution to improving the human condition, which is one end goal of engineering.

Good luck.

[sensij]

The mentor/instructor is a Nobel Peace prize recipient for his work on Chernobyl and he is an astrophysicist. I cannot remember his name as we were only introduced once briefly but I'm sure Google may turn up facts.

It looks like you are referring to Prof. Michael Durst.

With luck, you will have many good mentors along the way. Pay attention... these people were in your shoes once, and by learning how they achieved success, it may help you become more confident in your own choices. Show respect... remember their names, and titles if they've earned them. You never know who you might run into later in your career, and by working to establish good habits now, it will put you ahead of the curve as you develop the skills necessary to eventually build your own professional network. Don't settle... it is easy to simply say "google knows the answer," but a much better practice to take the extra few minutes to look it up yourself (especially if it is something you should already know!). There will be countless opportunities in your career to settle for an incomplete good enough, but if you consistently put in the effort to really *own* your work, you will stand out from the pack. Have fun... it may take some time to learn how, but there is no more solid foundation for a career than finding joy in the work you do.

[feetie]

Good Luck

Aarquette,

Nice to hear about your goals. Please keep us posted on any interesting ideas, projects or experiences you have. Good luck!

J.G.