Had almost no technical mentoring. I was an experiment in the company I worked for....the only structural guy in a firm of geotechnical engineers with some materials engineers. Got some materials mentoring from other offices (it was a large firm), but mostly trial by fire....was forced to learn a lot on my own and look long and hard before I opened my mouth. As a result I got to be exposed to so many things I would have never seen in a structural firm...I became a certified welding inspector, I got certified ASNT Level III in radiography, I sampled and tested soils, concrete, steel, wood, plastics, roofing, and composites. I learned pavement analysis and nondestructive testing. I did many triaxial and consolidation tests on soils, not to mention the hundreds of classification index tests....
All of these experiences gave me opportunities to learn. I got to see the designs implemented in construction. I saw what worked and what didn't. I worked in fab shops and in the field. I got to practice my analysis and design as well, almost all of which got reviewed and critiqued by outside sources.
College was only a small stepping stone....my education began and continues with the constant interfacing of the theoretical and practical aspects of engineering, and has crossed the disciplines of structural, civil, geotechnical, materials and mechanical. The sparkies won't let me touch anything!!
As RE noted, I too have been in a position of mentoring for many years. I enjoy it, but sometimes have seen the same things he mentioned...young engineers not willing to put the extra effort into their careers and much too much dependence on calculation and computing....If you can't get an idea of what the answer should be (ballpark) in your head, you'll have no groundtruthing of your calculations. It's OK to be a little geeky at times...after all, we're engineers.
Slickdeals and Asixth....you can get a lot from these forums. You get to learn to separate the wheat and chaff, with help from the best peer review system you'll find anywhere.
Which way did the nurses go?
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