Whole Life Concepts Paper Brett Kaveney Linda Hargrove Intro to Engineering October 19, 2013

As a prospective engineer, it is important to realize that we are one of the lucky groups of people in the world who get to make a difference as incorporated by the whole life concepts model. Engineering, to me, is a career in which I personally believe is very intriguing to me and sparks my interests. The reason why it gives me that kind of feeling is the fact that knowing that whatever I will be working on, is going to be used by so many people and it is something that will benefit society as a whole. Engineers change the world, and I want to be part of that change. Think about it, almost everything we see in the world, except for things of nature like trees and so forth, were thought of by innovators, inventors, the engineers of society. When it comes to engineering, my individual passion is to become the best engineer I can be, and find my dream job as a mechanical engineer in the automobile industry. Being able to work on and contribute to the automobile industry would be something that I would be very proud of. I have had this passion ever since sophomore year of high school, and with all of the time that I have spent learning about the profession I just get more and more interested in it. My first interest in it was when I really started to get into cars and at that time I knew that I wanted to become an engineer, so I decided to pursue mechanical engineering. I am very enthusiastic about and interested in this field. I honestly cannot wait to get into the garage and start learning about cars and working on them. Although I dont have too much prior experience with cars, I am willing and able to learn about it. One of my bigger influences in my decision of studying mechanical engineering is my Grandfather, who was also a mechanical engineer. He worked on his own cars and kept them maintained extremely well and I was always intrigued by that. He also patented his own machine that made molds. He was always working on one of his many cars, my favorite including his Pantera. He always seemed to know exactly what he was doing with his vehicles and not only that but the fact that he was able to create his own machine that made molds was very interesting to hear about. What he did, by combining his skillsets with his passion, is in a sense what I want to do. I would love to work with and work on cars, creating, innovating, and hopefully making an impact on the automobile industry. Throughout all of my schooling, math and science courses were always my strong suit out of all my classes, and that was one of my key points in my decision process on what profession I would study in college. An experience that I was recently involved in, was a car show that came to Raleigh. I was able to test drive vehicles of my choice from different car companies. I chose to test drive a 2013 GMC Sierra, and I was also able to test drive and feel the power of a 2013 Chevrolet Camaro SS. Although it wasnt one of the turning points in my decision process, it still made me think about how exciting it would be to actually work on and even design vehicles like these. My experiences, values, and strengths will more than likely be different than those of the other mechanical engineers simply due to the fact that no two people are exactly alike. Everybody is unique and different in their own way. Some people, for example, may have been around cars and/or racing all of their life and it is something that they really love. While I am somebody who may not have as much experience with cars as other people I am extremely intrigued by it and strive to learn about them extensively. An example of a person who has been around cars for a majority of their life would be my friend Scott who not only owns his own drag car but also works on it. So clearly he would have a much broader experience and knowledge of cars or performance vehicles and how they work. Nevertheless, I am very passionate in what I want to do, and I plan on doing whatever it takes to become a great engineer and contribute to society. Being an engineer, obviously the impact of society as a whole can be greatly determined by what your passions and interests are. It also depends upon what you choose to do with your time and skills, using all of them efficiently. Within the world, conflicts and issues can arise out of nowhere, and it is only a matter of time before somebody can come around and really put their career and expertise into play in order to impact the world beneficially and solve these issues. Three specific, realistic, and well-developed impact goals of how my passion in my profession could help contribute to the world around me would have to be things like improved performance of vehicles; horsepower and torque. Exterior design of the chassis of the car could also be used in order to make a vehicle either more aerodynamic, or make a vehicle weigh less without sacrificing too much of the bodys durability. Something else that could also be looked into is something simple such as tire durability, or even how to improve and work on brakes. Innovations to a vehicles exhaust emissions could even be put into play. There are so many opportunities on what you can do with a mechanical engineering degree, and thats what I love about it. Within the motorsports concentration you can have so many jobs as a mechanical engineer. For example, you could specialize in thermodynamics or specialize on engines, or even specialize in the body of the vehicle. As I begin my journey of studying mechanical engineering, I have come to realize that there will be a lot of issues at hand that engineers in general will have to eventually come to terms with and figure

out. Earth has become so populated, with nearly seven billion people on the planet, people are starting to worry about our resource consumption, pollution, overcrowding and losing diversity. Realistically, the population of the world is not going to stop growing, more and more people are going to be consuming or using up valuable resources daily. A source states that, Engineers have a collective responsibility to improve the lives of people around the world (Engineering for the Developing World). This relates back to mechanical engineering and the fact that with so many people inhabiting the earth, think about how many vehicles are out on the road. As a mechanical engineer, it is our responsibility to improve and make the world a better place for those who inhabit it alongside improving lifestyles. With so many people out on the road in their vehicles, issues with safety, emissions, and so on are at hand. Another specific example that is relevant to mechanical engineering is vehicle safety, teen drivers being an excellent example. Parents all over the world must be heavy with the weight of concern for their child when they start to drive since teen drivers have the highest statistics of accidents, injuries, and deaths out of any other age group. As for mechanical engineers we could implement or innovate or potentially even invent new safety devices, or ways to make a vehicle safer if an accident were to happen (Teen Driving). Going back to the topic of how there are so many people inhabiting earth, vehicle emissions and global warming is and has been an arising issue. According to a source, automobiles produce just about thirty percent of all of the emissions in the United States that contribute to global warming. For every gallon of gas, that is about 25 pounds worth of emissions that help aid global warming (Car Emissions and Global Warming). What mechanical engineers can do to help with this contemporary issue is work on reducing harmful emissions that are destroying the ozone. Just imagine how many harmful emissions are being placed out into the atmosphere on a daily basis by all of the people driving their vehicles all over the world. This is where engineers can step in and potentially help to reduce these harmful emissions by usage of their skills, techniques, and wisdom. Thinking about all of the impact that can be brought to the world by engineers really backs up my decision for studying to become a mechanical engineer. In order for me to turn my passion into a career, Im going to need to develop a general knowledge of cars and how they run mechanically, as well as other subtopics like how to make a car weigh less, installing parts, and so on. Im also going to have to become familiar with all of the tools, how they use them, and what they are used for. Programs like 3-D CAD and other specific programs that certain jobs will need us to use. My choice of major is mechanical engineering, and when it comes to using the whole life concepts diagram, my passion for vehicles and engineering is where it all comes into play. I may not have the greatest knowledge of automobiles right now, but I definitely have the ability and willingness to learn. Application of my knowledge will be used during my years of schooling but will ultimately come into effect when I start my career. As I start my work with my career and job team, our work together and efficiency is where the impact will begin. One question that I have about my intended profession is whether or not the school requires a certain base level of knowledge about cars. I do intend to explore this question by asking one of the motorsport concentration engineering students to figure out what I need to do; whether or not I need to take some program over the summer to learn the basics of how vehicles work or what it is exactly that I can do to get caught up to other peoples level of knowledge of cars and maybe even gain an advantage over others. I believe that the motorsports concentration of mechanical engineering is best for me solely because I am extremely intrigued by vehicles. Recently I have become more and more appreciative of cars, not just for their looks, but how all of the parts of the vehicle collaborate together in order to produce a functioning means of transportation. Being able to work on cars is my dream and I would love to work on them, not just on a mechanical level but more so in the engineering mindset of contributing to the design, innovation or building of these vehicles . I also think its a good career path because with so many people inhabiting the earth, and the continual growth of society, people are going to need cars. Therefore, car companies are going to need mechanical engineers. Im not really certain what specific classes I will need to take, however I do know that I will be spending a good amount of my time in the car garage or lab. In order to be as successful as I can, I will probably take some basic mechanic course somewhere over the summer to help increase my knowledge of automobiles. The academic program I have chosen is a tough and intensive program but it is probably good that it works that way because it will help prepare me for the career path ahead of me which Im sure will be a vast amount of work. However, it will be a lot of fun and not even feel like Im working since it is a passion of mine. Three specific examples of course material that I expect to use to achieve my desired impact will be mostly from my main math and science courses, like calculus, geometry and physics. Researching job opportunities online I have found that there are jobs all over the place for mechanical engineers that all have different requirements and positions. The first job listing I found was

for a mechanical engineer bat Key Alliance Staffing in Litchfield, Connecticut with the base salary pay floating around $70-$80k. It requires at least a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering with experience in thermodynamics and UV/LED based curling. Working knowledge and application of 3D CAD Software Solidworks. Strong interpersonal skills and self-motivation to work in concert with team members to meet deliverables on time (Mechanical Engineering). Another listing I found was for a Mechanical Design Engineer by Vision Quest Consultants in Houston, Texas. The base pay is around $75-$90k a year. It requires at least a 4 year degree in mechanical engineering, and 2+ years of experience with designing rotating equipment would help a lot, valve experience is a huge plus. They require FEA experience, good communication skills and they must have a stable work history (Mechanical Design Engineer). The third listing that I found was for an Automotive Mechanical Engineer by Bartech in the Detroit-Metro area. The base job pay was not given, but it is a full time job. The requirements are based around work within the automotive industry like engineering experience with underbody, body-in-white, closure, exterior trim, sheet metal, exterior lighting and so on. The ability to work well with a team across disciplines (Automotive Mechanical Engineer). What it seems to me that I will need to do is to become not just educated in the mechanical engineering field but I will also have to develop social skills such as being able to work efficiently within a team and respecting members of a team, solely because without a good bonding relationship between engineers who work together, the job will cease to be completed efficiently. If there are not certain personal aspects achieved in a person, engineering may not be for you because not all engineers are specialized in everything. Most of the time its a bunch of different unique skills and specialties coming together in a group in order to piece together these brilliant ideas and carry them out properly. What others succeed in, you may not do as well, but you may do much better than another person does in a specific task. In other words, all of these people coming together will balance out the negatives of the group and create an efficient hardworking team of engineers who will be able to impact society in an astonishing way. During my studies and work throughout school, Im sure that most of the necessities that I need to learn on the side will be easily accomplished within the program. Obviously time will need to be spent outside of the classroom in order to really stand out and gain that extra advantage, with things like supplemental instruction sessions, tutoring, whatever it is that needs to be done in order to ensure that you are learning to be and are growing to be a great engineer. For my lack of knowledge of the more complex side of vehicles, spending time in the garage or lab will give me an opportunity to not only learn about automobiles and how they function, but also I will be able to say I have some experience under my belt working with vehicles and such. Personally I want to become the best possible mechanical engineer I can be in order to serve and impact the world. Im also going to need to develop my leadership skills and the other personality based traits such as dedication and pride and so forth. Three examples of some non-technical, non-academic programs that Ive chosen to help me achieve the impact may be things such as a leadership program or maybe even a society or club of engineers, or specifically mechanical engineers. If there are extracurricular automotive programs I can join I will most likely join those to help me develop all of the extra skills or traits that I need. Toastmasters might be something worth considering joining in order to help me with my public speaking abilities. So far during this first semester of schooling I have realized that going to things like supplemental instruction are going to allow me to be able to keep my head above water so to speak while I study mechanical engineering. The program will be very intensive, and I have experienced that already but I am willing and capable to put in the work and time that is necessary to get me to where I want to be down the road. From here on out, it is my goals and ambitions in life that will drive me to succeed in my studies, and in my future career. In conclusion, my personal passion is to develop the skills and traits that I need in order to establish for myself a healthy foundation for my future. Luckily with my field of study, it is something that I feel like I will not wake up in the morning and dread going to work, and it also just so happens to pay well. Ideally, that is what we all want in life; to find a job that suits us, and live a happy life, regardless of the amount of pay, as long as it supports us and our families. I still cannot believe that I am in college, learning about something that is actually of interest to me and I am so thankful that I have been blessed with all that I have in my life, and all of the opportunities that have been given to me. I see nothing but a bright future for myself. With hard work and dedication I will be comfortably settled in to the real world by the time I graduate and go on to get my masters degree. I am hoping that by the time that I graduate I am able to have a job lined up, and I hopefully plan to start looking into internships so that I can get my name spread around to all of these companies that I am interested in potentially working for after I graduate from college. I am really intrigued by cars as Ive mentioned earlier, and I am very willing to learn

everything that I can about the automotive industry and mechanical engineering as it relates to it. I plan on using my passion to positively impact society by enhancing the performance of vehicles, extending the durability of different parts and the efficiency as well. Ideally I want to help improve the automotive industry. The Whole Life Concept model is an effective representation of how we should base our work ethic. Everything starts with a passion of ours, then we use our knowledge that we have and apply it to our work in order to bring about a positive impact on society. It gives us a basic idea of what our priorities need to be, and what branches out from those priorities. Essentially it is a guideline that shows what it takes to be successful, as Covey writes in his book. Its extremely important to us as students right now in our studies, because college is the time where we develop our passion for what we want to do with our life, and personally gain the knowledge and figure out how to apply it to life and our careers. The success of our futures rely on how much effort we are putting into our studies at college right now. In other words if we put in the hard work now it will all pay off later in life when we start our careers. There will always be a need for engineers, meaning jobs will always be available for engineers, which is the beauty of this field of study. This assignment was pretty helpful in really starting to think about how I want to develop my skills and work ethic, and with my draft I put in a lot of work to it, making a pretty detailed outline I would say. The concept of this paper is a very good idea in my opinion, because it really gets you thinking about the values that you have, and what it is exactly that you want to do with your life. I for one know that writing this paper was actually pretty easy, because we are writing about something that we are passionate about. One example of how this assignment has influenced me and my plans for the future was when we were talking about how I planned on developing the skills needed that were non-academic and non-technical that really made me think about what certain skillsets I have now, and what I need to reach out and learn new information about as well as grasping new concepts and ideas. Also, another example of how it has influenced me is the fact that we had to discuss our passions and type out how I felt about what I really want to do in life. That is kind of exciting to me, because its crazy to think that after college I will be on my own making my own money and supporting myself and my family down the road. It basically made me realize that this is the time where we as students learn to transition into the real world and become workers amongst society. The third example would have to be the job search, mainly because it is really exciting to look at jobs and see what kind of things I will be doing with my job later in life and what that job entitles me to as far as my duties go. I would say that my commitment level for engineering is very high as I am willing to do just about whatever it takes in order to succeed within my professions field. I am very goal oriented in that I want to become the best mechanical engineer that I can be. I am definitely more committed to my field of studies now than I was before I even came into the College of Engineering, because the more I learn about mechanical engineering the more that I strive to learn even more, and the more excited I become about getting deeper into my studies. It also helps that my classes in college are actually classes that I want to learn about. Versus in high school where classes were not that interesting to me. The only thing that will take time for me to get used to is the entire transition from high school to college. In high school, I did really well in all of my classes, but coming to college was a real eye opener for me because I realized I cannot take my old study habits from high school and apply them to college. College level information is brought about at a much faster pace to students, in fewer classes. Basically, learning an entire course load of information in more than half the amount of time that it took to learn about a course in high school. Apart from being on top of your priorities when it comes to work, keeping yourself healthy and happy is the second part of the key to success. You cant always be studying and working. There has to be a balance. People need a way to relieve stress and get their minds off of things for a while. A great example of this is doing so by going to the gym. That is my personal favorite way to work off all the built up stress, anger, and frustration. Without a balance of hard work and some leisure time, surely we would start to slowly and progressively get worse. Finding a routine to keep yourself ahead of all of your studies and work while maintaining a healthy and happy lifestyle is the best way to become a professional in not only engineering but also in life. Needless to say, I am very excited about these next four to six years of schooling ahead of me, and I am also eager to start my own way of life after college. The way I see it, engineers are the way of the future. Without engineers how are we going to advance further in not only a technological sense, but in a way that is reliable, dependable, and solves problems and issues that arise in modern society?

Bibliography

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