15-Year Plan Essay
My name is Rob Fox and I’m currently a junior at Clemson University studying Mechanical
Engineering. I chose this major because I enjoy a challenge and feel that engineering provides a
multitude of career possibilities. In this short essay I will discuss why I think engineering is the right
major for me as well as my plans to finish school and where I see myself in 15 years.
Some skills that I’ve considered myself to have are leadership, organization, and computer
proficiency. When working with classmates on projects, I consider myself to be the one that
coordinates my team’s efforts, sets deadlines, and integrates different parts of a project done by
different members. Organization is very important to me; I feel this skill is important to any area of
study or profession. I have been using PCs since I was a child and consider myself very competent in the
use of a variety of applications (SolidWorks, MATLAB,Excel) that are used in engineering fields. Aside
from these skills, I feel that the more I learn about engineering, the more passionate I become about it.
I’ve noticed the more knowledge/insight I gain, the more my view of the world is ‘transformed’ (ie. I
cannot look at structures anymore without thinking about statics). Between these skills and my growing
passion, I feel fairly to extremely confident in my choice of major. If I were to pick another major, I
would most likely choose a STEM major closest to what I’ve already studied.
As of now, I will likely need two-three more years to earn my degree. I do not intend on
pursuing a minor but may consider taking an extra math science class to earn a minor in mathematics.
After I graduate, I intend on starting a career. I would like to become a licensed Professional Engineer
but don’t see myself pursuing higher degrees (school is expensive). Outside of academics, I have
completed two internships as of now. Both were at a manufacturing plant in Bethune, SC (the first at
Ahlstrom Nonwovens, the second at Ahlstrom Filtration). I learned a lot about the manufacturing
environment and had the opportunity to see senior engineers in action. I hope to secure one co-op
before graduation in a field different than textile/paper manufacturing and converting.
In 15 years, I would really like to see myself in aerospace design and/or manufacturing. My
dream job would be with a company like SpaceX or Scaled Composites. I think the private space
industry will grow over the next few decades and experience in this field could lead to exciting career
opportunities. I would also be satisfied working in a textile plant or similar manufacturing plant simply
because I have related experience already. It would not be as exciting as the aerospace industry, but I
feel I would be more likely to ‘climb the ladder’ and maybe someday obtain a corporate position.
If I’m completely honest with myself, I will need to put in more effort than I have in the past to
accomplish these goals. I feel with enough time and dedication, I can spend my last few years at
Clemson mastering engineering concepts and becoming the professional I would like to become.
Internship/Co-op Essay
Internships and co-ops not only look great on a resume, but they offer real-world applications of
engineering concepts. Having the chance to apply engineering knowledge to real scenarios can benefit
someone academically as well as provide insight as to what they’re future career may be like. In this
short essay I will discuss differences between internships and co-ops, the application process, and
requirements.
An internship and co-op both provide work experience related to a student’s academic field and
both generally pay (some internships may be unpaid), but there are a few key differences. Where an
internship is usually only one term (during the summer or one semester) co-ops usually are multi-term.
For instance, a co-op student may work during the fall semester, go to school in the spring, and work
again over the summer. Another difference is in hours worked, internships can sometimes be part-time
but co-ops are usually always full time.
At Clemson University, co-op and internships can be found at the Michelin Career Center. The
minimum requirements for a co-op include completion of 27 credit hours prior to first rotation, a
cumulative GPA of 2.45 or higher, and full-time student status. While there are no specific requirements
for an internship, companies are more likely to hire juniors and seniors with a solid cumulative GPA.
Internships can be found through the Michelin Career Center and applied for as if a regular job, a
resume should be submitted according to the company’s requests. To enroll in a co-op program,
students need to visit the Cooperative Education Program office in the Michelin Career Center in
Hendrix.
Job Listing Essay
The following essay is based on a job listing found on SpaceX’s website.
http://www.spacex.com/careers.php
(the above link does not go to the specific job listing, the one I chose is Mechanical Design engineer
under manufacturing and production engineering, I will include a copy of the listing at the end of this
document)
The job listing I chose to write about is a Mechanical Design engineer position at the private
company SpaceX. This job seems to offer a little bit of everything from the ME field including design
with CAD, finite element analysis, development of the manufacturing process, and some business
aspects (analysis of appropriation of capital and return on investment). I find this job to be interesting
because it seems to have a lot of different aspects to work on. I consider the design aspects most
desirable; the idea of designing actual space vehicles and processes used to construct them is fascinating
to me.
The only things I’m unsure about is the level of responsibility involved (working with multimillion dollar equipment, safety) and the future of the company itself. While SpaceX already has many
contracts with private companies, such a young industry is susceptible to change and competition from
other companies.
The job requirements seem very ‘do-able’, my only question would be in what field they’d like
the three years of experience to be from (I would assume something aerospace related). The preferred
skills are skills I am capable of acquiring if I pursue them.
In a nutshell, this seems like a great job because of the variety of challenges involved, my
fascination with the projects they are currently involved in, and the potential to have experience in a
growing field (private space industry).
The following job listing was found here - http://www.spacex.com/careers.php
Mechanical Design Engineer
Manufacturing and Production Engineering | Hawthorne, CA, United States
The Company
SpaceX is a US based space technology company founded by its residing CEO and CTO, Elon Musk, the former
co-founder of PayPal. The company's goal is to renew a sense of excellence in the space industry by disrupting
the current paradigm of complacency and replacing it with innovation and commercialized price points; laying the
foundation for a truly space-faring human civilization.
SpaceX builds rockets and spacecraft from the ground up; including electronics, software, vehicle structures, and
engines. In-house development includes nearly all flight critical custom components amounting to approximately
85% of our vehicles both by mass and by value. Our development and production efforts represent some of the
most dynamic and challenging technology opportunities seen by any organization.
Our success is driven by a wide variety of engineering perspectives and openness to all great ideas. We pride
ourselves on being a meritocracy where employees are defined by their capabilities and contributions, instead of
title or tenure. We are actively seeking the best and brightest minds from all industries to continue to build our
world class team.
Our employees thrive in a fast-paced engineering ecosystem focused on innovation and high levels of personal
responsibility. At SpaceX we cut through the noise and believe in the essentials of hardcore engineering.
We build it, test it, and fly it.
The Department
Production Development – One of the most critical needs we now have at SpaceX is to develop an efficient build
process for our space vehicles. With three vehicle flights proven and a $3 billion backlog of sold flights Production
Development will be vital for our company’s success. This group of mainly engineers will be responsible for
designing, analyzing, and problem solving solutions for Structures, Propulsion, and Composites departments.
Examples of this include Robotic production solutions, air bearing heavy moving equipment, tooling mechanisms
etc. This is not your typical tooling department; there is unlimited design freedom to engineer the best solution for
unique manufacturing problems.
The Job
Responsibilities
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Design, analyze, and develop production solutions to maximize our ability to build our different space
vehicles from concept to full volume production. Exercising Poka Yoke, controls, and standardization of
componentry.
Oversee the development of standard practices for the specification and run-off for new and upgraded
equipment.
Tooling design and analysis, tool design improvement recommendations based on analysis and data.
Working closely with Manufacturing Engineers to develop robust plans to ensure that our equipment and
machine capacity is developed in line with volume production requirements.
Providing detail analysis for the appropriation of capital and ROI.
Resource management, planning, and interfacing with other production groups including interface with
our MRP system and planning group to ensure timely production.
Resolving manufacturing discrepancies and interfacing with the quality team.
Support the integration process of components to sub-assemblies and sub-assemblies to the vehicle to
improve the bill of process.
Requirements
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Bachelor degree required (Mechanical, Industrial, Production, Manufacturing, or Aeronautical engineering
degrees).
3 years min experience required
Structural analysis/FEA experience is required
Preferred skills
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Extensive hands-on experience
Process development, facility and line layouts, PFMEA, Error-Proofing
Experience in a team oriented environment
Experience with Unigraphics (UGS/NX) and Teamcenter CAD and PDM systems is desired.
SpaceX offers one of the best environments in the world for employees to learn, build real working systems and
tackle exciting challenges every day. We operate in a fun, casual work environment and have great benefits
including: competitive salary, stock options, medical/dental insurance and free gym memberships. By joining the
SpaceX team, you are not just a part of history, you are making it.
SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit,
competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national
origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, marital status, mental or physical disability
or any other legally protected status.
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful
permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the
required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
Those applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should notify the
Human Resource Department at (310) 363-6000.