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Moloney,
Austin, Mark and myself have prepared a set of questions for you for the Pride paper.
The paper is due on Feb. 26 please respond ASAP. [received from Nate - Feb.16 1:30 PM]
1. What skills do you use day to day in your job?
Strategic Thinking and Planning
Math, Physics, Aerodynamics; Mechanical/Electrical/Electronics>Mechatronics
Continuous Improvement Initiatives and Projects
Time Management and Scheduling of Resources
People/Resource Management and Coordination
Organization
Conceptualizing a New Design, Workflow, and/or Process
Continuous Improvement of Existing Workflow and Processes
Engineering Intuition to be able to assess a situation quickly and collaborate
with a team to converge on a solution.
Utilizing my 25 years of engineering, design, testing, data acquisition & analysis, and
management experience to overcome / solve problems and beat the competition.
People skills are VERY important, and developing a mutual respect and great working
relationship with team members is critically important (something that I have to work on
each and every day).
2. What part of your job do you find most enjoyable? Winning races and championships,
seeing my co-workers take initiative (step up and step out) and be successful! Working
in professional motorsports the past 17 years, every weekend of racing (IndyCar,
NASCAR, SportsCar, etc.) produces an immediate report card on how our team is
performing compared to the competition. I like that immediate feedback, coupled with
the fact that every day or week can be an adventure nothing stays the same and were
constantly racing against time to outperform the competition. Working with and being
surrounded by the BEST Engineers, Technicians, Aerodynamicists, Drivers, Mechanics
in the country/world! I enjoy working with and for Roger Penske, an icon and racing
legend that has built an empire around the world; a billionaire; a good man that respects
his employees and earns their trust and respect. Working for a company, Penske
Racing / Team Penske, that will be celebrating its 50 th Anniversary next year (2016).
rocket programs. This career has provided a great foundation and income for me and
my family, considering that I came from humble beginnings growing up. I chose
Aerospace Engineering as a good career path (though cyclical depending on the
President, government, economy), but also because it paid well.
7. What qualifications does your career require? Engineering degree in Aerospace
Engineering, Mechatronics, Mechanical Engineering, or Electrical Engineering. Quality
and relevant hands-on / working experience & knowledge in: testing, data acquisition,
instrumentation; data analysis (Excel & MatLab); CAD; aerodynamics; professional
motorsports; people and management skills; the most efficient coordination and
schedule of resources. The continuous learning about new technologies, and
advancement in the areas mentioned in the previous sentence. Not just common
sense but good sense and good judgment (based on schooling/education, handson/real-world experience and learning (making mistakes and dedicated perseverance).
Winston Churchill quote: Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of
enthusiasm
Another favorite quote of mine that applies to everyday life: If youre not part of the
solution, youre part of the problem.
Major qualification = Dedicated Perseverance!
8. What up and coming businesses will offer future employment in your career?
Robotics and automation of various tasks and manual labor going forward, will result in
massive energy, time, resource, cost efficiencies in the future. Furthermore, the
electrification of the automobile and all transportation (heavy-truck, high speed trains,
etc.) will open up new opportunities in North America (as we lag behind Europe and
other parts of the world in transportation energy savings and efficiency) for
Mechatronics, Aerodynamics, Design/CAD, Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE),
computer simulation, Programming / Computer Science / Computer Hardware, ETC.
More and more robots on a personal level: mowing the grass, cleaning the house,
eventually folding clothes!?...Team Spork needs to get working on that one!!
9. What do you look for in a new hire?
Hands-on / real-world work experience; overcoming significant challenges and projects
in life (like designing and building a custom robot in 6 weeks!? = impressive / crazy /
ambitious!). Were always interested in great CAD (design) skills; some testing and data
acquisition / analysis experience; and a portfolio of challenging / impressive projects to
share. I like to conduct a conversational interview (informal) to find out more about the
person; where & how did they grow up; learn about family life; learn what I can about
their parents [foundation blocks for good solid and trustworthy employees]; leadership
qualities (working examples of where theyve led others to success); searching for clues
that indicate the new hire has initiative; understand the candidates definition/level of
hard work and big challenges. Im looking for people who are leaders, people who are
willing to take what weve got today and extend that. There are a lot of questions you
can ask in an interview. For example, tell me a situation you were in that challenged
your ethics? Or, tell me a situation that you were in that you did something your boss
would not have done and why? I think too often people rely on qualifications on paper
and not enough on the personal interaction.
10. How many hours do you work in a normal week (without robotics)?
45-50 hours, but occasionally throughout the year it will ramp up to around 60 hours per
week. The key to a great job or career is enjoying what youre doing, being engaged,
NOT looking at the clock all the time to see when your shift is over. If you enjoy your job
and have a passion for what youre doing, you will find that time flies by quickly!
Thank you for doing this for us and have a good day.