Topic: School
Four years ago, I had a decision to make.
I had a job, and it wasn't a bad job, but it also wasn't something I was happy with either. I was a draftsman at an architectural firm, or more accurately, I was the draftsman at an architectural firm. I had flunked out of the University of Illinois twice, and had managed to scrape up enough classes at the College of Lake County to get myself an Associates Degree in CAD Drafting Technology. I was treated alright at the firm, and had developed friendships with my co-workers that go on to this day. But as with all things in life, things changed. Friends had left to go to other companies, new people were brought in, new projects, new offices. But one thing remained constant; I was the man in the corner that drafted, and that was it.
And after a while, I got sick of it.
I had no upward mobility, no matter what changes happened. The first, and only time I was given my own project to be responsible for, I was pulled in so many directions by everyone else in the company that I ended up working 17-hour days to get it done on time. But those delays meant that I would never be trusted with managing a project again. Then I decided to take the initiative and develop a plan to help standardize how the company put a set of construction drawings together. My bosses praised me for my effort. My friends cheered me, believing that this was going to get me to the next level, and then a bunch of middle managers chastised me for overstepping my boundaries in the company.
I was burned out, and needed to change something. I realized that I had one of three choices to make.
- Get a new job elsewhere. Even if it was still a drafting position, a change of scenery might be all I needed.
- Start my own business. My brother and I constantly talked about starting a game store, and even got started on a business plan. Though we never got around to finishing it.
- Go back to school and get my degree, which was the biggest thing separating me from my co-workers.
So four years ago, I filled out an application and got accepted to the Milwaukee School of Engineering. I uprooted my entire life to go from a three-bedroom apartment in the Chicago suburbs to a dorm room in Milwaukee. I had more or less cut off my old life and bet my entire future that the three years I would spend in the land of beer and cheese would lead to something better.
Along the way, I made new friends, both in and out of school. I did well in my classes, and became a tutor to help others. With my stepfather's help, I managed to organize a tour of the roof of Miller Park. I joined ASCE and went to Purdue with their Steel Bridge Team. And along the way, another opportunity opened up. I got the chance to go for my Masters as well as my Bachelors with only one year added to my time in school.
I said, what the hell.
Then I was told I had two choices, do a short research paper and take a lot of graduate level classes, or find something to research and do a long capstone project.
After a summer of debate, I went with the big project.
Now classes are done. Finals are next week. And I have a seventy-seven page paper that, should all go well, will end up in MSOE's library for future generations to learn from. Eight days from now, I will graduate, bringing the last four years of stress, classes, projects, presentations and yes, drinking to an end.
And on the day after Memorial Day, my new job begins as an Engineer-In-Training (EIT). My next goals will be to get my SE and PE licenses. And I've left the door open to go after a PhD when the time comes.
But for now, all that remains are a few exams, a presentation, a hard drive full of research, and a concrete beam sitting in the Construction Lab.
Here's to the future.
