Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Choosing a Career

Beyond Ready is Horizon Point’s line of resources for students preparing for college and/or career. This category archive specifically features blogs about Choosing a Career.

  • Career Spotlight: Mechanical Engineer

    Career Spotlight: Mechanical Engineer

    Have you always been curious about how machines work? Do you take things a part and put them back together? Do you like to design things? Do you enjoy figuring out why things are broken and fixing them?

    If any of these describe you, then Mechanical Engineering may be the career field that would make you tick.

    What do you need to be a Mechanical Engineer?

    Education:  At least a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering

    If you are a high school student, make sure you are focused on taking higher-level math and science classes. Be sure to take Calculus and Physics if available at your school.  A drafting class would also be a plus.

    Skills: As referenced on Columbia University’s website, “Perhaps the one skill that is the mechanical engineer’s exclusive domain is the ability to analyze and design objects and systems with motion.”

    Mechanical Engineers know how to:

    • Solve complex problems
    • Create and interpret designs of things as small as a bolt to as a large a complex manufacturing process
    • Research and test the performance of objects, equipment and systems
    • Diagnosis and troubleshoot equipment and machinery

    Is the field growing?

    Nationally, the field is growing 3-7% annually.

    What is the pay like?

    The average annual salary in the United States is $82,000.

    What’s the Holland Code* for a Mechanical Engineer?

    Interest code: IRC- Investigative, Realistic and Conventional

    Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

    Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

    Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

    Source: http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2141.00

    If you are interested in learning more about Mechanical Engineering, check out:

    O*Net

    BLS

    US News

    Would you want to be a Mechanical Engineer? Why or why not?

     

     

     

    *Holland Codes are a way to classify a person based on their skills and interests as well as jobs based on the nature of the work. If you have an interest in knowing what your Holland Code is in order to match yourself to careers to pursue, you can read more about our assessment process.

  • An Ode to Mollie and All High School Graduates: Seek Joy

    An Ode to Mollie and All High School Graduates: Seek Joy

    It’s that time of year. The cusp of summer means high school and college graduations. The end of something and the start of another. A time of transition.

    Mollie, a high school Co-Op student who has worked with us, graduates today.  She’s been a sheer joy to work with because of her sweet spirit and willingness to do anything and everything without a question or complaint even when I’ve dumped mind-numbing spreadsheet work on her.   She has done an outstanding job writing most of our Thursday blogs this spring, giving great advice to students and parents about career and college preparation.  And most importantly, she is great with my kids. Her curly hair, our son has found, is the best race track for toy cars.  Mollie, thanks for letting him turn your head into a race track!

    As I think about what advice to give to Mollie or any graduating senior, I can’t say it any better than country music (and definitely not better than Sandra Bullock). In the words of Darius Rucker, realize “It won’t be like this for long.”   So ENJOY it.

    Enjoy it by finding the root of the word- joy.  In the words of Sandra (Bullock that is) at her surprise graduation speech this week, “It’s the joy that stays with you.”

    Find joy in:

    1. The work you end up pursuing
    2. In people

    Mollie wrote about wanting to be a Child Life Specialist.  After a particularly trying set of medical tests this past week with our son, we realized the value of a Child Life Specialist during one procedure with him.  Mollie, you’d be great at this.  But don’t give up on the dream job of antique hunting.  You can do both, and being a child life specialist is kind of like babysitting.

    Most of all, Mollie, and all graduating seniors out there, share in joy with others. You’d be great as a Child Life Specialist because you would bring joy to children and parents through who you are.

    Mollie, we sure have enjoyed you- thank you.  Keep being you and the world will continue to be more joy-filled because you are here.

  • Dream Job

    Dream Job

    After finishing my senior year, I will start the next four years deciding what I want to do for the rest of my life. I will have to consider the economy and job markets when deciding on a major and future career, but I don’t want to neglect what I might be best at doing and what I would enjoy.

    If money and unemployment didn’t matter my choice would be a lot easier. I would rule out any job that has anything to do with blood, makes me work with spreadsheets, or forces me to understand chemistry. With those jobs out of the way I have narrowed down my list of dream jobs to three.

    Here is my Dream Job list:

    1. Antique Hunter- I love the thought of looking through old barns to find hidden gems and learning the history behind them. Then I’d like to have a cute store to sell what I find. I think I have watched Antiques Road Show with my mom one too many times.
    2. House Flipper- I have always had a fascination with old homes. Each one has a unique architecture and layout. I would love to be able to uncover the beauty and potential of homes that have been forgotten.
    3. Full- Time Babysitter- Babysitting is the best job I will ever have. I get to play with the kids and play with their toys that were much cooler than mine ever were. Then when you get tired of it, the parents come home and you get to leave.

    I realize going to college for any of these jobs would be pointless and wasteful. Maybe down the road when the economy is better and I have enough time and money I will peruse the jobs! Trying to balance what the market demands with what my passions may be is a challenge, but I hope that I can find a balance in making sure that what I do in life leads to fulfillment.

    Other helpful blog posts related to this topic:

    A Final Word on Talents and Passions

  • Lessons from CO-OP

    Lessons from CO-OP

    I was nervous about giving up my time in school to be in the Co-Op program. I wanted to be involved in as many things as I could. I didn’t want to have any regrets. The choice to Co-Op was not easy. I had to give up a few activities like soccer and chorus, but I made the right choice to do Co-Op.

    It was always hard for me to focus in school. I was always pretty much brain dead by 4th block. Now I only have two classes to focus on a day. My grades have improved because I cut out all the extra things that took up my energy. Now I go from about 3 to 5 hours a day, which makes me a lot more motivated.

    In school it is easy to be completely focused on you. If you score badly on a test it doesn’t affect anyone else but you. With a job if I am sloppy or late, if reflects badly on the business. My actions affect more than me. Having already learned that, I can go into my next job with experience and a different mindset than when I first started at the beginning of this year.

    Co-Op gave me independence. I don’t have the school taking care of me for 7 hours a day. I can leave for lunch or run errands; everything is on your own time.

    Co-Op also has helped me narrow down what I want to major in. In my job I am at a desk and also take care of my boss’s child. While both areas have been good for me, I realized that I loved working with children more than handling the business aspects. That helped me decide on my major of Child Life Studies. I now have an idea of what I want to do with my life.

    I haven’t felt like I gave up my senior year experience to be in Co-Op. If anything it has made me appreciate high school and not wish it away.

  • What Do You Envy?

    What Do You Envy?

    Are you envious of the guy who has started his own restaurant? What about the attorney who has argued a case before the Supreme Court (this is one of the examples in Quiet)? How about the friend who is a stay-at-home mom by day, painter by night with happy kids and her art in galleries all over the country? Maybe you’re jealous of the teacher who inspires you when she talks with passion about what the students in her class are learning. You wish you had that kind of passion.

    In reading, Quiet- The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, I came across another great question to ask in determining work values: What do you envy?

    We are taught to see jealousy as an unbecoming trait, but the author, Susan Cain, is so insightful in her reasoning for examining what you envy as a way to identify what she describes as your “personal projects.” She states, “Jealousy is an ugly emotion, but it tells the truth. You mostly envy those who have what you desire.”

    Work and life values should be a key driver of career choice because they impact career satisfaction. There a host of questions (and assessment tools), which can help identify a person’s work values, but maybe the best place to start is by examining a feeling that we are discouraged from seeing as valuable.

    What do you envy?