Name: Anik Das

Professor Adam Bubrow.

Date: 10/02/2019.

 

Being an engineer means having the opportunities to build stuff that no one can think of: The life of a Mechanical Engineer.

“Confidence and hard-work is the best medicine to kill the disease called failure. It will make you a successful person.” A.P.J Abdul Kalam’s valuable quote reflects on every successful engineer’s life. Engineers couldn’t build things without confidence and hard-work. Engineers are the creators of everything that we are using today. How delightful this is to think about their creations that we are using today! The world is going forward and developing by putting hands with engineers. And I am very glad that I got the opportunity to talk face to face with a creator from that huge engineering cohort who are dedicated to building and bringing to light newer and newer things every day. 

Mohammed Attaiab, a Mechanical Engineer is a guy with whom I had the chance to talk with and to explore the ins and outs of his professional life. He is the VSTQL which means Value Stream Technical Quality Leader at GE Aviation. He was born and raised in Pakistan. He is from a middle-class family and had great patience for engineering. His hard work and dedication bring him the position where he is now. As a VSTQL he ensured the standard of manufacturing specifications in the assembly line. His single-minded devotion toward engineering helped him to get his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from CCNY at the Grove School of Engineering. This is very interesting that he graduated from CCNY. It made me curious to ask him why he chose to graduate from CCNY. He replied with a little smile on his face, “CCNY is the Harvard of poor.” He said that he was from a middle-class family and CCNY was the best fit for him to fulfill his dream. Then it made me more enthusiastic to know specifically about the degree that he insisted to take. With a proudful voice, he replied, “Mechanical Engineering is the mother of all engineering faculties and it can fit in any industry.” His feelings and the proudful voice tell that how much he loves it. During his academic career, he did one internship which later became his first job. He applied online and after that, he did an online interview. 

Mr. A was an intern at GE. His dedication, hard-work helped him to get his first job at GE. He felt very happy, enthusiastic and eager to learn. The great man APJ Abdul kalam said, “If four things are followed- having a great aim, acquiring knowledge, hard work and perseverance- then anything can be achieved.” This quote fits perfectly with Mr. A because he had the patience for engineering and he wanted to see himself as an engineer. He had a dream and he didn’t forget to dream before the dream comes true. He was committed, he sacrificed and worked hard to fulfill his dream. 

I was very eager to know more about his current job and experience that he gained from the job. Throughout his career, at GE  he learned and experienced how to work in the design of a jet engine, dealing with various challenges in teamwork, synchronizing your work with another team. His good analytical skill and dedication allowed him to get the job that he is doing right now. He said that in this particular job time management is a key area of concern and understanding the psychology of another team is so important.

As standard office hours, he works 8 hours a day, however, sometimes it takes 10 to 12 hours based on the situation. The situation could be like they have to present a project which is not properly done or they have to work more on that. His work tracking list, goals keep him motivated to work every day. He said that GE is a great company to work with and also it has a great working environment. He wants to be the host of the transition when they transform their commercial aviation from subsonic to supersonic level. 

I was curious to ask him how much he writes. He replied with a tedious voice, “ Man I write a lot.” His reply made me hesitate and pushed me to ask for more details about the type of writing he does. He said that he writes emails, reports, inquiries, instructions, customer presentations and so on. Then I realized that how important the ‘Writing for Engineering’ class is to develop my writing skills for the future. After that talking about projects that he gets assigned, he said, “Projects sum with different timelines. Some are done in 6 months, some are based on many years. We always work hard to be on the top of projects.” He also has to read lots of technical drawings and technical sketches besides he has to attend 2-3 meetings in a day and at least one conference in a week. Based on that it can be concluded that a Mechanical Engineer goes through a pretty busy day. 

At the end of talking, I asked for some advice. As a reply, he said that to be involved in club activities at college. He also added that leadership quality is very crucial. He encouraged me by saying to meet new people and make a network with people which will be very helpful in my future. He told me not to waste my valuable time rather try to learn something new in every moment of my life. He recommended me to read lots of books and  I think this is very important to me.

I’m very glad and honored to interview an engineer who is playing a significant role in this world. Building these bridges, skyscrapers, robots, engines and so on would not be possible without the dedication of engineers. And I feel proud to be an engineering student. There is a lot to take from the guy whom I had the chance to talk with. I believe I can develop myself using the words that I got from the talk. I think I have passed some valuable time in my life with that great and humble guy.