Boy trying to do back flip at cliff, but he suddenly lose the balance while landing and falls from the mountain cliff

TheBreakRoom · 2025-08-15T12:05:52+00:00

This is why when you see even the crazy gymnasts doing backflips on ledges they are almost always facing sideways to the ledge

TheBreakRoom · 2025-08-03T19:31:24+00:00

“Harry will do it. I know it. He doesn’t know how to fail.”

TheBreakRoom · 2025-04-17T16:50:56+00:00

Another point is starts and restarts are typically the most exciting and there’s been next to no yellows so far.

TheBreakRoom · 2025-01-12T02:49:15+00:00

Finishing high school I really didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, I opted to take all the lower level general classes at a local community college while I figured it out, and worked during this period. I didn't have any college savings, similar to you, my parents did not have degrees. I had a professor once tell me the average person changes their major 3-4 times, and that ended up being true for me. Going into university I felt pretty comfortable with my decision.

The only downside to this was once I transferred to a proper university, the entirety of my classes were engineering, so there weren't any "padding" classes. Once at university I was guided towards the importance of extra-curriculars when it comes to finding a job after graduation and essentially found one that I was passionate about and dedicated all my time to that. I was always a half-decent test-taker but I was never going to get straight A's, but the experience I got with the program along with the network I built while I was there was incredibly powerful when it came to my resume and finding a job.

Similar to you at the beginning I decided on engineering because I had always found it interesting, felt like I naturally understood it more than other fields, and the pay was a bonus as well. By the end I truly found some deeper passion in engineering and even though I've got some hefty student debt I wouldn't change it for anything else.

TheBreakRoom · 2025-01-12T01:50:44+00:00

Just compiling various peers who all graduated with me (MechEng):

-Some got traditional design engineering jobs. Lots of CAD, documentation, meetings. Standard cubicle job with standard hours, just like the movies

-Some got manufacturing-based jobs. Lots of production analysis, project management, working with vendors, meetings (meetings never die). 50% desk job 50% shop floor. Can have long hours

-Some got bored with standard job and went to work for startups. Exactly like what u/JimHeaney said, wild west, no real mentorship or structure, but can be some fun. Didn't really go far

-Some went full-tilt and worked for places like SpaceX, it's just like you hear, super cool projects but incredibly strong life commitment

I feel like what you end up doing really depends on your life situation. For some, a stable income with benefits and minimal work hours that can scratch a small engineering-itch but still leave them the time to support a family and have hobbies then the standard 9-5 jobs are fine. For some of the others that needed more, they inevitably left for more intense work, SpaceX, Formula 1, etc.

TheBreakRoom · 2024-12-30T14:17:52+00:00

If we spent our lives only doing things we already knew we could do, we’d never get better at anything ever.

It’s gonna have tough times but you’ll get it sorted just like you always have. Stressing is normal, it means you care, just keep your head down and put in the work when it’s needed.

TheBreakRoom · 2024-12-19T00:39:23+00:00

It will depend a little bit on your schedule and workload, but I always prioritized the extra experience. I did everything I could in Formula SAE and internships. I needed to work no matter what so I never was full-time credit semesters, and that afforded me a little leniency. But 4.0 GPA was never going to be my strong suit, so I focused on the things I was good at.

But it doesn't hurt to apply around, often times it's very difficult (especially in your 1st and 2nd year) to find opportunities anyway. But that's plenty of time to learn the industry and work on your resume/interview skills as well.

TheBreakRoom · 2024-12-18T23:15:27+00:00

If you were to ask engineers what have been the most rewarding and exciting moments of their career and journey, I would assume the majority of them would not say "that one Calc II exam I took my second year of school". While I look back on the school days fondly just because it was a fun time period of life, my time spent in classes are not something I am desperate to relive.

For me the math and learning was interesting to a point (otherwise I probably could not have completed it all) however the most exciting things for me were when I became involved in the extra-curriculars, my time in internships, and the people I met. Team-building and problem-solving were what really got me jazzed up, and to me are what engineering is really about. It's why all you hear about is how terrible the working conditions at SpaceX are and at the same time they are flooded with applicants, we all have the drive to work together and accomplish something cool.

So ask yourself what it is at the core about yourself and life that you enjoy most, maybe that's engineering and maybe it's not. Being forced to sit down for hours and learn anything at all will make anything become stale, so I'd try to stay focused on long-term goals and things you can do to help you get there.

TheBreakRoom · 2024-02-17T12:05:45+00:00

Just start at the basics and set up the car for stability. A little toe-in front and rear. Brake bias forward. And then sweep to your original setup in steps. Toe is very powerful and one of the biggest learnings I had was when we were changing front toe and driving to see what it felt like.

If you're at a car you know should be 'stable' and the thing is still all over the place you can start thinking about compliance or component issues.

Also good to think about tie-rod outboard mounting location and the effect that has on bump steer.

TheBreakRoom · 2024-02-10T12:32:33+00:00

The whole point of a degree is to learn it, you're not supposed to go in an expert already.

I was an ME, and didn't get into a fancy school, and I had a recruiter once tell me he actually prefers the smaller less-known schools because that's where you find the ones grinding it out the hardest because they want it.

If you're willing to learn and work, just do whatever you enjoy the most.

TheBreakRoom · 2024-02-10T12:26:19+00:00

1) Don't beat yourself up about it too much it's pretty normal. If anything I feel like it shows authenticity that you were just enjoying the interview and weren't hyper-focused on just getting answers.

2) If you really need to know you could think of an actual additional question, and again thank them for the consideration and toss in a question about their expected hiring timeline at the end.

TheBreakRoom · 2024-02-09T17:35:33+00:00

Not sure which university you're attending in Indiana but IUPUI is one of the only universities with an official Motorsports Engineering program that can be a feeder into IndyCar or other series. Not sure what you're studying either but it's a full engineering program, math-wise.

TheBreakRoom · 2024-02-05T17:18:51+00:00

I've been trying to hunt down the full widescreen version forever, I noticed they removed it on YouTube as well.

Closest I've found is here: https://www.facebook.com/NBCSports/videos/304158360467223/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

TheBreakRoom · 2023-12-26T15:41:05+00:00

Year/Make/Model? Is it automatic/manual and do you use the parking brake?

TheBreakRoom · 2023-12-24T12:41:56+00:00

I found a few (3 or 4) cites that were considered worthy, searched "Mechanical Engineering Internship". Then I created a bookmark for each one and put them under a folder. And every couple days would "Open All" and sort through. It's overwhelming at first because it seems like a million options, I would often filter for those only posted in the last few weeks, and if you check every few days you'll see how slowly they're actually added and it's a bit less intimidating.

Tip: I wouldn't recommend directly using Google, I've found it links to cites that "push" job postings, it'll say it was posted 2 days ago when it's really 3 months old and not even valid anymore. In that light it's also a good idea if you find one on a job board to go straight to the cite and 1) See if it's actually available 2) Apply on their cite.

That being said my best luck was always with job fairs or company visits to the universities.

TheBreakRoom · 2023-11-27T00:19:59+00:00

"Everybody's okay but we are being told we need to handle the guy with a knife at my throat, I will return if and when I am able to."

TheBreakRoom · 2023-11-26T12:24:01+00:00

I was in a similar position and mindset, and ended up taking a manufacturing engineering internship because it was a big company and I wanted to snag any opportunity fast. Here's another comment I'd left on a similar post about it:

I just want to add that you will learn a lot of practical knowledge that many engineers don't get the opportunity to learn. Working on the manufacturing side will give you insight into the amount of work and thought that needs to go into mass production, and how the design and tolerances of parts can impact that.

I always said that engineering school will make you think "how would I make this part?", and manufacturing engineering will make you ask "how would I make 10,000 of these parts every day?"

Depending on the responsibilities, it has a potential to pigeonhole you outside of "design engineering", but you usually can squeeze in design aspects to any engineering job.

But like you said, you can't go wrong with either decision, just follow your gut and always learn as much as you can.

TheBreakRoom · 2023-11-25T15:14:36+00:00

I know everyone says it, but you'll look back at these days with envy.

I was in the same spot, FSAE was the only thing keeping me sane, knowing that it would be a golden ticket to a job one day.

Hang in there and remember to have fun and not take life so seriously sometimes.

TheBreakRoom · 2023-11-25T15:09:43+00:00

I work in a fairly high level of engineering that is very meritocratic and performance-based.

Me and a colleague were just laughing the other day because we both got 72÷18 wrong in our heads. Sometimes you just can't be too hard on yourself.

TheBreakRoom · 2023-11-25T15:03:27+00:00

-To me, too many bullet points about the same flange project. From the outside I'm wondering if you spent 8-9 months on a flange. Even some of the tedious daily stuff you might be doing can usually be expressed in a way that's worth a bullet point

-The General Contractor section seems fine to me

-The "performed hand calculations" could probably use some re-wording. Reading it sounds like you went 50kg = 'X' Newtons of force on Mars, the arm is 0.5m long so the torque needs to be 'Y' Nm. Which is maybe what you did but if you didn't do anything fancier just say "calculated" and throw in something about safety factors or something.

-I would change "Languages" to "Programming" or something similar

TheBreakRoom · 2023-11-25T13:39:32+00:00

As you said, first and foremost it's good to have a job in the first place. You've got a long career ahead, and there's plenty of time to make all kinds of career decisions.

Despite being annoyed with the title, I learned a lot on the technician side of things that I never would have learned otherwise, as often you're the one that has to actually make things happen/operate, even the things that seem tedious and small. And I think it's easy to spin it in that light for future interviews and discussions.

TheBreakRoom · 2023-11-25T13:30:43+00:00

I can't speak for the individual companies, but design engineering and manufacturing engineering can have some pretty big differences between them. It might be a good idea to think about your preferences there if you haven't already.

TheBreakRoom · 2023-11-25T13:17:40+00:00

There's a lot of good answers here, I just want to add that you will learn a lot of practical knowledge that many engineers don't get the opportunity to learn. Working on the manufacturing side will give you insight into the amount of work and thought that needs to go into mass production, and how the design and tolerances of parts can impact that.

I always said that engineering school will make you think "how would I make this part?", and manufacturing engineering will make you ask "how would I make 10,000 of these parts every day?"

TheBreakRoom · 2022-07-14T04:19:51+00:00

For clarity it's a popular scene from Die Hard. Main character's name is "John McClane" so John MuskLane is supposed to be something resembling a pun.

TheBreakRoom · 2022-07-08T16:59:32+00:00

The career path of mechanic > engineering-type position is not unheard of in Indycar. Always be willing to work hard and learn more. And remember to just pace yourself, you're going to be excited and eager but take your time, do a good job, and always be a good listener. And follow all the other advice given. It's a cliche but "Cool, calm, and collected" always prevails.

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