Vidic 2:00 R07

ENGINEERING AND ME: WHY I WANT TO BE A MATERIALS ENGINEER

Matthew Nitkiewicz (mdn21@pitt.edu) During my senior year was when I really decided what I wanted to do with my life. I had several talks with my guidance counselor who gave me all the resources and advice I needed to try and pick a career. I was still dabbling in everything which made my choice an even clearer solution. Materials engineers design, produce and evaluate materials and their use. They bring valuable expertise in materials to just about every industry, often working closely with other engineers, to make a real difference to our world, as stated by the University of British Columbia [7]. Since I liked to do a little bit of everything, this field I picked would allow me to do that. AP chemistry that year is what really solidified my career choice though. Chemistry was always had a wow factor to it for me. The fact that we know so much about what makes everything and yet still so little is fascinating. We did a lab where we made metal alloys. When adding few grams of an element can change the properties so much of the material and how fun it was to test it; I knew this is what I wanted to do. College Research Since Ive been at the University of Pittsburgh, Ive learned a lot about materials science through a freshman seminar course that all freshmen engineers are required to take. This course taught us about all the different fields of engineering. When the materials science program was presented, it proved to me that I had made the right choice by confirming all that I thought I knew about the field and more. Throughout this paper, I have found some additional research about materials engineering. I found out that the national job growth rate for materials engineers is only nine percent [6]. While this is slower than the national average, the amount of people entering the field is also low. The materials science program at the University of Pittsburgh has only 33 students from sophomore to seniors. A small number compare to the over 170 in civil engineering. I also found that the median salary for materials engineers is $83,120 [6]. This, I believe, is a good amount of money to live a prosperous life and set up a good future for my wife and kids. The importance of having a well-paying and stable job is, as stated before, very important to me. Having your dream job is nice, but if it doesnt pay the bills then it doesnt mean anything to me.

INTRODUCTION: MATERIALS SCIENCE IS THE FIELD FOR ME

When I applied to the University of Pittsburgh, I knew I wanted to be a materials engineer. I had been going back and forth between that and a nuclear certificate for months before deciding. I firmly knew that was what I wanted to do. Throughout the course of the semester, the big seminars have shown me the various fields of engineering and what they do. From the large project civil engineers, to the efficient industrial engineers, and to the ultra-intense engineering sciences. Ever since Ive been young, Ive been interested in the world around me and everything in it, never really picking a certain topic. This was reflected in my choice of possible majors. However, my main focus is to get into a field that not only interests me, but, more importantly, is going to be able to secure me a job. The modern job market is difficult at its best times. The job placement rate is high for engineers, so that drew me in. Engineering is a job that not only allows you a career, but pays decently well for entry level positions. This gives me an early start on life and a great way to easily build my resume. A stable life is something I strive for as I do not want to have to put my family through. The amount of research opportunities available allow me to work on the cutting edge, changing the life of those in the future. Materials engineering is a field that covers many aspects of many fields, allowing me to do whatever I want to do with a job security to back it up. For these reasons I believe materials engineering is the correct major for me.

ENGINEERING AND MY LIFE

Academics and Growing Up Growing up, I never really had a focus on one area. I liked to dabble in as many different things as possible. This mainly included figuring out how something worked along with how to break and fix it. I was always questioning and looking at the things around me. However, I was always drawn towards math and science. I enjoyed other subjects like English and music classes, but they never had the concrete pull like the sciences did. Writing mostly was a laborious process for me that never really resulted in anything. After researching different fields, I found that engineering was a perfect match for me. It combined the right amount of science and math, with a work style that was flexible and would have meaning to it.

WHAT MATERIALS ENGINEERS DO IN THEIR CAREERS

University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering 2013-11-26

Matthew Nitkiewicz

Materials engineering is a broad field that supports many other fields. They apply math, physics, and chemistry to change the microscopic properties of a material to alter the macroscopic possibilities and design the processes to make said material. Engineering requires the ability to problem solve, being confident in your answers, and knowing where or who to go to for help since we cant be experts on everything [4]. Materials engineers go into all different fields of work because of how far reaching their work applies. It is always new materials that open the door to new technologies, whether they are in civil, chemical, construction, nuclear, aeronautical, agricultural, mechanical, biomedical, or electrical engineering, as stated by the Perdue University [5]. This reach allows a greater job placement rate and the ability to focus, or lack thereof, on what kind of materials you want to work on. At the Freshman Career Conference that was put on by the University of Pittsburgh, engineers from the area came in and talked about what they do. The keynote speaker, James McCaffrey, gave an overall address about engineering. He shared his story about how with any other career, engineering is a jungle gym to success. Sometimes it takes many different jobs to find the right one for you. Even then you need to look at the things outside of your academics to determine your career. His daughter, Alex, went on to reinforce this. She talked about how the world is now a global economy so that where you start may not be in line with where you end. You need to find what youre really looking for in life to find your career [3]. I also had the pleasure of listening to and sitting in on Dr. C. J. Wu from US Steel give a lecture on materials science. He has been in metallurgical engineering for twenty four years now. He works in the research department and showed us just how much a materials engineer can do in his field. His job, research, mainly involves people with advanced degrees. However, entry level wise, there are still a lot of opportunities. In steel making, the entire process is what a materials engineers work is. There are computer models that model blast furnace design and use, physical models to take samples from, and casting computer models. Everything from the intake of ore to the export of the steel can be handled or supervised by a materials engineer. With the technology boom, computer models are being implemented to better predict anything that can be done in the steel industry [2]. After listening to both McCaffreys and Wus speeches, I felt inspired to continue my path of engineering. The day to day workings of a materials engineer is hard to define. Since we cover so many fields, there are limitless jobs we will be doing. However, there are two main types that materials engineers do. First, they can oversee production at a plant like Dr. Wu explained to us. However, most go on to further their education and move into the research field. They are employed to develop materials to make products already in mind not only possible, but economical. Many of

the researched materials are never seen again after research. It takes many tries to make a successful material [1]. Since most of the higher paying research positions require advanced degrees, materials science appeals to me even more. I would like to try to continue my education as much as possible. There is always something new being discovered. I came to the University of Pittsburgh specifically for the materials engineering program, along with the campus. Whether or not I stay here for graduate research or to go elsewhere for a more advanced degree is too early yet to tell.

RESULTS: MATERIALS ENGINEERING IS THE RIGHT CAREER FOR ME

I have determined after all of my research throughout this project that my original hypothesis is indeed correct. Materials engineering fits not only my future goals, but my lifestyle and personality perfectly. Materials engineers work at a small scale to change a large scale. This is important to me because even though I may be only making small changes, it affects peoples lives in a grand scale and makes me feel like Im doing something with my life. I like to experience as much as possible in life and the breadth of their experiences is incredible as it unites so many different disciplines to create new materials and overlaps with similar fields such as chemical, bio, aerospace, and nuclear engineering [1]. The success rate for job placements and salary size is yet another thing that fits perfectly with how I want to live. I dont feel like Ill be part of the unemployed for very long as there is always a job for a materials engineer to do. I want to apply my knowledge as soon as I can so I can make a difference. I always try to plan for the future as much as possible, and this makes sure that my kids will grow up the way they want and not have to worry about money or my job security. Hard work is finally something that is important to me. There are a dozen bad ideas for each fair idea, and a dozen fair ideas for each good idea. You sort out which ideas are worth pursuing. Most ideas break down when you look at the economics, as quoted by Barry Speronello from Englehard Corporation [1]. Which leads to why materials scientists, and future I, enjoy their work. Seeing an idea that succeeds is gratifying when 99% of your previous ones have failed and knowing that you worked on it at the microstructure to see it realized in a full commercialization product that all began with you [1]. This is why I chose materials science.

REFERENCES
[1] American Chemical Society. (2013). Materials Science. American Chemical Society. (Online Article). http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/careers/whatchemistsdo/c areers/materials-science.html

Matthew Nitkiewicz

[2] Dr. C. J. Wu. (2013). Speech on Materials Engineering. University of Pittsburgh. (Speech) [3] J. McCaffrey & A. McCaffrey. (2013) Keynote Speaker. University of Pittsburgh. (Speech) [4] L. A. Schwope. (2012) Words from the Wise. My Cool Job. (Online Article). http://mycooljob.org/wise/materials_engineer.php [5] Perdue University. (2013). What is Materials Engineering? Perdue University Website. (Online Article). https://engineering.purdue.edu/MSE/AboutUs/WhatsMateria ls/index.html [6] U.S. Department of Labor. (2012). Materials Engineers. Occupational Outlook Handbook. (Online Article). http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-andengineering/materials-engineers.htm [7] University of British Columbia. (2013). About Materials Engineering. University of British Columbia Undergraduate Programs. (Online Article). http://www.mmat.ubc.ca/prospective_students/undergraduat e/

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like Jason McCullough for teaching me more about this field of engineering and sparking my interest. I would also like to thank my roommate for going home early and letting me work on this paper in silence and alone all night the night before it is due.