***Editor’s Note: The “I Became An Engineer” blog runs every Friday. To share your story email jennifer.delaosa@advantagemedia.com***
This week’s story comes to us from ECN reader Roger Newton, CSTE, CBNT.
I did not plan to be an engineer. I was a below average student in high school but I took all of the math and science courses that were offered. I always liked science and math but I did not really put much effort in studying.
During my senior year in H.S., I enrolled in an Electronics Vocational School—United Electronics Institute. I had some material that I completed by correspondence course before I graduated from H.S. After graduation, I started in the classroom portion of the course. I went to class for four hours a day, five days a week, for 95 weeks.
After I finished, I moved to Florida from Oklahoma. I was one of 13 that the company hired out of my electronics class. I worked in the Test Equipment Fabrication Department at a plant that manufactured equipment for the military.
After working for three months, I received notice from my draft board that I needed to go for my selective service physical, that I unfortunately passed. I knew that I was about to be drafted, so I decided to check out what the different service branches had to offer. After considering all of my options, I finally enlisted in the U.S. Army.
While I was in basic combat training, I was recruited for an assignment that would send me to Television Equipment Repair School before going to my first assignment. The assignment was stateside, where I would not be going to Vietnam, which was going strong at that time. That training led to me becoming an engineer.
After serving eight years in the army, I left the service and began working in the civilian world. I worked at AMOCO for five and a half years, and then I got into the Television Broadcasting field.
I have worked in Television Broadcasting for a total of 40 years, working on everything from 2” video tape, tube type cameras, microwave systems, and tube type transmitters to solid-state cameras, tapeless editing systems, fiber optics, and solid-state transmitters.
I might not have gone to a regular engineering school, but I feel that what I’ve learned and done have more than made up for the lack of formal education in the engineering field. I have worked as a Studio Maintenance Engineer, RF Engineer, and Chief Engineer for the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority.
In conclusion, I think you could say that I became an engineer so I would not have to go to Vietnam.
Read other stories, here:
- A Note From The Editor: An Engineer’s Story
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of MacGyver And Comfortable Clothes
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Small FM Radio
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Model Airplane Contest
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Loved LEGOs And Tinkertoys
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Magazine Ad
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Grew Up In Kenya
- I Became An Engineer: By Just Being Myself
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of The Cool Jackets
- I Became An Engineer: Because My Dad Said Not To
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Couldn’t Stop Tinkering
- I Became An Engineer: Despite Being Bad At Math
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of Christmas Lights
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of Uncle Chet
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of Star Trek (Specifically Montgomery Scott)
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Was A Really Lucky Nerd
- I Became An Engineer: But ‘Nobody Knows’ Why
- I Became An Engineer: Because I Couldn’t Be An Astronaut
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of Nuclear Submarines
- I Became An Engineer: Because No One Was Hiring Shoe Salesmen
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Book (And My Mom)
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of A Wise Father And The Possibility Of Death
- I Became An Engineer: Because Of An Evil Mastermind