Experiential Learning and Cooperative Education Pay Off

Experiential Learning and Cooperative Education Pay Off Experiential Learning and Cooperative Education Pay Off Experiential Learning and Cooperative Education Pay OffFor many would-be engineers, experiential learning is an important consideration when choosing an engineering college, particularly a school that has a robust cooperative education component.It welches certainly a deciding factor for Victoria Tripp and Brenna Woodling, both set to graduate this spring from Rochester Institute of Technologys Kate Gleason College of Engineering. Each realized zu sich interest in the biomedical engineering device field fairly early on, but chose different educational paths. Those paths crossed last fall when both were assigned to the saatkorn two-semester capstone plan project. One thing both firmly believe is that the considerable real-world learning they experienced in their current capstone multidisciplinary senior entwurf project as well as in their co-op stints over the past five yea rs have prepared them well.The co-op program was one of the main reasons I was attracted to RIT, Woodling says. I felt that this essential full-time work experience prior to graduation would make it easier to break into industry.Tripp attributes finding zu sich place in the engineering world early on to the co-op opportunities and other career prep RIT has provided. Without those, Im not sure I would have found my calling as early in my career as I did, she says.Students pose as workers in one of several manufacturing scenarios that present them with problems to solve as a team. Image RITThe capstone project is giving them yet another type of experience in their chosen field. Their team of seven students is tasked with developing an emergency affordable portable incubator for a hospital in a region of Honduras serving remote areas where neonatal death rates are very high. Tripp, who will graduate with a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering, serves as the project manager, and W oodling, who will graduate with a bachelors in biomedical engineering and a masters in science, technology and public policy, is in charge of biomedical engineering documentation. Students follow a structured engineering design process assessing customer needs and engineering requirements, evaluating concepts, resolving technical hurdles, employing rigorous engineering practices to design and build a prototype device that will be tested and fully documented.As the team became immersed in the project, the engineers realized they had some major challenges in incorporating all the emergency medical features of a typical closed stationary incubator in a portable and affordable device. Requirements included the capability of providing heat, humidity, oxygen, water, and compartments for sensors and instruments, with everything powered by a rechargeable battery pack.The biggest issues, Tripp says, were that the incubator had to be low weight, low cost, and had to have a low-energy, self-c harging solution for powering essential equipment during transport. In worst case scenarios, the babies are born in places with no electricity and have to be hiked over rough terrain, before even getting to a vehicle and travelling additional hours to a hospital. Even then, the hospitals usually dont have enough working incubators for the babies that arrive. So the team wanted their incubator to be one that the baby could remain in even in the hospital.In researching what already existed, the team found that other portable incubators were too costly, too heavy, or hid the infants from view as they were carried by foot in a backpack.The teams design solution, completed during the fall semester, is a combination front pack that holds some equipment and the baby, as well as a backpack to hold the battery and other equipment. Thus far, they have been able to reduce the weight to approximately 30 pounds and are working to get it even lighter. Currently, the team is reviewing the feasibil ity of their engineering analyses and starting to purchase parts and materials to build the system and have it ready for presentation by April.Check Out the Latest Engineering and Design Stories from ASME.orgBoth Tripp and Woodling brought to bear more experience than one would imagine students had. Tripp spent more than a year at Johnson Johnsons orthopedic and neuro device company Depuy Synthes, on two separate co-ops after a first co-op at Toyotas plant in Georgetown, KY. Woodling spent eight months at Welch Allyn, a producer of medical diagnostic equipment, and three months at Adarza BioSystems, a medical diagnostic startup.Woodling gained experience doing verification and validation testing for medical devices and additional electrical engineering skills at Welch Allyn. At Adarza, The most interesting part of my co-op there was working in a clean room, which biomedical engineers arent typically exposed to, she says.Most biomedical engineers at RIT complete another co-op during their fourth year, but Woodling opted instead to earn both her bachelors and masters degrees in the same five years by forgoing a co-op.I realized that in medical devices an essential part of research and development is being aware of regulations that medical devices must meet for the Food and Drug Administration, she says. I am hoping this additional degree will allow me to explore more avenues in my future long-term career.Tripp looked forward to her first co-op at Toyota, especially since she had no experience at all, and spent five months in robotics. One of her jobs there involved designing and 3D printing a robot gripper that used suction to pick up and apply front-door window labels from an electric label dispenser. When she left, she still wasnt sure what she wanted to do, so for her next co-op she chose Depuy Synthes for a different experience. She worked for nine months in the companys foundry, where parts of cast knee and hip implants were manufactured.I was able to see the entire process from wax injection to creating the cast, pouring of metal, and the processes that followed to move the products to polish where the implants were buffed and polished, Tripp says. I worked on a number of projects, but the most rewarding was being involved in a new product knee implant launch.After that experience, she knew bioengineering was for her. The following year she was invited back to Depuy Synthes, working in the organizations rapid prototyping machine shop that uses 3D printing to quickly build fixtures and surgical instruments that are then tested by surgeons in cadaver labs across the country.While one engineer was on vacation, I ran one of the cadaver lab product lines, and that was very cool, Tripp says. Depuy Synthes also hired her part-time this year to continue one project while completing her final year of education.Woodling said her dream job would be getting involved in initial research and development of novel medical devices.Ideally, I would l ove to work with some kind of implantable devices to utilize the biology aspect of my curriculum, but Im very open to exploring all sides of medical devices in my search for a full-time job, she says.Tripp is forever grateful to Johnson Johnson for helping her find her niche in engineering. Being exposed to multidisciplinary teams with other engineers in lean, quality, design and manufacturing while at JJ has helped my school and work life beyond measures, she says.She hopes she has a future with the company. We are in the talking stage. I would love to work for them again.Nancy S. Giges is an independent writer. For Further Discussion The co-op program was one of the main reasons I was attracted to RIT. I felt that this essential full-time experience prior to graduation would make it easier to break into industry. Brenna Woodling, Rochester Institute of Technology

When to Quit Your Job Before Finding Another

When to Quit Your Job Before Finding AnotherWhen to Quit Your Job Before Finding AnotherWhen should you departure looking for a new job? Should you quit first and job hunt second? Or is better to start looking for a job before you turn in your resignation? The saying that you shouldntquit your jobbefore you find a new one is often true, but there can be exceptions. Difficult bosses who threaten your mental or physical health, relocation for a partners job, intolerable working conditions or levels of stress, an inability to master the job, an employer who has asked you to do something unethical, or an organization that is going under are all signs its time to quit your job sooner rather than later. In other cases, you might be changing your career and need education or training to make the transition, which cant be completed while holding down your current job. Starting a Job Search Before Quitting It is often worth considering to at leaststart a job searchbefore quitting your cur rent position. Ideally, you will start your search prior to your work situation becoming so bad that you cant stay. If you can start looking before you quit, it will give you an idea of what it may require for you to land a new position. Starting a job search while you are still working has other advantages in addition to continuing to have a paycheck and benefits. If you quit, you may notbe eligible for unemployment. If youre employed, you will have less explaining to do regarding your need for a new job during job interviews. You can maintain a positive spin on your current position and focus on why the new job would be even better. Thats helpful when youre answeringinterview questions about leaving your job. Its easier to discuss why youre moving on when youre still employedthan it is to explain why you quit without having a new job lined up. If you do choose to begin your job search while youre still employed, think carefully about whether you want to make this news public at wo rk. Whether you do this depends entirely upon the type of job you hold, your seniority, and your employers needs. Most employers arent happy to realize that theyre going to have to put the time and money into a hiring search. On the plus side, if you are a valued employee or have a significant amount of seniority and/or expertise, your current employer might offer you a raise or incentive in order to entice you to stay. Alternatively, you might be able to enlist the support of a key manager with the promise of smoothing the transition for your successor. Or, they might just fire you immediately and find someone else to do your job. Thus, you will need to carefully gauge your employers potential reaction to learning of your planned departure to decide whether to maintain a covert approach to your search. That said, there is currently less of a negative association with an unemployed status. There is also far less stigma attached to job hopping (leaving a job every year or so) than t here used to be, because more industries than ever before are offering project-based or temp work to short-term hires. If you are one of those people with an extremely busy work schedule, it may be necessary to ultimately leave your job in order to invest sufficient time in your search. If you do decide to quit, be sure to have a financial plan in place to cover your projected food, housing, and other expenses, since you dont know how long it will take to find your next job. Otherwise, start yourjob search while youre still employedto ensure you wont have a eu-agrarpolitik between paychecks. Keeping It Professional Whatever you decide about the timing of starting a job search, avoid saying anything negative when you depart. Make sure that you maintain positive relationships with your bosses and co-workers, since your next employer may require references from your previous employer or may conduct abackground check. When you resign, keep it professional and dont burn any bridges w ith your current employer.

10 Little Things Successful People Do Differently

10 Little Things Successful People Do Differently 10 Little Things Successful People Do Differently Article by Casey ImafidonSuccessful people think differently, act differently, and distinguish themselves from unsuccessful people by taking a distinctive path toward their goals.Successful people all have similar traits and similar behavior patterns. The truth is that you can be successful, too,if you learn what other successful people do. And no, that doesnt mean you have to engage inbig acts of philanthropy or innovation. Success is largely a matterofsmall things you can do every day to reach your goals.Here are 10 things successful people do daily1. They Strive for ConsistencySuccessful people are focused on meeting their objectives, and this is why they have consistent schedules. According to Rameet Chawla, founder of Fueled, having a consistent schedule aids prioritization and allows you to keep the important tasks at the top of your list.2. They Set Daily GoalsSuccessful peopl e are clear about their goals. For example, Kenneth Chenault, CEO of American Express, createsa detailed plan for his day by writing down three things he wants to accomplish the next day.3. They Nurture the RightRelationshipsIn his book Tribes, Seth Godin explains there are tribes everywhere, each one made up of people hungry for connection, meaning, and change. Successful people look for support and find people they can connect with intellectually. Find your tribe and collaborate.Play off each others strengths and watch everyone grow. Jim Rohn says you are the average of your five closest friends. Who are yours?4. They Display High Emotional IntelligenceEmotionally intelligent people constantly look for ways to add value and contribute to their environments. They use their emotional awareness to think progressively and find answers to problems. This quality helps them to inspire others to be successful, too.5. They Take ActionSuccessful people take action. You cant achieve anything if you let yourself be paralyzed by overwhelming situations, but through action you can attain results and discover a path toward your goals.6. They Practice Positive Self-TalkWhen you use phrases like, Today is going to be a great day or I am successful, you boost your intellectual ability and improve your chances of attaining your goals for the day.7. They Stay HealthyPresident Barack Obama exercises 45 minutes per day, six days a week. A healthy mind and body is the first step to success. Your body is a vehicle to everything you achieve. Plus,physical activity doesnt only keep the body physically healthy it also improves yourmental state.8. They MeditateMeditation allows you to focus and be mora productive. Oprah Winfreyhas spoken about the great benefits of meditation and how the results oftenincludebetter relationships and a morecreative mindset.9. TheyFocus on Small Steps Toward Their Major GoalsHenry Ford once said, Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small pi eces. Successful people operate according to the domino effect by making small and continuous improvements every day.10. They Wake Up EarlyFrom Apple CEO Tim Cook to GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, almost all successful people make a habit ofwaking up early.So much can be done duringthose wee hours of the day when one is free ofdistractions, meetings, and environmental noise.In the end, it takes consistent practice to be successful. Success doesnt happen by accident it happensbecause you have committed yourself to certain activities that help you reach your goals.A version of this article originally appeared on SUCCESS.com.Casey Imafidon is a full-time writer. He blogs about happiness, success, and relationships. He has been featured on Inc.com, Addicted2Success.com, ThoughtCatalog.com, and many more websites. Feel free to connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.