Manufacturing is a Mindset

"Manufacturing is more than just putting parts together. It's coming up with ideas, testing principles, and perfecting the engineering as well as final assembly."

Sometimes I feel like a broken record but I can't seem to quite find the words to express the pure passion & excitement I have for how a career in engineering - manufacturing in particular - changes the way you view the world - society - life. This quote did it for me.

It's a major mindset shift.

My job - specifically - is to see the bigger picture. My role as an Advanced Manufacturing Engineer is to tie the two worlds of design and production together. I'm smack in the middle of new product development - all the innovative, new, fun, cool concepts - and manufacturing - the hundreds of people and processes that are a well oiled-machine [pun intended] that continue to improve internally [robots, six-sigma, controlled systems] itself to then collide. It's a cadence. I have to be in sync with multiple groups with multiple programs with numerous projects and I have to know how to best support and understand my coworkers in their separate areas.

Yes, my job is to push for excellence. I'm sure that can be annoying and frustrating to some who just want to do their job and that be that. I'm always the idea creator. The "what if" addition-maker. I'm incredibly grateful my freshmen year at Marquette Introduction to Engineering class had us consider just that. My job isn't to always be front & center but it is to lead the implementation of change and that's where my problem solving skills truly show themselves.

I have no real authority over all the various departments I work with but I have to have some kind of influence. Together we have to push our product, processes, and personnel to the next level.

It's an honor to see final assemblies. Sometimes it's a physical tangible product and sometimes it's celebrating a success with a multi-faceted, cross-functional team.