Nordson ASYMTEK
For my tenth day career day, I spent the Day at Nordson ASYMTEK. I didn't really know what to expect going into the day. Frankly, I wasn't even sure what the company made. Upon my arrival, I learned that Nordon makes general purpose fluid ejectors that can be specialized for a bunch of different jobs. The closest comparison I can make is that they're supper fancy, supper general 3d printers. the Company is split into a bunch of smaller companies, and ASYMTEK (the one in which I was shadowing) seems to deal mostly with manufacturing the machines themselves. We began the day with a tour led by Delia Charvel, my contact for the day. We started at the assembly line, and worked our way to all the parts of the facility we could legally go to. What struck me about the tour is how different parts of the building looked. One second I was in a busy, crowded assembly line (it looked more like an assembly square, but it served the same purpose), and one door later I was in some stark hallway that gave the impression I was the only person in the building. I spent most of the day shadowing a Mechanical Engineer named Will. Will had a lot of jobs at the company. The day I was there, he spent a lot of time writing guides on how to assemble certain parts for people on the assembly line. He also visited the quality control center and I got to see a lot of cool measuring devices. Near the end of the day, he met up with another engineer and they sorted through faulty parts found on the assembly line in an effort to stop critical problems before they began. Throughout the day, people from the assembly line would come to Will with questions. He told me that being able to answer those questions and solve those problems was the most important part of his job because without the assembly line nothing else would matter. To get a better idea about what his job was like, I also asked Will questions from an interview question list. All of the answers are paraphrased.
What in your Educational Background mos prepared you for this job?
The most important think I learned was problem solving skills. The more advanced stuff that I learned in college was useful occasionally, but most of the time simple problem solving skills were the most useful.
What Specific Skill Training Helped you prepare for this job?
Using software like MS Word is really helpful, and usually required, when explaining something.
How do You interact with other people during your work?
I didn't actually ask Will this question because it was apparent throughout the day. The culture at Nordson was very professional, but because everyone worked so closely with each other, it seemed that Will was friends with everyone we met.
To what extent do you find your work interesting and fulfilling and why?
I like to solve problems, which is why I became a mechanical engineer. Solving problems on the assembly line can get repetitive, but is usually an interesting challenge.
What are the most important rules and practices that you must follow in order to be considered a dedicated and responsible professional?
Know how to do your job, and know when you can't do your job. It's a lot better to ask for help than to attempt to do something you don't know how to do.
Is this a typical work day for you?
Sort of. I'm usually working on a more interesting project than what I'm doing now.
What in your Educational Background mos prepared you for this job?
The most important think I learned was problem solving skills. The more advanced stuff that I learned in college was useful occasionally, but most of the time simple problem solving skills were the most useful.
What Specific Skill Training Helped you prepare for this job?
Using software like MS Word is really helpful, and usually required, when explaining something.
How do You interact with other people during your work?
I didn't actually ask Will this question because it was apparent throughout the day. The culture at Nordson was very professional, but because everyone worked so closely with each other, it seemed that Will was friends with everyone we met.
To what extent do you find your work interesting and fulfilling and why?
I like to solve problems, which is why I became a mechanical engineer. Solving problems on the assembly line can get repetitive, but is usually an interesting challenge.
What are the most important rules and practices that you must follow in order to be considered a dedicated and responsible professional?
Know how to do your job, and know when you can't do your job. It's a lot better to ask for help than to attempt to do something you don't know how to do.
Is this a typical work day for you?
Sort of. I'm usually working on a more interesting project than what I'm doing now.