A short first-person account by Alli Peck about the importance of mentorship early in her engineering career. She recounts working daily with a senior mechanical engineer who taught her hands-on skills (using a multimeter, disassembling devices), how to write protocols and reports, and how to perform design verification and medical device testing.
Mentorship. I had a mentor. God bless that man. He was probably 45 year old man, kids and a wife. But him and I worked together every day. We were on the same team. He was a more senior mechanical engineer and he showed me the ropes my first day. He said, you can shadow me. I'm working on X, Y and Z over here on the bench. Do you know how to use a multimeter? No. Here, here's some Phillips head screwdrivers. Take this apart. Okay. I think I haven't said those three words yet. I'm doing good, right? I worked with him daily. I learned how to write protocols. I learned how to write reports. I learned how to do design verification, testing of a medical device. I learned a lot.
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