I was 2 years away from finishing my degree in Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State when I read the book "How We Learn" by Benedict Carey and implemented his techniques to become a high achiever in my class. In my last four semesters I got A's in nearly all my classes. Fast forward to December 2019 and things were looking up for me. I was ready to take on the world.
I graduated from Penn State in December 2019. I was working at a restaurant in State College when I began my job search to put that shiny new engineering degree into action. I wanted to take my time to find the perfect position that aligned with my interests and skills. A few months went by and time was ticking away along with my bank account balance.
I got a job referral from a friend who was working for a construction company, Restoration East, in Washington D.C. It had a decent salary so given my financial position, I took the job. I started out as assistant to the Project Manager for a parking garage repair in Bethesda, MD. It was a hard job with early mornings, long hours, hard labor, and hazardous working conditions. I was in a new world going from college to heavy construction. Something didn't feel right at first but I learned to roll with the punches. I was able to use my computer knowledge and report writing skills to help out my employer by documenting the parking garage conditions, allowance spending, and repair locations. Over a year into it I felt it was time to find a new job, preferrably something where I could use my college education.
I applied to a 3D printing company in Columbus, OH. They were looking for a materials scientist to run their filament extrusion operation. To my surprise, I received a call back on my application the next day. I took the job and moved to Columbus. I loved working at that company. It was a small team, everyone was friendly, it was great place to work. Also it was only 3 miles from my apartment so I frequently rode my bike to work. My job was to run the extrusion machines to produce filament of various materials and a spread of colors for each material type. Parallel to that, I worked on developing a materials testing program. We wanted to find the relationship between print settings and properties of 3D printed objects. To start off I looked into tensitle strength. I gathered information from ASTM D638 for the dimensions of dogbone specimens and parameters udner which they would be tested. I also developed methods for extruding new materials. I looked at time-temperature-transformation diagrams for a starting point then fine-tuned the process through trial and error.
Later that year my two roommates (my brother and another friend from back home), decided to move back home. While I did not exactly want to leave, I also did not want to be stuck with the $1700 a month rent payment since that would have been more than half of my monthly wage. I resigned from my position at IC3D and moved back to the Scranton area where I still reside today. I spent a few months working on home renovations including a full bathroom remodel and replacing the walls and floors in a couple bedrooms. A few months of that then I was ready to find a new job. I was determined to find something good. And ..... then I ran out of money again. I took a job with PennDOT as a road maintenance crew member. The group of guys I worked with was fantastic but the pay was not so much. My uncle forwarded me a company that was looking to hire people immediately. It was more pay than what I was currently making so I went for it.
I began a job at IWDA Engineering as an office administrator. My job was to collect reports from our technicians, review them, input them into digital formats, then send them to our clients. There was some turmoil within the company - people got fired, people were hired, people quit. I stayed. I was good at my job. Working with computers is easy for me and I was able to create a new system for handling the reports to make turnover more efficient. I was sent out to cover inspections here and there. Then I was scheduled to take certification tests for various inspections. We didn't have many technicians certified in ashpalt inspections so I was sent to State College for that test. I passed and was transitioned to working in the field as an engineering technician. I worked many important state jobs testing concrete to build bridges and asphalt to pave roadways.
In the Winter of 2025 I began applying to jobs I was interested in. This time I removed local restrictions and opened my search nation wide. I was going to apply to jobs in areas around cities that I liked and would consider moving to for the right offer. I received a call back from an application I sent to MKS Atotech based in Rock Hill, SC. After two rounds of video interviews, I received a job offer which I gladly accepted. I was overcome by a blissful feeling like a sigh of relief as the stress I accumulated over 6 years worrying "have I made irreversible career decisions that will forever impact my future" faded immediately upon hearing those words "we would like to extend to you the offer". I resigned from my previous position and began making preparations to move to the greater Charlotte, NC area. Fast forward to two weeks before my planned start date at MKS Atotech, I received a phone call from their hiring manager only to inform me that the job offer had been rescinded due to budget cuts within the company. It's hard to describe that feeling of devastation.
I acted fast and without thinking. A friend of mine had referred a job as an insurance adjuster to me some time prior. After losing my job and having nowhere left to turn, I contacted GWAS to see if they were still looking for an adjuster to join their team. They were and I was hired. This was an entirely new experience for me. Reading and understanding insurance policies. Calling companies and homeowners. Working with contractors on estimates. Writing my own estimates. I was able to produce satisfactory estimates and reports very quickly, but the role was not right for me. I had to move on and felt it would be better to leave sooner rather than later.
I had no prospective jobs lined up before I left the insurance industry for good. However I knew the owner of a local powder coating company who could use my help. I began working with ER Coatings as a metal refinisher. I still currently work there as of writing this in February of 2026. We do sand blasting and powder coating of anything and everything metal. This is a temporary role so that I can earn some money while I plan out my future job application strategy.
I am looking for a new role in materials engineering related discipline. I am interested in becoming a Manufacturing Engineer, Process Engineer, Quality Control Specialist, or Materials Researcher for a company engaged in the production of engineered materials. I specifically would like to work with metals, ceramics, semiconductors, or plastics but I am open to other fields of work. On the side, I began learning software development, which is why I have created this website using HTML and CSS. I plan on delving into JavaScript and Python for web app development next. Given enough time and effort, these skills will become valuable in the next stage of my career.