[Nfb-science] [nfb-scinece] professional networking

Mon Feb 16 18:00:01 UTC 2009

Dear Paul,

I agree with you.  Save the education route until everything else washes 
out.
Is there any way you can gets some hands on training at a local airport or 
business, such as working on some kind of AP certification or anything?
How about learning about handling parts inventory and management?
Anything that gets your foot in the door.
My son was doing this for Delta in Atlanta.
He was learning all the parts of the aircraft and then the coding system 
they use to identify the parts and what place they go on.

David Evans ,NFBF
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <aerospace1028 at hotmail.com>
To: <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2009 3:20 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfb-science] [nfb-scinece] professional networking

>
> Hello David,
> I am not opposed to relocating, I just need the money to afford rent and 
> the like.  I have been searching all fifty states (and a few times the 
> Canadian provinces).
>
> Thanks for the tip on Emery Riddle, I will look into that.
>
> I have thaught about returning to school for a masters, but I'm nervous 
> that a graduate degree still without work experience would box me into an 
> academic career path.  I don't think I would do as well there.  I was 
> better in my lab courses than in the lecture and book classes which 
> focused more on theory than application.  I think I would do better 
> getting my hands dirty in industry first.
>
> --Paul
>
>> Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:33:27 -0500
>> From: "David Evans" <drevans at bellsouth.net>
>> Subject: Re: [Nfb-science] [nfb-scinece] professional networking
>> To: "NFB Science and Engineering Division List"
>> <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
>> Message-ID: <D98EAB32380D41B890D0B9D67D6EF047 at DAVID>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="Windows-1252";
>> reply-type=original
>>
>>
>> Dear Paul,
>>
>> I think that proccemity could have something to do with it also. You may
>> need to think about moving from where you are at, to an area where there 
>> are
>> businesses that could make use of your skills.
>> Florida, California, Texas, North Carolina might be better hunting 
>> grounds.
>> You might even check with Emery Riddle in Daytona Beach Florida as I 
>> think
>> their aviation program has a Blind Professor teaching there.
>> There are some other Blind engineers in the NFB who work for the Navy and
>> Aircraft makers.
>> Just don't give up and keep plugging away. You will find it or it will 
>> find
>> you somehow.
>>
>> Look at NASA jobs and the Army Corp of Engineers.
>> It is out there somewhere.
>>
>> Your friend,
>>
>> David Evans, NFBF
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: <aerospace1028 at hotmail.com>
>> To: <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 2:34 PM
>> Subject: [Nfb-science] [nfb-scinece] professional networking
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear List,
>>
>> I apologize in advance for the lengthy post.
>>
>>
>>
>> I have been lurking here for the past couple of months now
>> and feel I should introduce myself. My
>> name is Paul, I am a recent college graduate and I have been visually
>> impaired/blind since birth (for those of you that are curious, I have
>> ?retinopathy
>> of unknown etymology?). I have some
>> usable vision, but I travel with a cane, read Braille (g2, Nemeth, and
>> recently
>> I?ve started dabbling in UEB), and I use a screen-reader to access a
>> computer
>> (I?m most familiar with JAWS, but have also recently familiarized myself
>> with
>> Orca on Ubuntu).
>>
>>
>>
>> Like many persons with visual disabilities, I am unemployed.
>>
>>
>>
>> Ever since my childhood, I have had a fascination with spaceflight. In
>> primary and secondary school, I did well
>> in the sciences. When I graduated high
>> school, I enrolled in college to study engineering. I successfully 
>> obtained
>> my undergraduate
>> degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, with a focus on
>> structural mechanics.
>>
>> Unfortunately, during my term of study, I was unable to
>> obtain any relevant work experience--and not for lack of trying. One of 
>> the
>> prerequisites for internships is
>> 1-3 years previous internship experience.
>> Upon graduation, the prerequisite for an entry-level engineering
>> position is 2-5 years previous experience.
>>
>>
>>
>> I remained persistent and kept applying everywhere; from the
>> big-name contractors like Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, and ATK Thyakol, to 
>> the
>> smaller sub-contractors like Analytical Mechanical Services, and even 
>> some
>> of
>> the newer private-sector companies like Armadillo Aerospace, bigellow
>> Aerospace, and SpaceX.
>>
>>
>>
>> On several occasions, I was able to land an interview. The question of my
>> lack of employment always
>> came up, some companies were even less critical than others that it was 
>> not
>> an
>> oversight in updating my resume. But I
>> always ended up getting a letter, "regretfully informing me that the
>> position to which I had applied was being filled with another qualified
>> candidate."
>>
>>
>>
>> I am working with VR, but they seem to have trouble with my
>> education as an aerospace engineer. They
>> recognize me as being "smart,"' and they see my resume has a list of
>> "computer skills" and seem to be herding me towards software
>> engineering and network administration positions.
>>
>>
>>
>> I had a recent close call with a job. I found a start-up company in
>> Portland
>> Maine that was willing to hire me for
>> structural consulting, but they have since folded under.
>>
>>
>>
>> I am finally willing to admit, the clich? is correct; who you
>> know, is more important than what you know. My problem is that I have no
>> network of "whos"
>> inside the engineering industry. None of
>> my relatives works for any aerospace companies, and living in a rural
>> community
>> on the Maine-New Hampshire border, there just isn't much aerospace 
>> presence
>> around.
>>
>>
>>
>> Finally, arriving near the end of my post, is there anyone who
>> can help? Does anyone on this list have any
>> contacts with whom they could put me in contact?
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you
>>
>> --Paul Boucher
>>
>>
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