Introduction
This is my work experience report. It contains a brief report on the company and the engineering environment where I was employed. It will also include a summary of the work I did and the Key Learnings I had as well as their implications for my future employment. In essence this report will be the summation of all that I have done in my practicum
The Company and Engineering Environment
The company which I spent my three months with is called Sakht Hamandishan Aran Company (3A), A contractor which participates in gas piping projects across the Guilan province in Iran. Although the firm is not in the Aerospace industry Sakht Hamandishan Aram Company was engaged in gas piping which required considerable large amounts of fieldwork and practical engineering work to maintain. The business is fairly large where the engineers working the gas piping are just part and parcel of a larger organization which is committed to successfully constructing the gas pipe for the Guilan province. They work hand in hand with other workers to ensure the success of the project.
I have learned that the nature of the engineering profession necessitates field work. The clean-clear-cut environment of the class room is nothing like the rough and ready atmosphere in the field. There is a great need to be an expert in complex computations and engineering concepts because there is very little time to make computations and there is far less room for error. While in the classroom making mistakes has consequences only on my grades, in the field a mistake would cost valuable time and money. At worst an error in judgment could even result in the loss of life. Simply put in the field what was learned in the classroom must come automatically. The knowledge learned in school must become instinctive as that is the precise reason why the expertise of an engineer is needed.
On the other hand, I must acknowledge that the field of Aeronautical engineering is not as risky or as environmentally exposed as engineering in the gas lines. However, Aeronautical engineering is even more precise. Lives are at stake if, for example, we fail to properly maintain aircraft. Or if I end up in the R&D sector my skill is even more vital. Nevertheless, my experience in the Gas lines has given me a great appreciation of what is truly needed to excel in my chosen field.
Scope of Work Done and Key Learnings for Future Employment
My initial duties required me to stay at the office and be a productive member of the office staff. This included filing reports taking some phone calls, sorting documents, data entry and providing reports using different software such as MS Word, Excel, Project. In other words, my initial work made me thoroughly acquainted with the office work required at Sakht Hamandishan Aran Company.
A more narrow-minded individual would fail to see the relevance of office work to an engineer. However, my own perspective tells me that this experience has taught me a lot about the back-office and logistics required for Gas Pipe engineering. It has shown me that there are numerous support services required to keep the engineering teams out in the field. I now have a deeper understanding of what kinds of tasks are needed.
Not content with the ministerial works at the office I requested to be allowed to join the company engineers in fieldwork. There I was exposed to the climate conditions in the Iranian desert. There I gained an appreciation for the meticulous and precise tasks that had to be performed to ensure efficient construction of the pipeline and effective maintenance of existing pipes. It was here that I was able to gain practical application of what I had learned at school. I was not an idle follower then. My superiors soon began to gain an appreciation of my excellent knowledge of the academic aspects of engineering. This bodes well for me because I was able to compare the theoretical academic knowledge gained in the classroom with the practical applications to be found in the actual field.
Regrettably, my learning in the Sakht Hamandishan Aran Company exposes me to only a few aspects of what will later be required of me in Aeronautical Engineering. Granted that long hours of office work have given me a renewed appreciation of the professionalism and back-office skills needed to ensure the smooth function of field operations. Conceding that practical application of engineering concepts was the order of the day during fieldwork. However, the very technical aspects of aeronautical engineering were largely absent in my work in the Gas lines. The application of my learning was effective but was not symbolic of all the things I have truly mastered in school. For example, complex theories about the transition from subsonic to transonic to supersonic speeds and the resistances involved will never find application in the field I was in.
Only the positive side, the experience in working in an international firm has given me a wider perspective with respect to my field. I am now interested in finding work in an international firm. For example, I could find employment in an Airline where I will maintain Aircraft which will fly all over the world. This would give me continued exposure to other cultures and further broaden my understanding of the world. Additionally, I could also try to gain admittance to one of the Aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing or Airbus so that I may be able to contribute my knowledge to the design of newer more modern and efficient Aircraft.
Conclusion
In summary, my experience in Sakht Hamandishan Aran Company has taught me to love my chosen field more. I am deeply appreciative that whatever area of my field I chose I will not be as exposed to the elements and possible dangers and Line engineers are in the Gas lines. It has taught me valuable experience in engineering that I might not learn in the theoretical environment of the classroom. But most importantly Sakht Hamandishan Aran Company taught me that engineering does not exist in the vacuum of a clean classroom.