While you're here, meet a few people who are in the industry and see what they have to say about their careers.
| Annie C. | Chad M. | Cristin L. | David G. | Daniel I |
| Hiep S. V. | Jay R. | Kristin W. | Mary Beth F. | Tandis B. |
| Tara W. | Timothy F. | Timothy L. | Veronica M. |
Q. What is your current position with the Industry?
A. I am currently an Electrical and Instrumentation Reliability Engineer for the ConocoPhillips Sweeny Refinery supporting our Major Capitol Project group and plant maintenance.
Q. Where did you obtain your undergraduate/graduate degree(s)
and in what fields?
A. I received a Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering from the Texas Tech University.
Q. What subjects/courses were instrumental in helping you
gain your current position?
A. A combination of power systems and control systems courses from my Electrical Engineering curriculum has been instrumental to my success in my current position. As an Electrical Engineer in Downstream Refining there are endless opportunities to work with power, instrumentation, and control systems.
Q. How many years of education were needed in order for you
to enter the industry?
A. The minimum education required for my current position is a Bachelors degree (4 yrs) in Electrical or Control Systems Engineering from an accredited university.
Q. Were any summer internships or advanced learning
opportunities helpful in entering the industry?
A. I cannot emphasize enough how important summer internships are. I interned with three different companies before I graduated. In each instance, I learned about each company’s mission, ethics, work environment, career opportunities, and compensation. More importantly, I got a feel for what an electrical engineer’s roles and responsibilities would be for each company, which helped me decide my career path well before I graduated.
Q. Does your current position allow you to travel? If so,
what was your favorite location?
A. Yes. I have not had the opportunity to travel outside the states but I have traveled between the East and West coasts. I really enjoyed a recent trip I took to San Francisco, California.
Q. What opportunities do you see for yourself in the
industry?
A. With the growth and the demographics in the industry there will be lots of opportunity. I was recently presented with an opportunity to branch out from plant maintenance and work on a major capital project designing five new Sulfur Recovery Units. Opportunities like this will continue to present themselves and will help me advance my career.
Q. What are some of your favorite aspects of your job?
A. My favorite aspect of my job is the opportunity to split my time between working in the field, working in the office, and traveling between engineering firms. I have gained a lot of knowledge through my interactions with craftspeople in the field and the contacts I make around the industry.
Q. What are some of the most surprising aspects of your job?
A. I was surprised by the roles and amount of responsibility given to me as young engineer. Early in my career I have been presented with many challenges and leadership opportunities.
Q. What is the most rewarding part of your job?
A. The most rewarding aspect of my job is solving problems for daily maintenance, engineering solutions for major projects and being part of a talented team that train and mentor young engineers to become the future leaders of our industry.
Q. What are some of your interests outside of your position
responsibilities?
A. I participate in campus recruiting each year. I enjoy visiting college campuses to recruit full time hires and summer interns. I also participate in the ConocoPhillips New Hire Network.
Q. What is the most exciting technological tool that you have
either used or helped to develop in your job?
A. At my facility we have the latest and greatest technological tools for trouble shooting and testing our electrical and control systems. I get to play with a variety of test equipment such as partial discharge testers, very low frequency high pots, motor analysis machines, SCR testers, three phase current injection test sets, etc. The industry is also moving towards microprocessor based equipment and wireless communication, which is very exciting.
