My Major

In this post I give a brief description of what an engineering student would study in college and what kind of jobs an engineer might find and for which companies. I also describe why I chose to major in engineering and where journals relevant to Chemical Engineering can be found. 

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What do Engineering Students Study?

Everything. At times the course load I’m going to be taking seems a little intimidating and incredibly overwhelming, but seeing how industry ready the curriculum makes us, I kind of understand why.  

I am currently enrolled as a No Major Selected Engineer in the College of Engineering. Because I have yet to identify what particular type of engineering degree I will focus on my number one at the moment: Chemical Engineering.  

During school all engineers focus on building a strong foundation of math and science, by taking classes like Physics, Chemistry, and Calculus based math classes. In addition to these groundwork type classes, Chemical engineering would have me take more chemistry classes, including CHEE Heat Transfer and Flow.

Show me the money, and where to get a job.

I have heard from a Chemical Engineering professor before that Chemical Engineers are in high demand based on the high versatility they have in a job market. The oil industry is one company in particular that I have heard is looking for Chemical Engineers. Especially big companies like Exxon and Arco.

Other industries where I think Chemical Engineers would be prevalent would be in pharmacy, manufacturing, and working with specialty chemicals.

Engineering is in my blood.

I come from a family of engineers starting with my father. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Also, both of my older brothers are engineers; one is a Chemical Engineer and the other is an Optical Engineer. Fun fact: both are graduates from the University of Arizona.

My mom thinks my dad brainwashed my brother and I to major in engineering, and hey she might be right. But in all honesty, I would love to work in sustainability. Renewable energy and fuel to be specific. I would love to one day own a Tesla, because I think it’s a beautiful car and it’s electric, which is right up my alley.

While suitability is a large field, I believe that this degree will give me the most flexibility in terms of jobs, and I also like working in a hands-on manner.

Heroes, but not quite like Superman.

Engineering heroes exists, but because engineers often work in teams emerging companies are easier to find than specific names of people. My interest in sustainability has me believing that companies working in renewable energy are heroes based on the focus of their work.

Some of the emerging renewable energy companies include AltaRock Energy, whose goal is to tap into geothermal activity to create renewable energy and BrightSource Energy whose work involves transforming the sun’s heat and turning it into electricity.

Scholarly Journals

According to Microsofts Academic Search  the Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology is one of the top ranked Chemical Engineering journals and can be found on the website for the Wiley Online Library. Another highly ranked journal from the Microsoft Academic Search is the International Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Ion Processes, which can be found online on the website for Science Direct. 

Finally, SClmago Journal & CountryRank lists the Progress in Energy and Combustion Science as a useful journal, and this journal can also be found on the Science Direct site.

Reflection
Because I am an undecided engineering major, I feel like there is a lot of pressure for me to pick a major soon and stick with it. I have three or so forerunners that I'm considering but I'm not sure which will let me enjoy working in the field that I want to end up in--sustainability.

Reading Mehruba's post and learning that a biochemist was sent to the International Space Station gave me confidence in knowing that particular jobs, like being an astronaut, are not limited to a single degree.

Similarly, after reading Trey's post about aerospace engineering helped me to see that even specific majors can still be incredibly diverse. From him talking about the different parts of aerospace, the aeronautical and astronautical sides, I learned that there is so much more to the types of engineering than I thought. Therefore, I have a lot to learn before I make my decision. However, I feel that I have more options that I imagined. 

My Thoughts on Comments

In this blog post I will analyze four, two credible and two not credible, comments left on an article talking about how the bad press that Uber experienced, caused some of their customers to return to using traditional taxicabs for transportation. 

Good Comments

"After a spater of bad press for Uber, some turn back to traditonal taxicabs."

Fear and Anxiety or Fantasy and Wish?

This particular comment seems to be expressing a little bit of fear. However, this fear isn’t fear for himself rather its fear for the company. He seems to really believe in the company and is more worried for how the company is being perceived in a negative way, when its offering what he believes is a good service. This fear is seen through the slight annoyed tone when he describes the generalizations. All the facts and statistics he provides shows that he really believes in what he is talking about, and how ill-perceived this company is with all the bad press.

Beliefs and Values?

I think this commentator, Too Tall Tech, believes in logic and statistics, from all the stats and evidence he is providing. He seems generally upset that a good company’s reputation is being tarnished by bad press when the numbers show that the company’s drivers are better than cabs. I think he believes that good work should be rewarded, and I think he believes that the company is not getting all the credit it deserves.

Why is this commentator credible?

From all the statistics that is provided in the comment, it appears that Too Tall Tech has formed his  conclusions based on evidence, not necessarily just emotions. Also, his tone throughout the whole  comment stays relatively calm, although towards the end it picks up on the annoyance and sarcasm a  little.

"After a spate of bad press for Uber, some turn back to traditional taxicabs."

Fear and Anxiety or Fantasy and Wish?

This commentator seems to be expressing more of a fantasy in describing his experience with Uber. In his description of Uber, he has lots of praise for the company and he is more direct and to the point. Whereas in describing his experience with taxi cabs in NYC, there is a lot more adjectives to describe the negatives of the taxis. There is a annoyed almost exasperated tone in the comment. And these difference between the two experiences makes the Uber description almost fantasy-like in contrast to the less than pleasant taxi ride.

Beliefs and Values?

I think Rob Walker believes that as a customer, he has the right to be treated with respect as he is paying for the service. I think he values cleanliness and that he is getting the best service for his money. I think he values these qualities as these are the complaints that he had when talking about the NYC cabs.

Why is this commentator credible?

Rob seemed to be a credible commentator on the Uber experience as he has been a customer for more than a year. Therefore, he has repeated experience and he liked the service enough to keep using it. However, I do believe his assessment of the NYC cabs is a little biased because he enjoys Uber.

   Non Credible Comments 

"After a spate of bad press for Uber, some turn back to traditional taxicabs."

Fear and Anxiety or Fantasy and Wish?

Timages113, the commentator seems to be expressing some anxiety in the amount and type of bad press that Uber has to deal with. This particular commentator seems slightly exasperated by the claims in the article, and the first sentence of the essay immediately attacks the writer.

Beliefs and Values?

I think Timages113 like the commentators above values evidence. As the lack of evidence in the article is what Timages113 comments on and is unhappy with.

Why is this commentator not credible?

Timages113 seems like an untrustworthy commentator because he resorts to immediately insulting the author of the article. Also, the content of his comment focuses only on disagreeing with the article, but he fails to supply any evidence or support as to why he disagrees with the article.

"After a spate of bad press for Uber, some turn back to traditional taxicabs."

Fear and Anxiety or Fantasy and Wish?

I think Chauncy is expressing a wish or fantasy to deal with his discontent with Uber. He seems to be expressing a fantasy because of the irrelevance of his comment. He uses a career in a completely different field to emphasize his disbelief in the drivers’ ability.

Beliefs and Values?

The beliefs of Chauncy are difficult to pinpoint because of the vagueness of his comment. However, it seems like Chauncy values people who are skilled in the position that they work in, as that appears to be what he is unsatisfied with.

Why is this commentator not credible?

Chauncy Williams appears like a not credible commentator because his comment is supported by no facts, he mentions nothing of the content of the article, and the only opinion he presents is directly insulting other people, in particular the Uber drivers.  

Reflection 
After reading Morgan and Isabel's post I think I have added more ways to evaluate comments. Morgan's commentators seemed to express incredibly strong emotion, and telling if their emotional is rational or not is very important in deciding how reliable to source is.

Isabel's not credible commentators had long, fantasy-like tales and I think like Morgan said in her rationales, these fantasies were fictitious and added to the unreliability of the comment.

My Controversy

The blog post below is a brief summary on some of the controversy surrounding the transportation system Uber. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ira-kalb/uber-a-smart-company-that_b_6227496.html

This article from the Huffington Post describes some of the negatives and positives of the company’s image. At only five years old Uber has been an incredibly successful company, valued between $17 and $18 billion dollars. The article references some positives of Uber including its positive cash flow, successful business model, use of technology, and its possibility to easily move into other markets. 

One of the biggest hurdles for Uber is all the negative publicity the company has received. The article specifically mentions protests from Uber’s drivers, injuries inflicted to customers from drivers, and privacy. Outlined in the article are also a series of steps the company could take to improve its image.

I found this article interesting because Uber has recently become something I may use. With the start of college I do not have my car on campus or parents to drive me. In order to go off campus, I rely on friends who did bring their car or on car services such as Uber. An episode of CSI: Cyber, which is not the most accurate source, showed how dangerous car services like Uber could potentially be.

However, I believe this article showed that the company may be safer than I initially thought, as they may have just received a lot of bad press. That being said, I still find myself a little wary of car services like this, but less so. 

Calendar Reflection

In this blog post I will explain my response to the calendar activity and my plans to have an academically successful first semester. 

Ćorić, Marina. "To-do list" 11/8/2008 via Deviant Art.
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My first thought was that the calendar was really big. I thought I would have no problem fitting in time for all my classwork. Once I added my class schedule, I was still pretty confident in the amount of time I would have.

It was after filling in time for sleep that I really saw how many of the blocks were filled in. In just this week alone I have spent many nights with friends, trips to the

grocery store, and lounging around in my dorm, and mentally I saw all those boxes fill up as well.

I definitely thought there were more boxes before I started writing. 

Overall, I truly believe that I can spend enough time on my school work and still have a good time in college, I just need to be aware of how I spend my free time between classes or after meals. I think setting daily to-do lists will help me keep track of what I need to do in a day. 

Also, seeing a to-do list with everything checked is a very satisfying feeling. 

Reflection
I've always relied on lists of homework to make sure I complete everything that needs to get done, especially because I have a terrible memory, and it was interesting to see that Nick used this strategy as well.

From reading Mika's post I realized how effective the time between class could be. I thought I could maybe utilize this time, but now I see if I am able to really focus in these times, they could make a big difference in allowing me to get my homework done without too much stress.

Also, I am taking 15 credits this semester, a little less than some of my classmates, but it seems like time management is going to be super important, especially if we want to maintain a social life to really get the full college experience.  

My Writing Process

Ogez,Emilie. "Procrastination Meter" 7/29/15 via Flickr.
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1   What type(s) of writer do you consider yourself to be?
I am most definitely a strong procrastinator with almost any kind of work, particularly in English. I am both proud and ashamed to admit how often I was able to turn out an essay quickly.

But I also consider myself to be a sequential composer with some qualities of a heavy reviser. Outlines are a lifesaver in writing for me. And when I do start writing at a reasonable time, I love printing out drafts and marking up the paper, especially with purple and green ink.

2    Does your writing process include several of the above approaches? If so, which ones?
My writing process resembles a sequential composer the most. For me, the hardest part of writing is always starting. So I typically skip the introduction and make notes on what I want to put in the body of my composition. I also rely on outlines, where I can jot down different elements as I think of them, and then when I begin to put an essay together I’ve already started the planning.

However, I am also a procrastinator and at times I can be a heavy reviser. I can think of many times where I leave the writing to the very last minute. And it always takes longer than expected.

On essays where I do start early enough to write several drafts, I find I make one draft just to get all my ideas on paper. Then I revise and edit and change. I think sometimes stopping to think about if the wording is awkward interrupts the flow of my writing and I forget what I wanted to say. So I use the revisions to make my writing easier to read once everything has been recorded.

3    Does your writing process seem to be successful? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your approach?
I have had some success in my writing when I take the time to make outlines, and revise copy after copy. A strength in my favor is I really enjoy revising. In my opinion it makes a big difference when you take a break between edits

After saying that, I’m still a big procrastinator and that is a huge weakness to my approach. But I’m writing this, and it’s not Saturday so maybe I am getting better already.

4.     Do you think it might be beneficial for you to try a different approach? Why or why not?
I would really enjoy trying to write as a heavy planner. I typically try to plan everything in my everyday life and it may transfer to my writing really well. Also, I think it would be more time efficient to write fewer, better drafts than a lot of drafts that need a lot of work.

The structure of this class where we get the assignment way in advance of the due date, would work really well if I can adopt characteristics of a heavy planner. Being able to look at the prompts on like Sunday and then thinking about them for a couple of days before writing would make the Saturday deadlines easier to keep. 

Reflection 

From reading about my classmates’ writing processes, I realized that there are many different processes that can produce successful writing. After reading about the different writing processes, I believed that I could really benefit from including some characteristics of the heavy planners. 

Reading about Brain’s writing process, really emphasized how much planning before writing could help the quality of work.

Also, from Alyssa’s writing process I understand how broad these writing processes are. Both us identified slightly as sequential composers, but in varying ways. I personally rely heavily on outlines, but Alyssa does not.

Overall, I enjoyed seeing how differently my classmates and I are in our writing. I think that many of my classmates use strategies that are incredibly effective and may help improve my own writing.