Buck Wright
Mechanical Engineering Technology
Project Engineer at MTech Mechanical
Describe your potential job duties
As a Project Engineer, I will support construction and engineering teams through project coordination, site visits, and technical tasks such as load calculations and equipment selection. This role provides hands-on field and office experience while preparing me for future leadership positions in project management, engineering or operations leadership.
In what ways did the Polytechnic and/or Purdue help make you uniquely qualified for your new job?
Starting in First Year-Engineering, I felt that I lacked perspective on what my career could look like and honestly, I lacked passion for the schooling. Making the switch to Mechanical Engineering Technology gave me the opportunity to learn engineering in a hands-on way that I understood, while still being challenged in each course to a proper engineering level. MET taught me the engineering knowledge needed to do this job while not ignoring the social skills and soft skills necessary to work in a team or to lead.
How has the college or someone in the college (feel free to name them) helped you achieve your goals?
Honestly, I want to thank each of my classmates that I have worked with through the years in each project and lab. Each person has made my college and all the hard work bearable by lending a helping hand. BYX has also helped me achieve my goals, because the Christian community pushed me to be a better man than I was daily to glorify God.
What specific classes (titles are more helpful than course numbers) helped prepare you for your new job?
MET 426 - Internal Combustion Engines
MET 220 - Applied Heat and Power
MET 313 - Applied Fluid Mechanics
If you had a favorite class, project, experience, or professor, what/who was it, and why?
MET 349 - Stringed Instrument Design and Manufacturing (Guitar Class) = professor French is one of the best professors at Purdue at inspiring the students to learn the content and giving good examples of why it is important to know.
MET 426 - Internal Combustion Engines = Professor Ostanek was incredibly nice, passionate and also serious about taking the learning seriously in his course.
Mechanical Engineering Technology gave me the opportunity to learn engineering in a hands-on way that I understood, while still being properly challenged. I received the knowledge needed to do this job, while developing the social skills and other soft skills necessary both to work in a team and to lead."