I applied for two different majors in college: mechanical engineering and economics/mathematics. I decided on mechanical engineering because I had a ton of fun in PLTW doing actual mechanical engineering in class, and I figured I'd have a fun time with a career in mechanical engineering. I chose mechanical engineering as my major of choice for most of the schools I applied to, but I also applied as an economics major for a couple colleges. I applied for econ at schools like Harvard because they don't necessarily have a strong engineering program and I figured I would get more out of the school if I studied economics instead of engineering.
I don't really have a place that I really want to work at if I end up going to a school where I study mechanical engineering, but it'd be cool to work somewhere like JPL maybe. And if I end up doing economics I'd like to end up working in investment banking at Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley, or maybe do real estate idk. Imagine that, a bernie bro working at Goldman Sachs.
One mechanical engineer that inspires me is Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-American inventor and engineer. Tesla is most famous for his work in electrical and mechanical engineering; he discovered the rotating magnetic field and developed the three-phase system of electric power transmission. If it weren't for Thomas Edison, Tesla would most likely be credited for the invention of the lightbulb as well.
Tesla attended college in Europe, studying engineering and physics at Technical University in Austria and the University of Prague, however he never received a degree. He worked at Continental Edison before emigrating to the United States in 1884.
I like how Tesla worked on a variety of things throughout his career, like wind turbines, electric coils, broadcasting towers, currents, and more. I don't like how financially illiterate Tesla was though, he constantly had to ask for money from others.
Five words I would use to describe Tesla are innovative, driven, genius, underrated, and dead. I chose to research Tesla because he is an interesting character. Also, much of the world-changing work Tesla has discovered has been overshadowed by other engineers like Thomas Edison, so I decided to show some love to the homie.
Work Cited:
Hunt, Inez Whitaker. “Nikola Tesla.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 3 Jan. 2020, www.britannica.com/biography/Nikola-Tesla.