Career Day Report
For Career Day on May 22nd, I was able to shadow Mr. Dickey, who works at QUASAR (Quantum Applied Science and Research) Federal Systems, located on Pacific Center Blvd. QUASAR Federal Systems mainly does contract work for the government and military - hence the name - building sensors to detect the magnitudes and vectors of electric and magnetic fields. Mr. Dickey's official job title is Senior Scientist, but since the company only employs around 20 people, he does much more than just research and calculations, which one might expect from someone with that job title. Mr. Dickey communicates with the company's customers and oversees many of the company's projects. Although I was not told that anything in particular shouldn't be discussed, I was required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, and therefore will not describe the projects in detail. Suffice it to say that these projects involve constructing electric and magnetic sensors, one of each along the x, y, and z axes, and combining them all into one system to measure the vectors of electromagnetic fields with startling accuracy.
I was interested by the tiny size of the company, and surprised that a company with such an industrial product could be that small. I also thought it seemed like it would be nice to be able to just get up and walk a few feet to be able to talk face-to-face with your employee, project partner, or boss, and I observed people doing just that quite often during the day. In fact, most of what I observed consisted of people stopping each other in the hallways or paying visits to each other's desks to discuss aspects of their projects. When I discussed this with Mr. Dickey, he opined that it was nice to be able to pick and choose what he worked on from day to day, and to decide what projects the company did and didn't work on. With a big corporate structure, he said, one would have a more structured work schedule in which one would need to work on this project for so many hours on these days. In a tiny company like QUASAR Federal Systems, that kind of structure is nonexistent, which can be freeing. The one thing I observed that I wasn't too enthusiastic about - and this may have been a result of Mr. Dickey clearing his schedule for May 22nd - was the amount of free time Mr. Dickey seemed to have. I was surprised that he not only had time to talk with me during lunch, but for perhaps the last hour of the work day, and for probably another hour all together
over the course of the day. I wonder if that amount of free time is normal for him, and if he might have some boring days in which he just has a couple of hours with nothing to do.
Most everything was as I expected, once I ascertained that Mr. Dickey was just as much of a "Project Manager" as he was a "Senior Scientist," but I was interested to see that QUASAR Federal Systems uses SolidWorks. I suppose that my CAD experience with FRC Team 4014 could very well pay off big once I hit the workforce. Mr. Dickey's job seemed fairly similar to what I did during the 2015 FRC build season, when you adjust for the fact that he has 6 months to complete a rough draft of a more professional project rather than the 6 weeks allowed by FRC to make a final product for a recreational project. I enjoyed what I did on the team during the 2015 build season, so I suppose yes, Mr. Dickey's job is a kind of career that I might be interested in pursuing later in life.
I was interested by the tiny size of the company, and surprised that a company with such an industrial product could be that small. I also thought it seemed like it would be nice to be able to just get up and walk a few feet to be able to talk face-to-face with your employee, project partner, or boss, and I observed people doing just that quite often during the day. In fact, most of what I observed consisted of people stopping each other in the hallways or paying visits to each other's desks to discuss aspects of their projects. When I discussed this with Mr. Dickey, he opined that it was nice to be able to pick and choose what he worked on from day to day, and to decide what projects the company did and didn't work on. With a big corporate structure, he said, one would have a more structured work schedule in which one would need to work on this project for so many hours on these days. In a tiny company like QUASAR Federal Systems, that kind of structure is nonexistent, which can be freeing. The one thing I observed that I wasn't too enthusiastic about - and this may have been a result of Mr. Dickey clearing his schedule for May 22nd - was the amount of free time Mr. Dickey seemed to have. I was surprised that he not only had time to talk with me during lunch, but for perhaps the last hour of the work day, and for probably another hour all together
over the course of the day. I wonder if that amount of free time is normal for him, and if he might have some boring days in which he just has a couple of hours with nothing to do.
Most everything was as I expected, once I ascertained that Mr. Dickey was just as much of a "Project Manager" as he was a "Senior Scientist," but I was interested to see that QUASAR Federal Systems uses SolidWorks. I suppose that my CAD experience with FRC Team 4014 could very well pay off big once I hit the workforce. Mr. Dickey's job seemed fairly similar to what I did during the 2015 FRC build season, when you adjust for the fact that he has 6 months to complete a rough draft of a more professional project rather than the 6 weeks allowed by FRC to make a final product for a recreational project. I enjoyed what I did on the team during the 2015 build season, so I suppose yes, Mr. Dickey's job is a kind of career that I might be interested in pursuing later in life.
Initial Career Day Research
I have known for a while that I am interested in physics and engineering, and I know people in both fields. However, to branch off and do something different, I also know people who are lawyers, and since I'm in HTHNC's Model UN club, it might be interesting for me to shadow a lawyer for a day. Below are my potential contacts.
Physics
• Mr. Alexander Nagy, General Atomics
• Mr. Robert Dickey, QUASAR Federal Systems
• Ms. Joan Grohman, UCSD Physics Department (personnel manager; call to find contacts)
Engineering
• 619-553-2717, SPAWAR (call to find contacts)
• Mr. Mark Post, Northrop Grumman
• Mr. Jim Hunter, ViaSat
• Mr. Jim Tellios, United Airlines
Law
• Mr. Steve Keane, Workplace Currently Unknown
• Mr. Prutow, Workplace Currently Unknown
Physics
• Mr. Alexander Nagy, General Atomics
• Mr. Robert Dickey, QUASAR Federal Systems
• Ms. Joan Grohman, UCSD Physics Department (personnel manager; call to find contacts)
Engineering
• 619-553-2717, SPAWAR (call to find contacts)
• Mr. Mark Post, Northrop Grumman
• Mr. Jim Hunter, ViaSat
• Mr. Jim Tellios, United Airlines
Law
• Mr. Steve Keane, Workplace Currently Unknown
• Mr. Prutow, Workplace Currently Unknown