Meet Dan Olson
Your Penn degree/major/year of graduation:
BSE / Mechanical Engineering / 1999
What career paths were you considering as a senior at Penn?
I was primarily interested in becoming a Field Engineer.
What was your 1st job after graduation?
I worked as a Mechanical Design Engineer that supported Maintenance and Capital Project Design for Exelon (formerly PECO) at Limerick Generating Station, Limerick, PA.
Name one thing you wish you knew as an undergraduate at Penn.
I wish I truly understood how important it is to separate yourself from other candidates, look professional, get feedback on my resumes from others, and prepare extensively for job interviews.
How did you get to where you are now?
I spent my first 7 years after graduation with Exelon and feel that it was a great start to my career; however I felt I needed something different to round out my career more. I felt that I had gone as far as I could go with Exelon with my exisiting skill set and wanted to look for some new opportunities in new fields to further develop my skill set. I eventually found an online posting for my current position, Project Manager, at Metrologic Instruments, Inc and felt like it would be a big change. I knew that in order for me to convince Metrologic that I could make the switch to entirely different industry, I would have to really prepare for my interview. I had my wife do two mock interviews with me before I felt ready. I think it really helped.
At what point do you feel you decided on a career direction? As an undergraduate or later?
Still undecided. Haha. Actually, I think you are never going to truly know what you want to do until you’ve given it a try. I believe its best to find something you think you’re interested in and give it your best. If it doesn’t work, then at least you know one thing….You won’t do it again.
What is the one course you took at Penn that has helped you the most?
I think this really depends on what career path you choose. When I was at Exelon, it was really important that I understood Fluid Dynamics and Thermodynamics. In my current position, these are less relevant. I personally feel that my Mechatronic Theory and the graduate level Robotics course taught me the most about interacting systems (Mechanical, Electrical, and Software) and are still applicable in my current position (Yes even as Project Manager).
Did you go on to graduate school?
Yes, Villanova University
If so, where, what degree did you pursue?
MBA – Expected Graduation May ‘07
How did this help your career goals?
I have always planned on rounding my education out with a MBA degree. I believe it is important for engineers to understand the business needs for their designs. In addition, as the work place continues to get more competitive, there are more people that have advanced degrees and in order to keep up with the competition I felt it was important to continue my education.
What can a recent graduate expect in this field starting out?
To learn. As an engineer you cannot possibly learn everything you need to know in order to do your job. On your first day of work be ready to absorb information, take notes, and ask a lot of questions. Don’t feel stupid, most engineers I know still look stuff up in their books. I’m one of them.
What do you do day to day?
As a project manager for new product development, I am constantly checking in with engineers to see how the design process in going. I plan design schedules with the engineers and coordinate the product development. I’m also in charge of managing the project budget, getting projects launched, making sure they meet quality standards, etc.
What kind of environment do you work in?
I work in a relatively casual environment. Some of our engineers wear jeans and t-shirts to work; however as a project manager that gives a lot of presentations, I’m normally dressed more on the business casual side. Everyone is friendly and helpful. The one thing I have learned is that people are always willing to answer your questions, you just have to ask.
How often do you collaborate with others as a team?
All the of the time. In today’s business world, I don’t know anyone that works independently. Even people in R&D are assigned to teams.
If you were to hire someone to work with you today, what would be most important factors in your hiring decision?
Communication and teamwork.
How much of your lifestyle do you think is dictated by your work?
I’ve always tried to find a company that has flexible working hours, so that I am not completely constrained by work. Its not easy finding a job with flexible work hours, though more companies are going that route. Look for a company that offers comp days for working overtime. Also, ask if they have summer work hours.
Where is your field going in the future?
Metrologic is an OEM of bar code scanners and other imaging devices. We have invested into RFID and imaging technology, moving from laser imaging to camera and video imaging. We rely heavily on optical engineers to help advance our products. In the design world, we do a lot of 3D modeling for not only mechanical components, but our optics and electronics as well. We can use 3D modeling to see how an optics field appears relative to our scanners.
How did a Penn education prepare you for your career or current job?
Penn has all of the coursework most employers are looking for, however I think where Penn helps students excel is practical applications. A great example is my Advanced Machine Design course where we had a class project to design a wheel chair exercise machine. The class was divided into groups and all of the groups had to communicate with the other groups to make the project a success. Of course it turned out to be a disaster because no one communicated with each other. What did I learn from that? You cannot design a product in an isolated cell, you absolutely must communicate with other members of your team and project.
Dan’s Recommended Links:
http://www.grasp.upenn.edu/
http://www.howstuffworks.com
http://www.machinedesign.com
http://www.designnews.com/
http://www.idsa.org/
http://www.xbox.com
