McLovin_01-47-87441

Hi Mark!

About 4 years ago I reached out to you for advice before starting University, and you told me to study purely for the sake of learning - not for the sake of getting a good GPA. That advice stuck with me, and it was easier to follow for some classes than others. After years of doing my best to heed that advice, I was lucky enough to be offered a job working on Mars 2020 at NASA JPL! I believe studying for the sake of deep understanding played a strong role in getting this amazing opportunity.

Do you have any advice for engineers about to enter the workforce? Are there common mistakes you see young engineers make that can easily be avoided?

Thank you!

Edit: Thank you for my first Gold and Silver!

I'm beyond excited! Thank you! I'm in a group working on simulation for the cruise stage. We will calculate the correction burns needed to reach the targeted point in the Martian atmosphere. Im not exactly sure what section that would be yet because i haven't been given a ton of information on the job. I start in May!

Thank you, kind stranger!

I'd love to answer any questions I can. Keep in mind I haven't actually started work at JPL. I'm still an engineering student and will begin this summer.

That's very helpful. I've seen this in action at past internships where the most important information for the job was passed down through 'tribal knowledge' rather than formal documentation.