sdpatt
Sr. SHO Engr.
IVEYSSHO,
Thank you for your kind comments. Now that I have a 10.5 month old daughter, I feel very young seeing the literal image of youth as she changes before my eyes. I think young and act young. I know I am not too old yet because my teenage nephews think I am pretty fun to be around.
I bought them in-line skates so they could skate with me. I introduced them to windsurfing so they could feel the power and speed of the wind (I have been close to 40mph on a board). I taught them to ski and board behind my boat so they would have something to do when they visited me in the summer. I work out daily and don't feel as if I have lost a step. In fact, for my 40th birthday last year, I followed a 12 week workout program to get me in the most intense physical condition I have enjoyed in my adult life. My motto is "you are only as old as you feel."
Unfortunately, I do feel quite unemployed right now. I was just downsized from Alcatel, a French based telecomunications firm. I wrote C and C++ software for voice over packet (VoIP, VoATM) digital switches. Before that, I worked for Raytheon in a couple of different aspects: Java based processing for handling of surveillance imagery and C++ coding for aircraft simulators.
But my real career was 15 years as a reactor engineer at the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant southwest of Fort Worth, Texas. My Bachelors of Science in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University prepared me for that position. At that job I performed as a system test engineer until the plant became operational and then as a reactor engineer performing a range of duties from reactor startups and nuclear physics testing on the reactor fuel to writing software to make those activities more "simple."
After being downsized from TXU Electric, I returned to school for a Masters of Science in Computer Science and Engineering. I completed 21 hours in two semesters and was picked up by Raytheon during the second semester. That is when I began my second career in the software field. Software is just another "tool" in the belt of an engineer. I think of it as a simple tool because, hey, it ain't nuclear physics.
Scott D. Patterson, P.E. (Professional Engineer)
Thank you for your kind comments. Now that I have a 10.5 month old daughter, I feel very young seeing the literal image of youth as she changes before my eyes. I think young and act young. I know I am not too old yet because my teenage nephews think I am pretty fun to be around.
I bought them in-line skates so they could skate with me. I introduced them to windsurfing so they could feel the power and speed of the wind (I have been close to 40mph on a board). I taught them to ski and board behind my boat so they would have something to do when they visited me in the summer. I work out daily and don't feel as if I have lost a step. In fact, for my 40th birthday last year, I followed a 12 week workout program to get me in the most intense physical condition I have enjoyed in my adult life. My motto is "you are only as old as you feel."
Unfortunately, I do feel quite unemployed right now. I was just downsized from Alcatel, a French based telecomunications firm. I wrote C and C++ software for voice over packet (VoIP, VoATM) digital switches. Before that, I worked for Raytheon in a couple of different aspects: Java based processing for handling of surveillance imagery and C++ coding for aircraft simulators.
But my real career was 15 years as a reactor engineer at the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant southwest of Fort Worth, Texas. My Bachelors of Science in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University prepared me for that position. At that job I performed as a system test engineer until the plant became operational and then as a reactor engineer performing a range of duties from reactor startups and nuclear physics testing on the reactor fuel to writing software to make those activities more "simple."
After being downsized from TXU Electric, I returned to school for a Masters of Science in Computer Science and Engineering. I completed 21 hours in two semesters and was picked up by Raytheon during the second semester. That is when I began my second career in the software field. Software is just another "tool" in the belt of an engineer. I think of it as a simple tool because, hey, it ain't nuclear physics.
Scott D. Patterson, P.E. (Professional Engineer)
