A Research Engineer's Journey - Nathan Tsou

My Career Shop

Do you love physics, possess critical reasoning, and want to solve problems? Well you may want to check out the career of a research engineer? Today on the My Career Shop Podcast, I am joined by Nathan Tsou, a research engineer who works with the J. Sterling Jones Hydraulics Laboratory at the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (U.S. Department of Transportation). In this episode, we will discuss Nathan's journey from being inspired in high school to working with the U.S. DOT, the prerequisites to becoming a research engineer, importance of getting an internship and advanced degrees (Masters and PhD), types of engineers, the various tasks a research engineer performs, stress in their life, type of characteristics that help a research engineer flourish, why some research engineers fail, pros and cons about the profession, engineering judgement, and tips to help you succeed and much more.
More details regarding this episode and the career of a Research Engineer at https://mycareershop.com (Under Construction)
Guest: Nathan Tsou
Instagram: @madognate
Email: [e-mail]

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Capíttulos

1. Introduction (00:00:00)

2. Nathan's Journey (00:01:57)

3. Prerequisites to becoming a Research Engineer (00:07:55)

4. Time to choose engineering disciplines (00:09:20)

5. Importance of securing an internship (00:11:07)

6. How to get an internship? (00:12:11)

7. Benefits of getting an advanced degree (Masters & PhD) (00:15:05)

8. Professional Engineering License (00:15:36)

9. Summary of steps to becoming a Research Engineer (00:17:24)

10. Regional limitations of the Professional Engineering License (00:18:10)

11. What does a Research Engineer do? (00:19:16)

12. What are hydraulics? (00:22:43)

13. How is research implemented? (00:24:24)

14. Is a research engineer's job redundant? (00:25:32)

15. The various tasks of a Research Engineer? (00:26:27)

16. Characteristics to succeed as a Research Engineer (00:33:34)

17. Characteristics that do not suit a Research Engineer (00:36:59)

18. Why do certain people fail as Research Engineers? (00:39:45)

19. Is the job stressful? (00:41:56)

20. Workload of a Research Engineer & Work-life balance (00:43:54)

21. Team work vs Independent (00:46:30)

22. How much do Research Engineers earn? (00:48:36)

23. Special Perks of being a Research Engineer? (00:55:14)

24. What Nathan loves about being a Research Engineer (00:56:56)

25. What Nathan dislikes about being a Research Engineer (00:58:10)

26. Technical tools that help in the field (00:58:44)

27. What is engineering judgment? (01:01:07)

28. What advice Nathan would give to himself when he was starting off (01:03:08)

29. Best & Worst Career advice (01:06:01)