Chapter 1 Activities: Harper Lienerth

1. I believe Thomas Edison was a T-shaped professional because he had a broad knowledge on
the inventing process and business, concepts but had a deep knowledge of electrical engineering,
this enabled him to invent the lightbulb.

2. Since I am new and unsure on my major and career choice right now, I have been focusing on
developing my broad knowledge across the T, communication and people skills, problem
solving, creative brainstorming, time management, etc. I believe this will help me decide where
in my T I would like to start expanding my deeper knowledge in a specific field. 

3. Dan McNulty is the Real Estate Advisors President, he started by graduating with a bachelor’s
in applied engineering sciences in 1982. He then began working his way up at Anderson
Consulting, Prudential Real Estate Investors, and Rockwood. I feel his non-traditional route
allowed him to have a different branch of skills, thus giving him a leg up against the
competition. 

4. Katelyn Dunaski has a degree in applied engineering sciences with a cognate in computer
science but is now a project manager at Apple. She started off doing internships at Magna, GE,
and Global Hackathon to name a few. This helped her build the skills necessary to be qualified
for her Apple position. She also had to decide if she wanted to major in computer science or have
it be a cognate within applied engineering, she said she had to do a ton of research to see which
one she would be more satisfied with. 

5. Why I wanted to become a project manager was because I felt like I could bring about a sense
of passion for my work. Being able to work with a team or manage a team is something I have
always loved as well. When I was a kid, I absolutely loved online computer games, especially
ones that allowed me to work with other people. Being able to produce a product, whatever that
may be, with others was very fulfilling. 

6. Rowan Atkinson started off by pursuing an electrical engineering degree, it seems he was very
passionate about it, but felt he wanting to begin acting instead. Having a promising career has
always been a fear for many people so I feel Mr. Atkinson wanted to make sure he had that first.
However, it also seems like his upbringing had a major influence on how he started.

Bill Gates began with his extreme passion for programming and computers, but has he aged
along with his company, he began to take on a more business savvy role. He pioneered
computers and was able to grow alongside with them. I have always like computers and wanted
to learn more about them, so I can relate to him.

7. A Project Manager is responsible for planning, overseeing and leading projects from ideation

through to completion. Software engineers design, develop, and test software and applications
for computers.  A data analyst collects and stores data on sales numbers, market research,
logistics, linguistics, or other behaviors. A cybersecurity analyst protects company hardware,
software, and networks from cybercriminals. There is quite a bit an overlap between these
because they could all be working on the same product, collecting data, developing, protecting,
and making sure everything happens on schedule. 

8. Micheal Rathke is a chemistry professor, he graduated with his bachelors from Iowa State in
1963 and his Ph. D from Purdue in 1967. He received the Quality in Undergraduate Teaching
Award in 1995 from MSU.

Christopher Smith is a criminal justice professor, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from
Harvard in 1980, and Ph. D in Political Science from the University of Connecticut in 1988. He
published Gun Policy: Politics and Pathways to Action and won the Outstanding Faculty Award
from the University of Akron for the school year 1989-90.

Elizabeth Munch graduated from University of Rochester with a Bachelor of Science in 2008
and from Duke University with a PHD in Mathematics in 2013. She received the Jo Rae Wright
Fellowship for Outstanding Women in Science from Duke University during the 2012-13 school
year. Then she began researching at MSU in 2017. said she used to teach the harp to kids at her
music school in college as well as teaching math in high school. These activities helped her find
personal fulfillment in the education of others.

9. Some pros about academia is that you have more freedom and creative control, you can be a
mentor, build an international network, and it has stability. The cons are that you earn less early
on, there is pressure from competition, research does not become a product or application. Pros
about working in industry is that it is also well paid and has great job security, the cons are that it
is stressful with long and unusual hours, and you may be underappreciated or taken advantage of
if you are not careful. I thought before doing this research that I was dead set on working in some
sort of industry. Now however, I am not so sure, in the past I have found joy in helping a friend
or sibling learn something. I feel like if I am passionate and very knowledgeable about what I am
teaching. That I could possibly see myself doing that as a career. However, because there is such
a small availability for jobs, I would most likely have to make a few personal cutbacks to
succeed in my career. Unlike with working in an industry where there is a lot more flexibility.

   This chapter has helped me realize that I do not need to have it all figured out in this very
moment, it's okay if the major I chose ends up having nothing to do with my career. I need to do
some deep thinking on what I feel would be best for me, both long term and short term. I also
have even more so realized the importance of having experience before leaving college, even if it
isn’t relevant to what you end up doing later on.