Real World Engineering: IEOR grad travels from Etcheverry to the French Embassy

Sometimes it’s as simple as a finely polished resume. And keeping in touch with a graduate student instructor (GSI). And knowing that graduate school isn’t the right choice yet.

All these things helped Marc Oman (B.S.’03 IEOR) successfully navigate the uncertain course between senior year and the real world. Today, three years and two jobs later, he’s trade attaché for the French Embassy in San Francisco, where he helps French biotech companies compete in the U.S. market. But he didn’t start out with a vision of working there.

“Success takes time and perseverance,” he says. Oman is one of many alumni panelists who will share their career stories at Real World Engineering, a student career forum that takes place on February 2 at 4:15 p.m. in Bechtel Engineering Center. [FULL STORY]

Real World Engineering: ME alumna takes the untraditional path and finds her own way

“I’m not the person on the bench who’s doing the designing. I’m not the one at three in morning crunching numbers. I’m the one who can help you explain your ideas to other people,” says Charlotte Rodeen-Dickert (B.S.’93 ME). “When I see a really cool design, I know how to get it out there.”

Rodeen-Dickert is a patent attorney. But, as a student, she never dreamed of being a lawyer and would have scoffed at the idea. Back then, she knew she would earn a Ph.D. in biomechanics. In a pivotal moment during senior year, though, she didn’t get into graduate school.

Life went on. She fell into a tutoring gig, which kindled an interest in teaching, which then led to a job teaching high school math and physics for six years. On the side, she did technical writing and eventually parlayed that into a job at UC’s Office of Technology Transfer (OTT). Using her teaching experience, technical knowledge and writing skills, she penned one-page marketing descriptions of inventions and, with the encouragement of her co-workers, learned more about patents and licensing. The light bulb clicked. She continued to work at OTT and attended law school at night. [FULL STORY]

The most enviable job
Alum lands a scholarship working for the planet’s sexiest auto company

Raza Malik (B.S.’03 M.S.’05 ME) lives in Italy. He’s learning Italian, and on the weekends, he travels. He’s been to Amsterdam, Belgium, Florence, Turin (where the Winter Olympics will be held this year) and Venice. He wants to go back to Venice. He says that Italians “drive like crazy,” but when it comes to eating, they spend three hours over dinner. Oh, and he works at Ferrari.

“I’m part of a new innovation team made up of five engineers from around the world whose long-term goal is to research, among other things, a new interface between man and machine,” he says. “We’re tasked with coming up with random new ideas for Ferrari GTs, such as taking fighter jet technology and applying it, or teaching the car to read its driver’s emotions.”

Uh, cool. [FULL STORY]

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