Page 35 - MY STORY

Therefore, I was somewhat shocked and disappointed that

I was assigned to Research and Development, not
manufacturing support.

Best thing that ever happened to me! This was truly my
first exposure to the real world of engineering in a large
corporation. The wonder is that it only took about a week

or two for someone to really notice I existed, and I
progressed from reading material and process
specifications (mind-numbing) to actually reporting to

another engineer to receive work assignments and
training.

There were no training manuals or courses. Training was
by “doing” in the intense crucible of trying to invent,
develop and deliver the first jet commercial transport for

Douglas, the DC-8. I think it’s time for some specific
examples of what being an engineer in this environment

is like. In some examples, I might drop into a short
technical dissertation, but you’ll simply have to suffer
through that with me. These may or may not be in some

chronological order. Memory can play tricks on timing.