In this episode, our first graduate from the 90s shares all about the twists and turns of his career trajectory, from NASA, to American Airlines, to working for Yavapai county. His advice for current eagles is to keep an open mind about where your degree might take you.
Episode Transcript
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Abigail
All right. Hello, everybody and welcome back to another episode of What's the Word Eagle Alumni Spotlight Podcast. And today we are joined with Scott Morton and Scott, why don't you give us a little bit about yourself?
Scott
So I graduated in 1996 in the fall with a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering. So my perspective might be a little skewed compared to maybe most of your listeners and from this campus the Prescott campus, see after I graduated, I basically got into computer programming after a couple of years of engineering and that's pretty much what I'm doing now is computer programming.
Abigail
That's awesome. And do you have a favorite memory from your time at Embry Riddle you'd like to share with us?
Scott
Oh, gosh, everything's changed there so much. So we had a drafting lab, what we call the drafting lab. This was back in the day when they were transitioning from the old style drafting tables with pen and paper, and compass, and T squares, the whole works to CAD applications. And so that's when I was here. We spent a lot of time in those drafting labs with you know senior projects, research and doing the drawings and everything else. So that's probably one of the best memories I had was all the time I get got to spend in there because it wasn't in the library it was always there doing the homework.
Abigail
Right. Okay, so that was kind of like your library per say?
Scott
Yeah. More or less. It was the cave.
Abigail
And then so at your current job do you want to give us a little bit of information about that?
Scott
Well right now I support computer applications for the county and I do computer programming, troubleshooting, add features, just about anything you can think of even minor desktop support. You know someone has a question about Office or something along those lines. But mostly it's all computer programming.
Abigail
Oh okay, wow. And I'm assuming a lot of coding goes into that?
Scott
Yep, yep. Tons of coding. I guess a little background on that is after I graduated in 96. I got a job at NASA in Texas and went there for about two years and was part of the International Space Station program helping I guess, all the countries figure out how are we going to run this thing together? Because it was a joint effort.
Scott
And so that was part of my job. So we did that for a while. And then after about two years or so I decided to go ahead and leave NASA and get into the airline industry and I moved basically to Phoenix, Arizona, or Peoria. And there I got a job as a engineer for an airline. Back then it was America West Airlines but it went on to become US Airways and American. So you know
Abigail
A lot of different different jobs. That sounds very fun and very cool roadway to get to where you are now.
Scott
Yep and as part of their engineering departments, I was asked to do some automation. And that's how I got more and more into computer programming. I actually had done some automation back at NASA. But it was just very minor straightforward kind of stuff. It was still helping with their inventory management system, but that's kind of like what spurred my interest, but I never considered it an actual career per say. Because I always thought, you know, what is actual engineering. And it wasn't until I got into the airlines that they needed to convert old Fortran code into something more useful because they couldn't support that anymore. And so I started converting it to Excel macros at first and then from there Visual Basic, and then from there, you know, C sharp and other languages too started coming, so.
Abigail
Wow, that sounds very, very fun. Very rewarding.
Scott
Yeah, it is.
Abigail
Yes.
Scott
Because it's not the normal kind of programming that you would think it's it's more automation, it's more supporting people's roles in their jobs. So, I would ask you, so how can I make your job easier and faster, you know, say you're sick and tired of doing these spreadsheets or working on these numbers for three, four hours a day? Well, I'll automate that. And I'll write computer programs or a web page or macro or whatever I need to do based on the technology you have and automate it so that it only takes you five minutes. That kind of stuff.
Abigail
Right.
Scott
So that's the kind of programming I got into so I don't write you know code for drivers or for the operating systems or anything like that. I never got into c plus plus, I stayed mostly to C sharp because that's what the companies were using.
Abigail
And, so were you able to kind of take that experience and transition it into your current job that you have now?
Scott
Yes, yeah. They actually kind of morphed into all of that, because getting into all the different programming languages to automate people's positions, their duties. I had to figure out what was the best applications to use what were the best programming languages to use. And so I I dabbled in everything from you know, FrameMaker and, and XML databases all the way to ASP. Net Applications and desktop applications.
Abigail
Oh, okay.
Scott
C sharp, Visual Basic, a lot of SQL. Just a whole variety of things. So I wasn't necessarily always using one specific language and doing one specific thing all the time.
Abigail
Okay, so it kind of keeps you on your toes then.
Scott
Yeah, and that's how I got my position where I’m at now is because of my background and the variety of work that I've done. It gives me a really good advantage as far as being able to determine what's going on with the application and where to fix it quickly.
Abigail
Oh, okay. And then so do you have a favorite part of your current job?
Scott
It's mostly the rewarding part is, is when I finished a project or when I am able to fix an issue and make everyone happy again, because it's usually pretty important that they want to fixed as soon as possible.
Abigail
And I can imagine that they're just as happy to have it fixed as you are.
Scott
Yes, yes they are because for me, it's very rewarding. It's like a puzzle. You're trying to figure out what's wrong with it. Why did it break and where did it break? And figuring out the specifics and being able to fix it is very rewarding. So at least for me.
Abigail
It does sound very rewarding. And so, I have another question for you. Is every code kind of similar, is there a pattern they follow, or?
Scott
Actually, all the programming languages follow basic rules.
Abigail
Okay.
Scott
More or less. It doesn't matter what language you're using. What changes is the syntax it's basically like learning you know French, English, Spanish, they all have certain rules, and a lot of those rules are in common. It's just a matter of pronunciation or syntax. You know that those kinds of things. So, once you learn one language pretty well, it's fairly straightforward to pick up the others.
Abigail
And are there a lot of different languages or are there just a few?
Scott
There's a ton.
Abigail
So then, what does a typical day look like?
Scott
Mostly just getting into work, going through emails, see what's to come in to work on, getting requests from my coworkers in person as far as what reports are, what what pieces are broken. And then from there and just, you know, prioritizing and digging into the code and trying to fix them.
Abigail
Perfect. Awesome. And do you are you able to tie writing into your day?
Scott
Actually, yeah. For the past 25 years I've been doing computer programming and writing has been one of the things I have to do every day basically, because it's not computer code that I'm writing is mostly emails and communication back and forth between coworkers and management. That has to be well structured, understood, and easy to read for. And at the level in which they can understand it. So, you know, not everyone's going to understand the complexities of how you were able to fix a computer program. So, you have to summarize that and be able to correspond that in a way that it makes sense for management.
Abigail
And then, so do you follow kind of a specific guideline for when you write emails or is it case to case?
Scott
Mostly case to case but in general, you always want to start with what is the main topic you know, an introduction more or less if, if that's what you're going for, and then from there, you can get into the details. But it is normally case in case I mean; I've had other jobs where I was an IT support for a software application used by the airlines worldwide. And so, when I was troubleshooting and fixing issues on their network I had to communicate to their supervisors and their management what I found why I found it and and then summarize how I fixed it in in a manner that a non IT person would be able to understand. Haha.
Abigail
That's always a good thing. Being able to make sure they understand it.
Scott
Yes, yes. So it takes some skill and practice to get to that point.
Abigail
Oh, I can imagine. And I'm sure you don't want to make the emails super super long either.
Scott
Correct. The long ones you can save those for your coworkers or for your supervisors that understand the code. But for management above that, you need to summarize that and make it a lot more brief.
Abigail
So it kind of depends on which audience you're writing to and how you kind of forum formulate the email.
Scott
Right, right. And I actually did have tech report writing with McElwain who I think is probably retired now. You know, we had to do very specific kind of tech reports because of the engineering degree that we had were going for.
Abigail
Right
Scott
So I don't know if it was quite exactly the same or not, as to what you guys may be required to take now, but it was more of a technical paper because we were in the engineering. We would have to do experiments and then we would have to write a paper on those experiments. And I mean, they were small experiments relatively easy and straightforward. And you're like you did an experiment on what? Haha. Yea you know it sounds totally off the wall, but it wasn't necessarily you know, the experiment that was the purpose. It was the writing that was the purpose.
Abigail
Right getting that practice and everything.
Scott
And making sure everything was as as detailed and as precise as possible.
Abigail
Okay.
Scott
The degree also required a lot of technical writing, mostly from from the time you're a junior and senior you started to get into a lot more writing. And so that's why it was it was a needed course.
Abigail
And so that leads me right into my next question. Have you noticed any similarities or big differences from your time at Embry Riddle transitioning into the workplace?
Scott
Not necessarily. No. I have the same kind of writing I was doing back in college is can be applied to what I'm doing now is perhaps a little more generalized, not quite so specific, because that's going to be different for for everyone, depending on what kind of job you get. There's, I know people that are like project managers. And so, the kinds of technical writing that they do are going to be more on the management presentation level. So, there's, you know, there'll be using a lot more word a lot more PowerPoint, and those applications, you know, to get their summaries across. If you're below that level. If you're more into the, you know, the coding side or the technical side, then your writing may be a little more different. So, you're just gonna have to wait and see where you're at in 10 years, basically. Haha
Abigail
So, kind of taking what you learned and adapting it more so to fit your needs and your job?
Scott
Right. But, the course did give a really good perspective on the kind of writing that you could be expected to do.
Abigail
Right. Okay. Okay. Very good. And so, is there anything you wish you would have known before you left Embry Riddle before going into the workplace?
Scott
Well, the reason I got into the aerospace engineering was because I was curious why everything worked. So, I didn't necessarily have a plan afterwards. Because I just wanted to know why. Once I graduated, I had no idea what I was going to do. Some people had great ideas, you know, they wanted to get a job at Boeing or the or McDonnell Douglas or Orbital Sciences or you know, eventually end up at the skunkworks or something along those lines. And I really had no direction after that. So, I just was offered a position at NASA and decided to take that and and kind of go from there. And over time, you know, as I got into more and more programming, I realized, well, I could do the programming as well as engineering. And I enjoy the programming more. So that's how I got into it. So it's really hard to say where your life's going to lead. And what your plans that you think you might have when you graduate may not ever look like what they end up to be.
Abigail
That's exciting, though. Very exciting.
Scott
It is, it is. If you stay if you have a goal, and then that's fantastic. You can work towards that goal to stay focused on it and try to make decisions that support it. You may get there eventually. Some people get out of college and go for money and others go for you know the job or the status. It just depends on the person and their personality and what they enjoy.
Abigail
Right, okay. Very cool. And so, then that leads me into my last question for you today. Do you have any advice you'd like to give our current Eagles?
Scott
Oh, gosh, there's so much advice I could probably give you right now. Over 35 years worth of advice, probably. I guess the first thing is don't rely on your degree for your income. That's the best one. Just because you get an aerospace engineering degree or aviation science degree or cybersecurity degree or whatever it is you're coming here for. Don't always assume that that's the job you're going to do when you graduate. Because you may not ever get that job. So, you know, keep that in mind as you're going through courses and try to prepare yourself for that reality because it happens to a lot more people than you think. So just be prepared to and I'm not saying that it was a waste because from my perspective, the degree allowed me the opportunities and gave me those opportunities to get those positions that I had because of it. The reason I got into the programming was because the engineering departments needed technical people that understood aircraft performance, and all about aerodynamics all about the technical aspects of aircraft. So, someone could write a computer application for the other engineers to use. So I ended up using not only my tech writing skills that I learned at Embry Riddle, but my mathematics skills, my Fortran skills, of course, and my general knowledge of aircraft performance to be able to write apps that the degree itself was was fantastic for that purpose, because people saw that oh, hey, you know, we'll be able to talk to you and you'll understand us.
Abigail
That's a good thing.
Scott
Yes, and that's a good thing. So, and that's basically how my career started in computer programming. So just kind of keep an open mind when you graduate. And if your goal is just stay with that, and you know, stay focused, and keep at it, and you'll get there. But just don't always assume that's going to happen right away. And if you can, be prepared for that and have backup plans.
Abigail
Perfect. That's great advice. That certainly was great advice. And today we talked about how much Embry-Riddle has changed with Scott. And so we want to give a big thank you to Scott for being on our podcast today. We hope you all enjoyed this episode and stay tuned for more!
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Amelia Chesley
This podcast is supported by the Department of Humanities and Communication at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. Abby Bradberry is our host. Matthew Haslam is our Department Chair. And I'm Amelia Chesley, Assistant Professor of Professional Writing. The intro and outro music is Wander by Aylex. Find us on Youtube or reach out if you're an alumni and would like to be featured in a future episode.
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