Ricardo Lara
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems
Redondo Beach, CA USA
"Keep yourself curious. You only have as much power as you have knowledge."
Career Roadmap
Ricardo's work combines: Science, Engineering, and Problem Solving
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Get out of your comfort zone by placing yourself in situations in which you are uncomfortable. That's where people grow the most.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Physics, General
University of California-Irvine
Bachelor's Degree
Materials Science
University of California-Irvine
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Materials Engineers:
High School
Bachelor's Degree: Chemical Engineering
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
Was born in the U.S., but grew up in Ecuador—moved back to the U.S. when he was in high school.
2.
Attended the University of California, Irvine, where he received his bachelor’s degree in physics and materials science engineering.
3.
Was originally a pre-med major with the dream of becoming a doctor—in preparation, he gathered references and volunteered at a hospital in high school.
4.
Says his dreams of becoming a doctor were derailed after he took a physics class and discovered that he loved the problems and challenges it offered him.
5.
Early on, he switched his major several times before finally settling on physics.
6.
During his junior year, he began interning with Northrop Grumman in aerospace and contamination engineering, which inspired him to double major in materials science.
7.
He captained the soccer team throughout college—credits this experience with helping him get the job at Northrop Grumman because it demonstrated leadership and his ability to deal with failures.
8.
After his internship was over, he accepted a full-time position at Northrop Grumman—has been working in contamination control engineering on the James Webb Space Telescope ever since.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Peers:
You have a lack of confidence in meetings, need to take more ownership of tasks and need more knowledge of chemistry.
How I responded:
Get out of your comfort zone by placing yourself in situations in which you are uncomfortable. That's where people grow the most.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was lucky that my parents were able to help me pay for college, but I had to work a lot in order to pay for everything else. Juggling work and school is difficult.
When I moved to Ecuador at 6 years old, I didn't know any Spanish and had to adapt to that. Then when I moved back to the U.S. in high school, the opposite happened. I was a fluent Spanish speaker and knew very little English.
I've had a lot of injuries relating to soccer. I broke my ankle my first year playing for UCI and was benched the rest of the season. I broke that same ankle again during my third year.