Flint Farley
Mechanical Engineer
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
My dad was a disciplinarian and I always wanted to make him proud.
I served in the Air Force for a few years, then left. After a 15-month hiatus, I joined the Army.
I was in a helicopter accident and was medically retired from the military in 1989.
The VA told me I had to declare a major to get my school funding, so I chose mechanical engineering.
After graduating from high school, Air Force training, and college, I knew I'd made my dad proud.
I worked at Dow Corning as a packaging engineer, then worked in the automotive industry.
I didn't enjoy working in the automotive industry, so I decided to pursue teaching for a short time.
I found a job I truly loved with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; I've been there for 7 years.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Associate's Degree
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
Career
Mechanical Engineer
I'm a mechanical engineer overseeing contract administration for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Armed Services
Engineering
Building Things
Day to Day
Every day, I wake up, head to work at 7 o'clock, have a cup of coffee, and check out my calendar to see what kind of meetings or inspections I have scheduled for the day. I'm currently overseeing over 140 million dollars-worth of projects that I have to keep an eye on, so a typical day might involve overseeing the piping on an aircraft carrier, then driving 50 or 60 miles to oversee the duct work being done at a school. Then I hang up my hat at 3:30 p.m. and go home.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for high school students
You have to have an interest in (if not a love for) mathematics. If you don't like math, chances are, engineering is not the field for you. I took two years of calculus and differential equations, as well as physics, so it's going to be very hard for you to get through those if you don't enjoy doing math.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Associate's Degree
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Teachers:
"You need to take things more seriously and stop being such a class clown."
Challenges I Overcame
First-Generation College Student
