MHI Solutions Improving Supply Chain Performance
Where Are They Now?
Catching up with an MHEFI Scholarship Recipient
Students who graduated college in 2020 faced challenges that previous graduates did not, including maneuvering requirements to complete their degrees along with pandemic-related restrictions and a shrinking job market.
“I graduated with an industrial engineering degree in 2020, and I was looking for any job that was available,” said Joshua Line, field engineer III at MHI member Seegrid Corp. “I lucked into a position at Seegrid as a field engineer that traveled to locations where our autonomous forklifts were used to tailor code to each application to reflect each unique workplace setting.”
Although Line had not focused on robotics while in school, he did have 12 months of experience as an engineering intern at Volvo Construction Equipment. He began school as a mechanical engineer and liked the manufacturing environment, but as he learned more about the industrial engineering program at the University of Pittsburgh, he decided to change majors. It was during this time that he applied for and received the MHEFI Scholarship. “I was a broke college kid, and the scholarship along with internships and a research assistant position helped me cover my expenses,” said Line.
“As an industrial engineering major, I did not study robotics, but I learned quickly in my first job,” said Line. After three years at Seegrid, he took a position at another company as a field services engineer. “I liked Seegrid, but my position traveled 80% of the time, and I was ready for a job that required less travel,” he said. About one year later, Line received an offer from Seegrid for a field engineer II position that only required travel 25% of the time. Because he really liked working at Seegrid and the new position offered an opportunity to learn new skills as well as travel less, he accepted.
“My first role was focused on the hardware, and my new role is more software‑focused,” said Line. Even though it is challenging, the transition to the new position is not difficult because he knows the product, the company and people throughout the business. “Our entire team is new, so the ability to reach out to colleagues who can be resources to provide information or direct me to the right people is great.”