{"id":7059,"date":"2024-02-26T14:02:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T20:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/?p=7059"},"modified":"2024-02-26T14:55:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T20:55:43","slug":"putting-it-all-together-first-as-a-welder-now-as-an-engineer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/26\/putting-it-all-together-first-as-a-welder-now-as-an-engineer\/","title":{"rendered":"Putting It All Together: First as a Welder, Now as an Engineer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Catching up with an MHEFI Scholarship Recipient<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

BY SHERYL S. JACKSON<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"michael<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Michael Bretz is a mechanical engineer focused on maintaining a robust electrical and water grid so manufacturers, logistics and other companies can continue producing in a cost-efficient, sustainable way\u2014but he took an unconventional journey to his current position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I was a nontraditional student when I began working on my mechanical engineering degree at the University of Southern Indiana,” said Bretz. “When I graduated high school, I attended a local community college to get a degree in industrial technology, and I studied welding.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After working as a welder for five years, Bretz decided to pursue his engineering degree. Knowing the value of hands-on work experience to supplement classroom studies, he accepted co-op positions at Duke Energy and at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Indiana while in school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“During my Toyota co-op, I designed dollies to move door panels safely and easily in the welding section of the factory,” he said. Another key accomplishment while at Toyota was his design of a weld checker that is used to measure the safety and quality of the weld to provide information that can be used to improve the welding process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After his co-op at Duke Energy and graduation, Bretz accepted a position at Duke Energy, where he applied his engineering and process improvement skills to energy-related solutions. In 2020, he accepted a position as a field engineer at Emerson and moved to Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bretz is now living in Evansville, Indiana with his fianc\u00e9e. “I spend 70-80% of my time on the road, so it is not necessary to live near the office,” he said. Evansville also is a good location to travel to clients throughout the Midwest, he added. While he enjoys his position as a field engineer, he is thinking about the future. “I have thought about pursuing an MBA and a position in project management in the next several years,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I work directly with clients\u2014engineers and frontline employees\u2014to make sure the solution works for their needs,” said Bretz. His previous experience as a welder and as an engineering student working in a manufacturing facility helps in his current position, he said. “There is a mutual respect because I understand what goes on in a production job, and my designs reflect that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to read the full article.<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Catching up with an MHEFI Scholarship Recipient BY SHERYL S. JACKSON Michael Bretz is a mechanical engineer focused on maintaining a robust electrical and water grid so manufacturers, logistics and other companies can continue producing in a cost-efficient, sustainable way\u2014but he took an unconventional journey to his current position. “I was a nontraditional student when I …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":7060,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,9],"tags":[29,442,1902,1907,3642,3641],"class_list":["post-7059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-departments","category-education","tag-mhefi","tag-mhi-solutions","tag-mhi-solutions-magazine","tag-mhisolutionsmag","tag-scholarship","tag-student"],"yoast_head":"\nPutting It All Together: First as a Welder, Now as an Engineer - MHI Solutions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/26\/putting-it-all-together-first-as-a-welder-now-as-an-engineer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Putting It All Together: First as a Welder, Now as an Engineer - MHI Solutions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Catching up with an MHEFI Scholarship Recipient BY SHERYL S. 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