Professional Interview

Ariel Whitehead
Interviewee: Aaron Ham
Field: Mechanical Engineering
Date of Interview: Oct. 18th, 2015
Interview Location: Teapioca Lounge
POE - Block 3
Oct. 29th, 2015

General Information:
Interviewee name: Aaron Ham
Interviewees specific degree: Bachelor
Interviewees place of employment: Samsung
Interviewees professional business email address: aaronyham@gmail.com
Interviewees phone number: 432-889-9655
How did you find and make initial contact with this professional?
Aaron was recommended to me by my martial arts teacher, Scott Pettengill, who knew that he
was a mechanical engineer at Samsung.
Professional Interview:
Please describe the field of mechanical engineering, in general.
In general, engineering is about applying both math and science concepts to improve the
quality of human life. My background is in mechanical engineering. Mechanical engineering
is a branch of engineering that focuses on designing, building, manufacturing, and repairing
objects that move or dont move to improve the quality of human life. The field of
mechanical engineering can be applied in many different industries such automotive,
aerospace, manufacturing, medical, and material science, which is why our academic
curriculum is diverse. I will give you a couple of examples of what a mechanical engineer
does in each industry. A mechanical engineer in the automotive industry will work on projects
dealing with chassis, suspension, engine, and powertrain design. In the aerospace industry, a
mechanical engineer will focus on designing and building parts for commercial aircraft and
spacecraft. Additionally, a mechanical engineer in the medical industry will design with
biomedical engineers a new prosthetic for an arm, leg, hip, etc. Furthermore, in the material
science industry, mechanical engineers will research and develop new materials that can be
applied to many industries like new plastic filaments for 3D printing, self-healing concrete
for bridges, and scratch resistant ceramics like gorilla glass, which is used on iPhones. As you
can see, mechanical engineers have a very diverse skillset, which allows them to pursue an
industry based on their interests.
What is your current job title?
My current job title at Samsung Austin Semiconductor is Equipment Engineer 2 in the
Photolithography Department.
Please describe your particular job and duties?
To understand what I do at Samsung, I need to explain a little about our business and facility.
Samsung Austin Semiconductor (SAS), is a billion dollar manufacturing company that
specializes in logic chips for your smartphones. The logic chips allow people to use multiple
applications at the same time. When the logic chip is more powerful, the more applications it
can run simultaneously, which means better productivity. All manufacturing facilities
including SAS run 24/7 in order to meet the customers order. As an equipment engineer, I
need to make sure that the Photolithography equipment is running at maximum capacity to
meet our production quota. If one of the equipment has stopped production due to a
mechanical error, it is my responsibility to solve the error. The error can be in many forms
such as mechanical errors like a belt snapping due to wear and tear or a system error like a
software glitch. Because all of the equipment we use is the most cutting edge equipment,
there is no repair manual on how to fix a certain issue. As a result, SAS needs mechanical
engineers like me to look at blueprints and troubleshoot and fix problems in real time.

Additionally, part of my role as an engineer is to create standard operating documents for the
company to help train junior engineers and also help reduce repetitive work. For example, if
there is a mechanical problem that occurs frequently, this it would be more efficient to have a
standard document that any engineers can look at to fix the problem rather than the expert
explaining to an engineer every single toe how to fix the problem every time it occurs.
What is your average work schedule?
I work on average 50-60 hours a week based on the production quota. Because the facility is
running 24/7, the company will have engineers to cover the weekends and nights, which is
why our weekly numbers of hours worked is relatively higher than most other companies.
Starting with high school, describe yours educational background chronologically.
In the beginning of high school, I was one of few who actually knew what we wanted to do
when we grow up so I chose classes that would prepare me for college. In high school, I had
a passion for math and science that would prepare me for college. In high school, I had a
passion for math and science, which is why I spent a majority of my time studying these
subjects and chose to take the more advance classes like Physics, Math, and Chemistry. Most
people would have been scared to take these classes because of the workload and subject
difficulty. However, I knew that taking these classes will help me in college. Looking back,
choosing the harder classes has helped me develop a strong study habit and make classes
more digestible because I had taken some of these topics earlier. I went to Texas A&M
University in College Station for my bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering. I did
many things in college to stand out from the rest of our class so that I would have
competitive advantage when it was time to look for a job. From sophomore to senior year, I
was an undergraduate researcher for a polymer nanocomposites group in the material science
department. Most of my research was on electroconductive carbon nanotube thin films. I
decided to do my research at the time because I wanted to get my Phd, but as time passes, I
realized that getting a job was more important. All engineering jobs these days require hands
on experience, therefore in my senior year, I decided to join the formula hybrid car project for
our senior design class. The project was very difficult because we had to design and build a
car within 2 school semesters and then compete internationally. During the project, I learned
many technical and leadership skills which helped me get a job at Samsung such as welding,
soldering, 3D modeling, project management skills, elected in a leadership role, etc. In the
end, from all the experiences in academics, research, and senior design, I was able to get
offers from top engineering companies because I was willing to put in the work to get them.
If you had it to do over, related to your career or education, would you do anything
differently?
To be honest, I would not have changed anything about my education and career. I have
learned so much from these experiences that if I changed anything, I would not be the same
person I am today.
What advice would you give to me as someone interested in pursuing a career path similar to
yours?
Pursuing a mechanical engineer career is not an easy path. However, the reward for sticking
through the mechanical engineer program is unmeasurable. The skills you will learn in

mechanical engineering will help you in your professional career because most companies are
looking for people with technical and advanced problem solving skills. The people you meet
will personally inspire you to innovate new technologies to improve the quality of life. All
these things I have said will give you the strong foundation to be successful and be able to
impact the world.
Personal Reflection:
What surprised you most about the interview?
What surprised me most about the interview was how relaxed the whole encounter was.
Although our meeting began with a handshake and a formal introduction, our conversations
were not as formal as I thought it would be. While discussing the questions provided for the
interview, we often unintentionally went off topic talking about our interests when it came to
engineering.
What was the most important piece of information that you learned from the interview?
I learned that working hard, starting from high school on, would benefit myself indefinitely
now and in the future, especially if I am to become an engineer. In the interview, Aaron
especially stressed on how he took the hardest classes provided in his high school so he can
How has this interview influenced your feelings about your future career?
This interview has influenced me to definitely become an engineer. With the work that Aaron
has done, he inspired me to become a builder to improve the life of the world.
How has this interview changed or confirmed your plans regarding your future career?
At first, I wanted to begin my career as an Electrical Engineer. However, after some
explanation, Aaron convinced me to start with mechanical engineering, which provides a
good base to branch out to other branches/fields of engineering (since I told him that I wanted
to do both electrical and mechanical engineering). This interview has definitely confirmed my
plans to become an Engineer.
What is the next step for you to pursue your plans? Who do you need to talk to? What
information do you need?
My next step to pursue my plans is to take as many engineering courses as I can in high
school (if possible, take all of them). This way I can be a little more diverse in understanding
the different fields of engineering.
I need to talk to more female engineers. From what Ive heard, the learning/working
environment for women engineers are completely different than men, so gaining the
awareness through experienced women engineers would be important.