What I learned from my work experiences
I think that from each type of work and from personal experiences, we derive lessons, learn new useful things for the future and improve ourselves. The secret is to be curious and entushiastic versus the new and unknown.
Everyone has a goal in the life and to reach it, it is fundamental to improve constantly. The shortest roads are the worst to reach the life objectives.
After my bachelor degree, I had the opportunity to work in the aerospace world in Naples and in Toulouse on the project Airbus A350-XWB as stress and design engineer.
That has been a very educational experience that gives me the opportunity to
_ learn much;
_ work in a team;
_ interact in a multicultural environment;
_ optimize the time management and improve constantly the quality of results;
_ acquire the capacity to work under pressure and with upcoming shoddy;
_ solve independently the problems;
_ develop team leader skills managing a small team during the last part of experience.
I cannot deny that at the beginning it has been difficult to adapt to all the changes and to learn fast. However, I never gave up, and that positive attitude gave me in a short time the complete control of job to perform.
When something seems to be difficult to reach, many people are used to think: "this is not possible", but there is nothing, I think, more erroneous than this conclusion. Nothing is impossible. The 99% of limits exist only in our mind. Work hard implies results even if everything seems difficult at first appearance.
Another point that I would like to share with all the engineers that are reading these pages is about the training opportunity which we could have by disassembling mechanical or technical things of other common things of everyday life (e.g. engines car, boiler, pc, printer, coffee machine, etc.). Looking how the component parts are made, trying to fix it, touching them with hand, and giving you many useful ideas and solutions to the real problems during the real job: that is experience born with a bit of curiosity!
An engineer must have a solid theoretical basis but also he/she must be practical. An engineer solves problems. As one of my university Professor used to say, an engineer is a person of common sense.
After this experience, I returned in Italy and I worked in family business. To make this experience mine, I decide to create an e-commerce for flower delivery, a representative site for having an online identity and signing several commercial partnership with the big of e-commerce field in order to cover some zones for flower delivery.
Today these sites are still working and sometimes I keep helping whenever it is possible. If you want to look them, click on following links:
Despite this experience is far from the aerospace field, it has improved myself in several new aspects:
- from a technical point of view, the biggest challenge it was to create an e-commerce capable to do the same of famous e-commerce and with a limited budget.
The approach of limited budget is an exercise that I try to perform constantly in several fields. I think that to an engineer is asked to obtain the best result which is as close as possible to the ideal one with a limited budget. Even if this exercise is perfomed on minor scales, it permits to develop capacities in the feasibility assessment to realize something.
_ from a sociological point of view, the interaction with customers and commercial partners has permitted me to improve the dialetic, to understand right from the start what is the best way to approach with the interlucator, to be able to make him feel safe, to understand his needs.
-from a commercial/marketing point of view, the biggest job it was the definition of commercial conditions, the determination of continuosly competitive prices and the promotion of business on the web. This was a long step characterized by continous reinterpretations. Finally, I had the opportunity to understand how to manage a business and all the relative issues.
However, during this experience, I continued to read books and papers on aerospace fields. Substantially my heart is faithful to the aerospace/automotive world and I have desired to sign up to the master degree and to continue to work for the aerospace sector.
Hence, after this parethesis, in 2016, I won a notice as Designer of aeronautical structures in composite materials. The projects gave me the possibility to
_ improve theoretic knowdledge about the manufacturing of composite aerospace components
_ model them with CAD and CAE software.
_ work on a real project about the conversion of flap from aluminum to composite material.
_ work in a team
In the same year, I was selected for another notice about the reuse of carbon fiber waste from the lamination process. It was a very interesting experience because it gave me the possibility to
_ find a praticse and realistic way to reuse them from an engineering point of view;
_ thinking all the necessary components to create a sustainable business idea;
_ write a business plane and present it to the faculty of Economy of University of Sannio.
My presentation is readable by cliking on the below image:
After this last experience, I said to myself " I want to complete my universitary path. I feel alive when I am in the aerospace world. The life is so short to not to chase own dreams." I think that there is no worst life than living with regrets. As a result I enrolled in my master degree 
. It was very difficult to resume studying and there were moments in which all seemed impossible but I did not give up. Today, when this site is about to be put online, I have just completed my master degree and I am very happy. I am fine with myself.
My message for you is: Never abandon your dreams and do not listen to anyone but only your heart.
The period of my master thesis has been one of the more beautiful moment of my academic path. My thesis treats the design and manufacturing of a composite scale glider equipped with fiber optic sensor (FBGs) for structural monitoring. I have learned much and I had to fix many issues during the project. I think that my previous experiences have helped me about this last point. The handwork, which I have acquired by disassembling objects, help me strongly during the practice part of thesis.
I learned
_ how to design molds (CAD/CAM)
_ how optimize sensor position
_ improve my skill in fem analysis
_ how to manufacture molds
_ how to produce composite components with several techniques
_ How fiber optic sensors work, the correct way to install them, how to test and use them
_ how to perform experimental vibration test on the aicraft.
It has been a long trip of seven months where I had the opportunity to test with passion, discover the world of CNC machine and touch with hand the manufacturing of composites.
Here below, an image of the realized glider before the polishing ready for structural tests.
Now I am writing some articles in collaboration with the University.
My dream is to be not the best but a good engineer and to left a little sign in the aerospace/automotive world with my job. To find a company that belives in me, that doesn't choke my creativity. I think that an engineer have to look the world with the eyes of a child, dreaming and imagining great creations. An engineer dies when he/she is no longer able to dream and imagine.
While writing this page, I remember when I was a child and ran out the home when I heard the sound of a helicopter, a military aircraft. I think one of the beautiful machine that i saw on my house is the Goodyear airship. These machines have always fascinated me and now being capable to understand them is simply dreamful.
Ok, I have finished.
This is my story and what i have learned until now from my experiences.
See you later.
domenicvarricchio@gmail.com