So the first two years of college i fucked around and was generally irresponsible and didn't take engineering very seriously, and as such, even though I've done quite well in the last two years, my GPA is very low, and no company wants to give me an internship (which is important because in the actual job market, relevant experience is WAY more important than GPA, but it's hard to get it without having a good one). I know that I know my stuff, and can perform well in any task given to me, but that one number basically makes my resume not get a second look.
So at the start of this summer, I was desperate to have any kind of engineering experience, and was made aware of a long-running project, started by a very respected and powerful professor in the precision metrology department at my uni. This professor was looking to hire two undergrads for the summer to work on a certain kind of microscope (atomic force microscope if anyone's interested) that usually costs about $40k-90k, that he was trying to have designed and built for under $2000, so that high school classrooms could expose their students to engineering etc. Basically a project drawing worldwide interest, and a very, very good thing to have your name associated with. Well, I sent this professor my resume, but he had pretty much hired two undergrads immediately, and didn't have room to hire one more.
So, I volunteered this entire summer, working the same hours as the paid students (20h/week), working on this microscope and maybe having a good reference for future applications.
Cue mid july, the grad student pulls me aside and says the professor's impressed with my ability, and the progress I've made on the project, and is dipping into funds he had set aside because he (of his own volition) wants to pay me to work on this project through the school year. He apparently also wants me to have a serious conversation with him about grad school, and he would do what he could to pay for my tuition and books, and give me a monthly stipend for myself.
It is pretty fucking radical, and I honestly cannot believe I managed to impress such a powerful guy enough to WANT to put me on payroll and put me in grad school.
On a different note, i upped my parkour training, and finally pulled
this off.
