7/19/2022 Taylor Tucker
Written by Taylor Tucker
For full-time Guidance Systems Engineer Scott McGregor (BSME ’15), enrolling in MechSE’s online Master of Engineering program meant balancing more work in an already busy schedule.
“Courses are very rigorous, and you must be intentional in how you balance work, family, and studies,” he advised.
However, joining the program was a strategic career move for McGregor. “I’ve used my course learning to parlay a new position that more aligns to my desired career path,” he said.
Prior to entering the program, he had held a structural design role, focusing on frame design for construction vehicles at Caterpillar. “Although I enjoyed the position, I wanted to change my career trajectory to be on a controls system development path,” he said. “To build solid first-principle understanding, and to begin tailoring my resume to the career I wanted, I joined the M.Eng.ME program.”
McGregor currently works for CNH Industrial (Case New Holland), focusing on analysis for the guidance system implemented in their agriculture equipment.
“This entails MATLAB/Simulink models that represent the interconnections between the guidance system’s software and hardware and the vehicle dynamics of the steered equipment,” he said. “These models help predict and validate the performance of changes virtually rather than requiring many physical tests.”
As an online student who works full-time, McGregor is no longer immersed in campus life as he was during his undergraduate years. However, he has found unique advantages in the online program format. “Because some courses are not offered online, it is best to forecast future semester offerings so that your coursework is well-selected,” he said. “The advantage this gives, however, is that all studies can be directly tied to your future industry work.”
In the future, McGregor hopes to obtain a role in control system design that focuses on vehicular or flight controls.