Chemical Engineering Overview - Overview PDF - PowerPoint - Podcast

	B.S. - Chemical Engineering, University of Kentucky
	Ink development engineer in the ink jet engineering group
	"Don't give up. There were so many times I wanted to give up because it does get difficult. But if you stick with it, it will pay off in the end, it really will."

Q: What made you decide to become a chemical engineer?
McCain: I can't really pinpoint one certain thing, but in high school I really enjoyed mathematics and chemistry class. My parents kind of pushed me into the direction of engineering, where they thought I would utilize my mathematics and chemistry more. So I signed up for it at the University of Kentucky and I stuck with it. I didn't really know what I was getting into, but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did.

Q: How was your college experience?
McCain: I think college was wonderful. I thought the major was a bit difficult, and a lot difficult at times. It was very challenging, but it also taught me a lot of things. It taught me how to persevere, work well under pressure, interact well with others, and work in groups. I'm really glad that I stuck with it. Sometimes I did miss out on a few activities-because engineering is a lot more demanding than some other majors-but it's well worth it. You still have time to do some things other than math, chemistry, and all the computer activities that you need to complete.

Q: Do you think your education prepared you for the work place?
McCain: Definitely. I think I had a well-rounded education. A lot of the things I learned I do use here as well. But, here I also get the opportunity to take more technical classes and travel to different states to take courses and further my education as well. So it's an ongoing process.

Q: How did you find this job?
McCain: I was contacted through my career center at the University of Kentucky. They called me in for an interview and I responded. And I had other interviews, but I really liked Lexmark. I liked the people I interviewed with. They gave me a tour of the plant and I thought it was really nice. So I stayed here in Lexington.

Q: Was it easy to find a job?
McCain: I think with an engineering background I probably had a lot easier time than other people, because I don't think engineering is saturated. There are always people out there looking for engineers. I think an engineering degree shows you are versatile-that you probably are able to handle any kind of challenge that a company is going to offer you. And, I think that a co-op education is essential to finding a job, because that really put my foot in the door, just having that education behind me.

Q: What was your co-op experience like?
McCain: I worked for a chemical-producing company in Cincinnati. It makes oleic chemicals and fatty acids. I co-oped there for three semesters, working in a quality control laboratory. They would bring in samples every day and I would learn the basic tests to perform on these samples. I learned a lot about materials, testing procedures, and testing equipment while I was there. It was really helpful. They moved me into an engineering group later on, and I got to see the engineering side of problem solving-when things go wrong in the plant, what do you do to fix it, what method do you use, how do you find the resources to fix the problem? That was really interesting and really helpful. They gave me a few mini-projects to work on. I enjoyed that, since I had more responsibility there. In my final phase of co-oping, they sent me to an ozone technology group where I got to see the marketing side of the company. I participated in getting bids on jobs. We installed ozonators and saw more of the monetary side of things-how much do these cost, how are we going to install them? It was more of the business side than the technical side. Co-oping let me see all different facets of working in the business world. From technical to business to financial-everything. It was really a great experience.

Q: Did your co-op experience help you in the transition from college to work?
McCain: Definitely, definitely, definitely. I learned so much about interactions in the work place. Once I came to work for real, it wasn't such a shock and I was used to it.

Q: What is your typical day like?
McCain: I get here about eight o'clock and start formulating inks. That's what I work on-ink jetting ink. We're working with new materials every day-different formulations, testing our new products, trying them out. Is this going to work? How does it look here? That's a major portion of my day. I also have to attend a lot of meetings and keep in touch with what the other groups are doing in my area, because we all have to interact and make sure we're all on the same wavelength as far as developing new products.

Q: Where does on-going professional development fit into your plans?
McCain: I'm not going to go back to the university for education. I feel like I'm learning more here because they bring in teachers and professors and they offer a lot of courses here. I also get the opportunity to travel and attend a lot of courses. It's more related to what I do here rather than general chemistry. I'm learning more-focusing on what I work on, such as ink development and ink jet printing. I probably will just continue to take advantage of what I'm offered here at Lexmark.

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