Week of 9/19: Interviewing a professional

Interviewing a Material Scientist

This is a picture I had of my dad walking by one of the furnaces
in the shop.

Hello everyone, this week for my exciting post I will be interviewing someone in the material science field to figure out what type of writing they do in their job, and to ask them a few questions about their job in general. Now, luckily for me my father happens to be a material scientist, so I am just going to interview him. This should work out pretty good since he will give me 100% honest answers and not hold back whatsoever. He is employed in the heat treating field, which is a manufacturing business. He does a lot of work through GM, and I'm hoping these connections can help me to get employed after college also. 

My questions I am going to ask him are:

What is the biggest type of writing you have to do?

Mainly e-mail. He said he is constantly sending e-mail to keep up with customers and their wants. He also has to write up quotes and metallurgic reports. The reports are typically 2-5 pages long.

Is it mostly formal or informal?

For the most case, formal. Much of the conversation goes on with customers and he needs to look and sound educated. 

How often do you have to do this?

Every day. He has to keep up with all of the e-mail that people send him. He has to do the reports typically 3-4 times a week.

How often are you dealing with the steel yourself?

It's basically an everyday occurrence, and also whenever there is some type of an issue or new work comes in he must run samples in the furnaces to either fix the issue or find the best way to run the new parts.