>> Well, I love in high school, I was like graduated
like fifth of my class, and I loved math.
That was the subject I liked.
So I had to decide what did I want to do?
Did I want to be a math teacher?
Back then, there wasn't much money in that.
Or do I want to go into engineering?
Do I want to do accounting?
And I thought, well, engineering, because I like to do mechanical things.
So that led me to mechanical engineering.
So I had my major pick, never swayed at all.
Went right through mechanical engineering.
Start at U.S. Steel as a mechanical engineer in their management program.
And then lo and behold, two years later, somebody asked me,
"Would you like to be a technical buyer"?
And I said, "What is that"?
And so I had an interview over dinner one time.
It sounded good.
I said, sure, I'm only two years into my career.
And I was [inaudible] at U.S. Steel to pick that I want to go into civil, mechanical, electrical.
I hadn't got down that path yet.
And I said now is a good time if I was going to switch.
So that's how I got into that.
And then I did that till I got laid off.
And I tried for about four months to get a purchasing job.
Nothing out there.
I put on my engineering hat, had a job in about two or three weeks.
And with Westinghouse.
And I said, "You know, what, I'll come here as an engineer, but I want to be able
to be given the chance to get into purchasing".
Well, it took them seven years, and I did.
And I was with them eighteen and a half years, you know.
Seven years as an engineer and like eleven years.
And from that point on in the late eighties, I've been in purchasing ever since.
And I deal with engineers all the time.
I read drawings, I just can't make the engineering decisions.
But I can sure help them out by saying, here's what we have.
Put this in a spreadsheet.
Knowing that the engineering what it means, and it helps them.
Even though I'm not making a decision.