Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

Who is your mentor and where do they work?  If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert?

• My mentor is Jose Estrada and he currently works as an independent mechanic in his own house. What makes him an expert is his wide spectrum of knowledge in the car maintenance world, not to mention his experience.

What five questions will you ask them about their background?

1. When did you start working on cars on your own?
2. What are some of the hardest jobs you have completed? What made them hard?
3. Have you ever left a customer unsatisfied? Why was this?
4. What is your favorite job to do on a car?( heads, clutch change, transmission rebuilt, etc.)
5. What is your most favorite car you have worked on?

Advisory Prep

What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year?  What has made it a positive experience for you?  

• What has worked well for me is the workload, it doesn't seem like the SENIOR PROJECT. Now it seems like the senior project. I have reason to believe that it is because of how we are taught to take off little bites at a time.

What are you finding difficult concerning senior project?  How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you?  How might the senior team help?

•  The service hours are pretty difficult in my situation. I have to balance between so many things; including sports, music, social life, school even has its own little segment besides senior project, not to mention the SAT. One way I could possibly adapt to this project is by making a schedule for these hours, that way, when it comes to the end I hopefully won't have to do 20 hours in one week.

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?

• The most important thing I learned is that my mentor isn't the most helpful outside of wrenching, book smart so to speak. Another thing I learned is that being a  "good" mechanic really does take time an effort, it's a learning processes that takes years. It takes years because like doctors, every patient they deal with is different. Why? because of the different design or rare case troubleshooting that isn't common so the mechanic has to walk through "unexplored  territory"
• This interview my interviewee just responded to the question and didn't have a conversation with me like I was expecting. Could be that he got stage fright when he saw that I was going to record the interview.  Next interview I will make sure my interviewee can give me a bigger pool of information alongside with the answers.    

2. Did I get additional resources and contacts?  What is the most useful?  Why?

• No specific numbers and contact information was given to me, however, my mentor did give me the advice to look for teachers and professors if I want to talk to someone else. He also refereed me to service manual when doing a job because I would then know what to do in case I stumble upon something strange. It is useful however the information is limited, because there's probably hundreds of certified mechanic teachers and technicians. I say limited because he didn't point me to a trusted one that I can speak  with.

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me? 

• My interview is qualified to help me because all of his answers seem reasonable from my point of view. 

Interview audio

Blog 4 - House Advisory Prep 1

What I hope to accomplish-

I hope to accomplish some things which include having my audience become more educated about cars during my presentation. As for myself I want to understand every little component of a car, so when I pursue my dream of becoming a car designer I will fully understand the topic. Designing cars has always felt like home, in other words, I can't picture myself doing anything else. I imagine that a designer needs to understand mechanics in order to put a car together. For example, the combination of a big car and a small four cylinder engine won't work out because you will always have a lot of stress on the engine. Therefore, I believe that understanding a cars mechanics can benefit me in getting a job as a designer and being a designer in itself.

Blog 3 - First Interview Preparation

Who do you plan to interview?  Why?

• I plan to interview my mentor because he has experience, which means he has seen it all. Unfortunately, nobody knows everything, but, my mentor Jose, also has many connections that tie in to the automotive world. For example, he has a machine shop on speed dial just in case he ever needs heads machined. 

What additional questions do you plan to ask? 

• Tell me about your history about becoming a mechanic?
• Why, if so. would you say that it is important for everyone to understand basic mechanics?
• Why do you think people put a bad connotation with repair shops, and dealers?
• Why do you feel a lot of people are afraid to wrench on their own cars?