Episode 162 – Using Your Technical Aptitude to Propel Your Career

Learning how to use your technical aptitude to propel your career is our focus for this Episode. We welcome back Chazz Hoskins. Chazz was featured on Episode 82 of the Cameron-Brooks podcast. This podcast is a career check-in, but as a reminder, Chazz is a former Air Force Development Engineer who transitioned to Lam Research. Chazz’s last job in the Air Force was as a data analyst working on missile telemetry within a fighter squadron. Lam is foundational to the semiconductor industry, and they make the machines that make some of the most sophisticated semiconductors in the world. From the Career Conference, Chazz was able to evaluate multiple employment offers, so we spent a couple of minutes exploring why he chose to launch his business career at Lam. He started at Lam as a Pilot Manufacturing Engineer. His job was to manage the component supply chain, quality surveillance, contingencies for faulty components, safety and cost implications, and create documentation for manufacturing procedures. Being a Pilot Manufacturing Engineer, he orchestrated the first build of the newest products that helped the company compete with the latest innovation. What is your problem-solving methodology? Considering the importance of his role “on the bleeding edge of technology,” I wanted to understand better how someone goes from doing missile telemetry in the Air Force to building some of the most important semiconductor machines in the world, as those two things are not related. It all comes back to knowing how to use your technical aptitude to propel your career. If you took nothing else away from this podcast, remember this: in an interview where you are a non-traditional candidate, be prepared to describe your problem-solving methodology. Regardless of the industry or product, your leadership in problem-solving is what corporate America is looking for in the technical JMO. Stay Connected to Cameron-Brooks! His next role brought him to Silfex, a division of Lam. Silfex supplies the entire semiconductor industry with critical, high-purity silicone components. Silfex was building a new plant in Dayton, Ohio, and Chazz took a shot at the Quality Engineer position. To prepare for the role, he called Rob Davis, one of the Transition Coaches at Cameron-Brooks, and Rob helped to prepare him for the interview. He aced the interview and got the job. As a Quality Engineer, he ensures “no bad products escape the plant.” He said if that happens, it can cause millions in damage to Lam’s customers. Do you want to make a successful military-to-business transition like Chazz?  Do you want to be in a top leadership role at a leading company?  If you do, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to help you get there.  You can follow former military officers who have become key business leaders‘ steps for career success. If you’re interested in learning more about your transition options, contact us. You can also check out our Transition Guide on “3 Game-Changing Strategies for JMOs Making the Jump to Business” for additional transition tips. To stay connected, we’d recommend subscribing to our YouTube Channel and following us on LinkedIn.