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Out of Chemical Engineering, Out into the World
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What books have influenced my career?
  • General, Physical, and Organic Chemistry, Thermo, Unit Ops.
  • Intro to Fortran and Comp Science
  • How to Be a Successful Consultant
  • The Dogbert Management Handbook
  • Softball Tips and Techniques
  • The Foot Book by Dr Seuss
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How did I become a Chem Eng?
  • Liked Science and Math in High School
  • High National Test Score in Chemistry
  • There were no PCs yet
  • My brother told me to because they make lots of money
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Why NJIT?
  • Excellent Chemical Engineering school with good facilities and faculty
  • Close to home (no dorms yet)
  • Wanted to keep my Fuller Brush business
  • My brother went here
  • My dad wouldn’t pay more than NJIT
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What did I like at NJIT?
  • The computer part of every Chem Eng class
  • The laboratory facilities
  • The Chem Eng, Chemistry, and Math Professors
  • My classmates and social activities
  • The Co-op program (the most important decision of my career)
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What did I find out on Co-op part I?
  • Isobutylene polymerizes in high heat sulfuric acid (very interesting)
  • Naptha gas accumulates near the ground (interesting & important)
  • What bosses say and want are different
  • Job performance reviews are like humanities classes
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What did I find out on Co-op part II?
  • Refineries and Chemical Plants use ridiculous amounts of steam
  • Computers control many refinery operations
  • Programming my material balances was fun (Super important)
  • Other people found it fun for me to program their material balances.
  • I found out about Technical Computing
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What was my first full time job?
  • Introduced to database systems
  • Worked long hours
  • Learned many computer languages and systems
  • Learned about billing rates
  • Given choice one night of moving to Baton Rouge, Saudia Arabia, or get laid off.  Went to BR.  Almost died. Twice.
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Full time job part II
  • Moved from BR Back to NJ to Process Simulation
  • Found value in networking after hours through softball
  • Moved to research environment to help scientists
  • Worked on Masters in Comp Science
  • Started business after Masters Degree
  • Working on PhD. in Info. Systems
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Why did I start a business?
  • Wanted to use Technical and Sales background
  • Liked the variety of technical challenges
  • Understood concept of customer
  • Did not understand concept of boss
  • Could always go through a contract house (headhunter)
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How did my business grow?
  • Used all of my contacts from grammar school to the present.
  • Willing to take short assignments
  • First major break came through a softball contact
  • Second big break came from studying Swedish
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What didn’t I know from my college education?
  • You sell yourself first
  • Learn other aspects of business such as Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Sales, and Legal.
  • Presentation and interview  skills are a key to success
  • A Roladex is more important than a bank account
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What advice can I leave you with?
  • Learn as many new things as you can, even if they are not the most fun
  • Build a good reputation with teachers, peers, and bosses
  • Network through your professional societies and social clubs
  • “When you are with work people, you are at work”
  • Have the courage to change
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Who is Hendela System Consultants?
  • Consulting and software company based in Lyndhurst, NJ.
  • Established in 1988 as a custom program shop.
  • Clients include many Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.
  • Developed SCANALYZER software to aid software analysis