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1201 008
Mr. Lindsay
Mr. Sarfaty
Casey Jacobson
Whole Life Concept Project Final

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Whole Life Concept Project

Casey Jacobson
ENGR 1201-008
11/7/15

The Whole Life Concept Project is designed to help me determine what I want to do
for the rest of my life. It will help me decide what kind of job I will enjoy doing and
never get tired of doing day in and day out. I will be able to separate the things
that I am passionate about from the things that I just enjoy doing. I have
researched topics relating to cars, aircrafts, alternate fuel sources, and many items
that both have a big impact on the world and interest me. I have looked up what
kinds of engines are used for many different types of cars. I still do not know much
about car engines so I cannot say that I will want to work with them for the rest of
my life. Aircrafts have always been a big interest of my since I was young and I
researched the most advanced ones to see if I would like to one day build one. In
regard to the alternate fuel sources, I am fascinated by the many different kinds of
fuels we are using for our cars. For instance, instead of using gasoline to power our
cars, we are making smart cars that are powered by electricity. There has been
some talk about creating smart roads that will be made of recycled material and can
be powered by many different sources. The majority of this power will come from
the sun during the day, but that will change after more effort is put into smart
roads. After looking over these topics, I realized that they are all just interests of
mine, not something that I feel passionate about. When I realized this, I tried to dig
a bit deeper and find something that I have always wanted to truly understand and
have to work hard to master. I then thought about working in some kind of field
that is directed toward space. There are many things related to space such as
space exploration. The number of places that have yet to be explored is well into
the billions. Some of the research I have done regarding the outer space is about
how to travel from one place to another as fast as possible. I have looked into the
type of ships that were being used, the types of fuels that are used, and other
methods of traveling. The desired professional outcomes that I would have for
choosing a career in this field are to both make space exploration simpler and to
find another place in the world that people can one day live on. I want to be part of
a group of engineers that are able to say they are the reason why Earth is not the
only place where humanity can evolve.
I believe that my passion in life is to work with space exploration. I want to create
the ships and the advanced machines that make up these ships. There is just too
many things that have yet to be explored and I feel like there is much more to life
than what is available on Earth. Ever since I was little, I have always wanted to be
able to figure out and understand things on my own. I used to look up to the night
sky and see stars but would have no idea what they were. I was always told that
they were just stars and that they were far away. As I grew older, I found out that
each star I saw was where an entire solar system is located and at each star, there
are multiple planets that could be very similar to the ones that are around Earth.
My teachers would talk about the other planets in our solar system and how we
have not been able to reach any of them; the closest we have been to that is having
man land on the Earths moon. All I could think of when I heard about this is how
we, as humans, should be traveling to many more places than just the moon. Our

understanding of technology is growing each and every day that passes and I feel
like there will be a day that we will fully understand how to travel other planets. I
remember watching videos that would start out and look at Earth from above. As
the video progressed, the camera was moving backward and would show the kinds
of things that are outside of Earth. The videos seemed endless and I remember
being so amazed by all of the different kinds of planets or other things that existed
in space. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I wanted to
learn about what is really out there. I cannot possibly imagine myself being bored
from exploring what is outside of Earth. There is always something new to discover,
something that existed that nobody thought could exist, or something that is simply
amazing to see. I feel like my experiences are much different than other peoples
experiences because unlike most other people, I feel like I need to understand
everything. I watched those videos and would ask myself what I can do in order to
travel to the billions of places that I just saw. Other people would watch these
documentaries and just think that it seemed pretty cool, but never put any more
thought into it. I watch the documentaries and ask myself what I have to do to
travel that far. I want to be able to experience these sightings first hand. There are
many things in life that I have at one point thought about how to solve or how to
make better. When I think about space, all I can think about is how there are so
many things that I have yet to understand. Many people will hear about how far
away these places are and will just forget about them. I want to know about
everything that is outside of Earth and how technology will one day get us to these
places. I also want to be able to design the technology that will allow us to places
that are lightyears away from Earth.
One of my goals that I wish to achieve through my passion is make a machine that
will change the world for the better. If I am able to help create a machine that is
able to travel across space with little effort, there will be many different positive
outcomes. There may be some elements on other planets that are in vast
quantities and humans are able to take advantage of. There is a finite amount of
heavy elements that we use on this planet for production and if we want to continue
to produce at a sustainable level, we will need to reach out to other sources such as
other planets or their moons. Another one of my goals is to actually find a planet
that can sustain life for present and future generations. Many people are worried
about all of the problems on Earth and are worried about what needs to be done to
keep the planet habitable by humans. Some are worried about global warming and
others are worried about overpopulating. If a new planet is discovered that humans
are able to inhabit, people will have new hope. They will no longer have to worry
about unescapable events such as a solar flare that will burn the surface of the
Earth because they will know that there is another place that they can one day go
to. Right now, all we know is that Earth is the only place to survive and we have to
do what it takes to protect it. The last and most important goal of mine will be to
provide for my family. I know that most of the jobs that I can get as an engineer will
pay well and I want to make enough money that it will never be an issue. Growing
up, money was always the number one priority and I know how much stress it can
put on a family. I do not want the people that are most important to me to feel
stressed out over something like money. Making sure that I can provide for my
family and keeping them happy will be the most important thing to the world
around me.

There are many concerns about space exploration and many reasons why people
feel like space exploration should not continue. One contemporary issue regarding
my passion is that people believe it costs too much money to continue space
exploration. To put a pound of anything into orbit costs about $10,000 and every
time a shuttle is launched, the cost can easily range from $500 million to $700
million (Kaku). A second issue that people see in space exploration is that some
believe there is not that big of a need for it. They see many issues that are
happening on Earth and believe that the money spent on space exploration should
be spent on other important matters. They view space exploration as something
that does not need to be done right now or in the near future. They also believe
that the money spent on a mission to the moon should be spent on terrestrial issues
such as starvation and disease (DeGroot). Another contemporary issue is that many
people believe it is unsafe to keep on trying to launch humans into space. Launches
used to be displayed on national television and the images of all the failed attempts
to go into space are still vivid inside of their minds. One in particular is when the
Challenger exploded mid-flight. People remember the Challenger blowing up
seventy three seconds after it had launched and killing all seven of the astronauts
on board (Associated Press).
Some areas of knowledge that I will need to pursue my passion is to have a great
understanding of math and physics. I will need to know how different kinds of
machines are able to interact together to do different tasks. I will need to learn how
those machines will act once they are outside of Earths atmosphere and how they
act when they are in outer space. On Earth, we are accustomed to objects traveling
certain distances because we know what kinds of forces will come into effect such
as wind resistance and gravity. In outer space, the atmosphere is much different
and the way that things travel is nothing like the way things travel on Earth. I feel
like an education in engineering will greatly help me learn this kind of information.
The major that I am focusing on is mechanical engineering because I believe it will
greatly help me understand the ways that machines will operate. For a job that
focuses on space exploration, I feel like getting a degree in mechanical engineering
will benefit me the most because of how many different machines and moving parts
are used to send something into space. The Whole Life Concept project has helped
me understand what I truly feel passionate about and has helped me understand
that a degree in mechanical engineering should benefit me the most. My main
concern with my potential major is if I will learn enough information to achieve me
goals. I want to know if I will have to pursue a masters degree for mechanical
engineering or if I should aim for a minor in either physics or aerospace engineering.
One way I can have these questions answered is to ask many companies who do
some work with space exploration what they want from their workers. I will ask
them if they prefer someone who knows one specific field better than anyone else
which will lead me to pursue a masters degree. They might say that they prefer
their workers to have a wide variety of knowledge and would prefer that I have a
great understanding in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and physics
so that they can use me for a wide variety of projects. I will also need to know what
companies in different states offer the kind of job that I want. I feel like it is best for
me to pursue a masters degree in mechanical engineering in order for me to turn
my passion into a career. A job that is based off of space exploration requires some
of the smartest people in the world and I feel like I need to know anything and
everything that has to do with mechanical engineering to get the kind of job that I

want. Some of the most important classes that I will be taking through college are
Senior Design, Mechanics Lab and any class relating to physics. Senior Design and
Mechanics Lab will give me a more hands on approach to the kinds of things that I
will do for my career. I feel like learning many different concepts related to physics
will also greatly help me due to the amount of physics that is used in space
exploration. There are so many laws that come into play and the more I understand
these laws will help me determine which are the most important. I will be able to
learn what the best way to travel through space is. The academic program that I
chose will help me achieve my goals and desired impacts because it will give me all
of the knowledge that I will need. By getting a masters degree, I will have a full
understanding of my field and should be able to complete any project that my
company will give me. Throughout college, three specific course materials that I
will learn about are how forces react in different environments, how to work in a
team to complete major projects, and how to actually create working machines.
Physics will play a large role in learning how forces will react in different
environments because physics talk about how each force has an equal and opposite
force. I feel like taking a professional development class will help me learn how to
work with a team to complete any major project that I may see one day. I also
believe that the mechanics and materials lab will help me the most because of the
all of the hands on experience that I will get in that class. Some of the most
important soft skills that I will need to achieve my desired impact will be to have
great leadership, great communication skills, and great public speaking skills. I
know that I will need to be a great leader because there will be many projects that I
feel like I have the best idea and will have to lead my team to complete our
assigned project. Communicating is one of the most important non-technical skills
that I will need because of the amount of people that will need to understand the
task at hand. Unless everyone knows what needs to be done, the project will not be
a success. When it comes to public speaking, I will need to learn how to describe
what I am working on to an audience that may have no idea what I am talking
about. I will need to learn how to express my ideas or concerns to them so I can
work on the projects that I feel are important. The amount of money that is
required to do the projects that I will want to do will usually be in the millions so I
will need to figure out my audience and convince them why my work will benefit
them in the long run.
My passion is to find a career that focuses on space exploration. I want to answer
questions that have yet to be answered regarding what is outside of Earth. I also
want to be able to one day create a machine that will completely change the way
we view space travel. Right now, many people look at it as something that is
complicated, unsafe, expensive, and unnecessary. I want to create or help create
the ship that can travel across space easily and is able to safely return back to Earth
without having any issues. I believe that if my goals are achieved that it will have a
great impact on society. People will no longer have to worry about a doomsday that
will one day wipe everyone off of the face of the Earth because they could
potentially be on another planet. As we speak, many of the resources on Earth are
being depleted and I know that these resources can be replenished from other
planets that we discover. People will no longer have to worry about starving due to
overpopulation because humans will be able to expand across the universe instead
of being stuck on Earth. When looking over the Whole Life Concept model, I see
that passion is in the very center and I agree that it is the most important one. Now

that I know what I truly feel passionate about, I can go after a career that I will feel
like I will never truly have to work. It is said that if you like and enjoy what you do
for a living, you will never have to work a day in your life. Now that I have an
understanding of my passion, I can search for a career that I can confidently say
that I will enjoy for the rest of my life. The Whole Life Concept model has also
helped me understand the kind of information that I will need to learn in order to
pursue my passion. With the information that I learn, I will be able to apply it to my
work and make machines that people never imagined could have existed. The last
thing that the Whole Life Concept model will do for me is help me meet my desired
impact. It will help me reach any goals that I set for myself and overall make the
world a better place.
This assignment has definitely helped me decide what kind of major I will want to
pursue. Mechanical engineering will help me understand exactly how different
machines are able to operate and how I will be able to create something that will
change the world that we live in. This assignment has also helped me determine
what it is that I truly want to do with my life. I had many different ideas of what
kind of things that I am interested and now I am able to separate those things from
what I feel passionate for. My plans for the future have always been to make a huge
impact on society. The only problem was that I was unsure about what exactly I
should do to help. This assignment has helped me determine that working with
space exploration can result in the greatest outcome for humanity. I now know that
I will not need to worry about how to something as small as fixing someones car,
but I can potentially make a discovery that will one day save all of humanity and let
all life as we know exist. I am committed more than ever to complete my studies as
an engineer because I feel like it is my duty to the world to work with my passion. I
believe that graduating with and engineering degree and learning the information
that I will learn will only make a positive impact on the world. I have thought about
all the things that I will work on when I get older, but the only problem was that I
didnt know how to make my ideas into reality. With the knowledge that I will get
from a masters degree in mechanical engineering, I believe that I will one day
create something that will change the world forever.

Associated Press. "Timeline: Deaths in History of Space Exploration | Fox News." Fox
News. February 1, 2003. Accessed November 6, 2015.
DeGroot, Jerry. "The Space Race Is a Pointless Waste of Money." The Telegraph.
February 25, 2009. Accessed November 6, 2015.

Kaku, Michio. "The Cost Of Space Exploration." Forbes. July 16, 2009. Accessed
November 6, 2015.
Peckham, Matt. "NASA Actually Working on Faster-than-Light Warp Drive |
TIME.com." Time. September 19, 2012. Accessed November 5, 2015.