Odd O'blography

Engineering Efficiency

I started dating Debbie in the spring of 1977, and we got married a year later. Married life presented many new challenges and a need to make more money. My college adviser suggested that I apply at Summit Engineering, a small company where he had personal connections. His recommendation did the trick and I got the job. My position as an engineering support technician paid $3.71 an hour that summer, and Deb was getting $3.23 an hour as a nurse’s aide at the hospital. It seemed like plenty, at first, but I had to go back to school in the fall. Deb’s income wasn’t enough to support two people and cover my tuition, so I arranged to continue working afternoons at Summit.

College was especially hard as a senior, because I’d fallen behind with my coursework during my junior year, completing only 36 credits. That meant I needed to get another 60 to finish my degree. To further complicate things, my new bride worked second shift, so we saw each other only at night and on weekends.

My typical day that year would start before seven with a quick bite and a fifteen-minute walk to campus for morning classes. I’d eat a sandwich at the SUB, then head over to Summit and work until five pm. A twenty-minute walk home, supper, and studying occupied me until eleven-thirty when Deb got home. We’d do what newlyweds do, get a few hours of sleep, and then do it all again.

I definitely had a full plate, so I needed to prioritize my time. It was difficult to find enough credit hours, and especially difficult to get them all scheduled into my mornings. It seemed something had to give, and that something turned out to be an industrial engineering elective, I & ME 325 Engr Economy.

The course was organized on a contract model with a textbook and optional lecture, but without homework. Instead, we had fifteen pass/fail units that could be completed at any time. Credit for each unit was earned by passing a test administered by a teaching assistant. Ten units were required for a ‘C’ grade, twelve for a ‘B’, and fifteen for an ‘A’. No homework and optional lectures fit perfectly into my busy schedule, and it was easy to put more difficult coursework first.

The course was based on the ‘time value of money’ equations that are used for everything from calculating car payments to comparing investment strategies. Math always came easily to me, so I was able to follow the textbook and work on my own. I started out with good intentions and completed the first unit almost immediately. But a heavy course load makes it easy to procrastinate. So, on the Monday before finals week, I went to the TA for only the second time and asked to take the test for unit 2.

“Dude! What’s the point? this is the last week!”

“Yeah, I know. Just gimme the test.”

He graded me on unit 2 while I waited and shook his head again when I asked for the unit 3 test. I’d crammed hard the day before and I passed that one too. I found a nearby bench to study unit 4 for a couple of hours and passed that test as well. The TA was impressed that I did three units in one day, but he was still skeptical.

“Dude, it’s too much. You’re not gonna make it.”

I studied hard again that evening and on Tuesday I completed units 5 & 6. The TA was on my side by this time and seemed eager to see me pull it off. He looked disappointed when I slowed my pace on Wednesday, completing only unit 7. But then I rallied on Thursday to complete units 8 & 9.

“Dude! Way to go!” he grinned enthusiastically.

On Friday afternoon I finished unit 10 and triumphantly celebrated a hard-earned ‘C’ with two full hours to spare.

“Dude, the Prof wants to see you,” was all the TA said.

I knocked on the Professor’s door, wondering what the problem could be.

“Mr. Fisher, I understand that you’ve completed this entire course in one week?”

“Well, almost, I did 9 units.”

“Why on earth didn’t you begin sooner and earn an A?” he demanded.

“All I need to graduate is a C,” I shrugged.
He muttered something about ‘engineers’ and waved me out.