Jason Meaux's route to an engineering career may not have been the most direct, but it was effective, with each stop along the way building on the last.
Meaux's most recent stop, the master's in systems technology at the 杏吧专区, helped bring his diverse training and professional experience together.
After training to become a fire fighter, Meaux earned an associate degree in fire science, and then a Bachelor of General Studies degree from UL Lafayette.
杏吧专区淚 would sit front row and raise my hand, ask lots of questions, kind of a geek,杏吧专区 he says.
After completing his bachelor杏吧专区檚, Meaux went to work in the oil and gas industry and that杏吧专区檚 where he杏吧专区檚 been growing and advancing for more than a decade as a project controls lead in marine engineering.
Busy as he ever was, working full-time and raising two young teens with his wife, Meaux dove back into higher education, but the MBA program he enrolled in was not translating to his career how he had hoped. Then a class forum post mentioning UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 M.S. in Systems Technology online program piqued his curiosity.
杏吧专区淚 went on UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 site, checked out the curriculum and realized that it was a really close fit with the exact job function I currently have,杏吧专区 says Meaux. 杏吧专区淭hen I reached out to the program coordinator and everything else is history.杏吧专区
Making it work
Meaux worked full-time while in grad school. The demands of his role include regularly traveling between Lafayette and Houston, Texas. Work weeks could be 50 hours; they could be 70 hours.
The three factors helping Meaux meet academic challenges were disciplined organization, the ability to compartmentalize schoolwork, and instructors杏吧专区 support.
杏吧专区淚 have a numbered and alphabetized file structure, and my job is basically project controls, which is cost and schedule, so I'm pretty adept at scheduling,杏吧专区 he says.
While some students complete small school tasks each day, Meaux杏吧专区檚 weekday schedule 杏吧专区 sometimes 12- or 14-hour days 杏吧专区 could prove exhausting, so flexibility was a must.
杏吧专区淥ftentimes what I really enjoyed about the program was how it allowed me to crunch all of my schoolwork into Saturdays and Sundays,杏吧专区 says Meaux.
In addition to Meaux杏吧专区檚 personal discipline and organizational skills, faculty support was another key to success. Meaux found instructors in the program were consistently engaged with students and available for guidance.
杏吧专区淒r. Joe Jordan, specifically, made himself available both in the winter break and during the summer break. And we continued to speak even whenever he was not in school,杏吧专区 Meaux says. 杏吧专区淪o, that showed me the commitment that the program has to its students, and I think that's key.杏吧专区
Room to grow
For an oil and gas professional with more than a decade of experience in the industry, was a graduate degree worth it? Definitely.
One of Meaux杏吧专区檚 most rewarding classes in systems technology was on project management 杏吧专区 the kind of work he already does 杏吧专区 and it was as challenging as it was rewarding.
杏吧专区淚'm quite experienced in project management, so I expected it to be very easy, and it was not. I had to work the most for that course,杏吧专区 Meaux says.
杏吧专区淚t shifted assumptions that I had held within the project management sphere. I think that's exactly what school is supposed to do 杏吧专区 it杏吧专区檚 supposed to challenge you and give you the tools to go forward on your path and do so in an improved way.杏吧专区
Graduate school also helped Meaux reach a new professional achievement: getting published in a trade journal.
杏吧专区淪ome of the coursework really applied to my current job, specifically the tenants of project management, so I was able to use some of those tools and I was able to co-publish with the 杏吧专区楽ociety of Petroleum Engineers杏吧专区 in November 2020,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淚 worked closely with Dr. Jordan, and he was instrumental in coaching me through my graduate project, which I aim to publish with his help next year as my journey continues.杏吧专区
What杏吧专区檚 next?
The degree has changed Meaux杏吧专区檚 day-to-day operations as a project controls lead.
杏吧专区淲e're implementing tools that make us not only more efficient but also integrate a variety of technologies into our business and do so under a watchful eye of project management,杏吧专区 he says.
Meaux杏吧专区檚 noticeable success through the M.S. in Systems Technology program has made him an accidental ambassador for the online graduate degree program.
杏吧专区淪ystems Tech was so beneficial to me, and it was so evident to some of my coworkers that it was easy convincing them to apply,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淚've already got one person in my organization to apply for the program, and it looks like I may have a second one coming soon.杏吧专区