A Job I Should have Quit

The whole of my life and career has been shaped and defined by my passion for building things and engaging in challenging tasks. The most significant experience which left an indelible mark in my academic pursuance is holding onto a job that I should have quit. Before I joined my college studies, a friend of my father approached me for a summer job to work in his machining firm, an opportunity that I would not turn down. In this firm, I would learn essential skills of how to run computer-operated machines, milling machines as well as lathes. The job would not only enrich me with valuable hands-on experience in my college studies but also earn me a credible recommendation on my resume.

fter all, even the scientists who develop missile guidance systems and nuclear bombs are people with good intentions. Nonetheless, I have always believed that even the most innocent people who get involved in the science of war are as complicit as the orchestrators of the war. I pondered. The job was working against my ideals. Thus I considered quitting it and walk away to spend my summer bagging groceries or mowing lawns. What if I secure a lucrative job in future with interesting engineering challenges but in the defense sector? Will I compromise my ideals once again and take the job or turn it down? I learned that, just like many other engineers, getting into messy ethical dilemmas will be the order of the day both during the college days and the whole of my career.