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 小蝌蚪APP, 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.
小蝌蚪APP淚 would sit front row and raise my hand, ask lots of questions, kind of a geek,小蝌蚪APP he says.
After completing his bachelor小蝌蚪APP檚, Meaux went to work in the oil and gas industry and that小蝌蚪APP檚 where he小蝌蚪APP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小蝌蚪APP檚 M.S. in Systems Technology online program piqued his curiosity.
小蝌蚪APP淚 went on UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 site, checked out the curriculum and realized that it was a really close fit with the exact job function I currently have,小蝌蚪APP says Meaux. 小蝌蚪APP淭hen I reached out to the program coordinator and everything else is history.小蝌蚪APP
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小蝌蚪APP support.
小蝌蚪APP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,小蝌蚪APP he says.
While some students complete small school tasks each day, Meaux小蝌蚪APP檚 weekday schedule 小蝌蚪APP sometimes 12- or 14-hour days 小蝌蚪APP could prove exhausting, so flexibility was a must.
小蝌蚪APP淥ftentimes what I really enjoyed about the program was how it allowed me to crunch all of my schoolwork into Saturdays and Sundays,小蝌蚪APP says Meaux.
In addition to Meaux小蝌蚪APP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.
小蝌蚪APP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,小蝌蚪APP Meaux says. 小蝌蚪APP淪o, that showed me the commitment that the program has to its students, and I think that's key.小蝌蚪APP
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小蝌蚪APP檚 most rewarding classes in systems technology was on project management 小蝌蚪APP the kind of work he already does 小蝌蚪APP and it was as challenging as it was rewarding.
小蝌蚪APP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,小蝌蚪APP Meaux says.
小蝌蚪APP淚t shifted assumptions that I had held within the project management sphere. I think that's exactly what school is supposed to do 小蝌蚪APP it小蝌蚪APP檚 supposed to challenge you and give you the tools to go forward on your path and do so in an improved way.小蝌蚪APP
Graduate school also helped Meaux reach a new professional achievement: getting published in a trade journal.
小蝌蚪APP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 小蝌蚪APP楽ociety of Petroleum Engineers小蝌蚪APP in November 2020,小蝌蚪APP he says. 小蝌蚪APP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.小蝌蚪APP
What小蝌蚪APP檚 next?
The degree has changed Meaux小蝌蚪APP檚 day-to-day operations as a project controls lead.
小蝌蚪APP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,小蝌蚪APP he says.
Meaux小蝌蚪APP檚 noticeable success through the M.S. in Systems Technology program has made him an accidental ambassador for the online graduate degree program.
小蝌蚪APP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,小蝌蚪APP he says. 小蝌蚪APP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.小蝌蚪APP