Hardware Podcasts

S6E7 Michael Hadley | A Thirst for Learning: Becoming An Engineer 20 years After Graduating

Being an Engineer · 14 Feb 2025 · 43m · Episode 7

What this episode covers

Michael Hadley, a mechanical engineer at Pipeline Design & Engineering, recounts his unconventional career path, which included a 20-year hiatus to work in the human development movement and as business manager for Tony Robbins. He details his return to engineering, highlighting a successful medical device project involving a PTFE bite block and airway that required complex injection molding, and a failed 72-foot solar dish project that missed its market window. Hadley advises aspiring engineers to develop broad, interdisciplinary skills rather than narrow specialization, emphasizing that persistence and market fit are critical to success.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Pipeline Design & Engineering
Materials
PTFE
Also
Tony Robbins, Vanderbilt, est, Isa, PDP-11, Strategic Coach, Dan Sullivan, Warren Starnes, David Goggins

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