Manufacturing Month Q&A: Mitchell Sedore
Manufacturing Day takes place annually on the first Friday in October and is aimed at inspiring young people to pursue careers in manufacturing. The celebration is extended throughout the month of October as Manufacturing Month.
We’re sharing the unique roles and perspectives of those currently working in the industry to show young people the possibilities in manufacturing. Like Mitchell Sedore, a Mechanical Engineer at OptiPro Systems. We sat down with him to talk about what inspired him to explore a career in manufacturing.
Q: What do you do?
Mitchell: I’m a mechanical engineer at OptiPro Systems.
Q: What’s your academic background?
Mitchell: I went to Rochester Institute of Technology and earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
Q: Why manufacturing? Why did you choose this industry?
Mitchell: I love seeing something going from an idea or concept into a full finished part that functions as intended.
Q: What advice do you have for people wanting to pursue a career in manufacturing?
Mitchell: My advice would be you have to have passion, attention to detail, and be willing to learn and try new things.
Q: What was your first job?
Mitchell: My first job was cutting lawns as a teenager. But my first real job was as a co-op for a company that manufactured busbars. I got to design fixtures and see the entire process—from a customer drawing to the finished part.
Q: If you could spend a day in someone else’s shoes, whose would they be?
Mitchell: If I could spend the day in someone else’s shoes, it would probably be one of our customer’s designers. We do work with defense contractors, and I think seeing and designing next-generation systems would be really cool.
Q: What’s the first career you dreamed of having as a kid?
Mitchell: My dream career as a kid was to be a scientist; I love to learn new things.
Q: Who, or what, was your biggest teacher?
Mitchell: My biggest teacher was participating in FIRST robotics in high school. I learned a lot about design, manufacturing, working on teams, and working under pressure.