1047: How to Break Into Systems Engineering in Aerospace With Stephen Lu, Lockheed Martin [Espresso Shots]

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Stephen Lu is a project manager and systems engineer* at Lockheed Martin Space. He started out at Lockheed in 2014 right out of college as an associate systems engineer. Now, as an obsolescence project manager, Stephen focuses on managing multi-million dollar supply chain projects in the US military’s Missile Defense Program.  In his free time, Stephen is an avid video content creator on LinkedIn as well as a career coach. He graduated from San Jose State University in December 2013 with a BS in computer science.  He got an MS in engineering management from Santa Clara University in 2019.

*Since Stephen did this interview he moved to Applied Material as the Program Manager of its Obsolescence Management Office.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE:

• What entry-level jobs are available to young people who want to get into systems engineering (5:45)
• What hard and soft skills are most important to cultivate in school  (10:03)
• Why your major isn’t as important as you might think (11:56)
• When and why to consider getting a graduate degree is (13:47)
• What the best and worst parts are of being a systems engineer (21:13)
• What the best career advice is that Stephen has ever received  (23:57)
• What listeners would be surprised to learn about this job and industry (28:55)