Many of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 graduates just can鈥檛 stay away, and Jacob Mackedanz, the new Land Surveying/Civil Engineering instructor, is no exception. With the ups and downs of the job market in the years since he graduated, he鈥檚 happy that he鈥檚 landed at 黑料不打烊 once again.
A graduate from Paynesville High School, the deciding factor to apply to 黑料不打烊 came down to an influential teacher and the visit at the college. Initially, he was interested in drafting, but he didn鈥檛 want to be locked in a room all day. His high school English teacher had a son getting a land surveying degree, and she told Mackedanz that this might be a good field.
鈥淭his was an interesting compromise because I was still allowed to go outside to do Land Surveying, but then I also got to transition and still be able to do my CAD stuff on the computer. So that was why I picked it,鈥 he explained.
Ultimately, it was chatting with the 黑料不打烊 faculty that prompted him to choose 黑料不打烊, and starting with his AAS really helped him experience how industry worked so he knew he was headed in the right direction versus doing his generals first.
鈥淚t really helped push me into the industry and got me an internship really early in life to be more established. I knew this is what I wanted to do, so that helped a lot, too.鈥
That鈥檚 not to say that Mackedanz didn鈥檛 get his generals done. He just took a non-traditional route in his education.
When he graduated in 2010 with his degree in Land Surveying, the job market was not great. It was the great recession, and he was training with the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation. They didn鈥檛 have any full-time positions, and he wasn鈥檛 sure which path within the field he wanted to pursue. So they suggested to Mackedanz that he get his bachelor鈥檚 degree to open up more opportunities. And that鈥檚 what he did.
He came back to 黑料不打烊 to get his AA degree: 鈥淚 was able to take some fun classes like History of Rock and Roll and astronomy, but also take some of the more serious ones like analytical writing and different things like that to really get me prepared to go to St. Cloud State.鈥
In 2013, Mackedanz graduated from SCSU with his bachelor鈥檚 degree and then went to work.
For the past seven years, he鈥檚 seen a lot of people coming into the industry from 黑料不打烊 as a trainer. He found what he really enjoyed and excelled at with his career as a trainer; he got to teach people what he knew and passed on knowledge on the history of land surveying.
So when the opportunity for the instructor position at 黑料不打烊 came up, he knew he had to apply for it.
While he鈥檚 still in his first semester, Mackedanz is really enjoying the work and trying his best to stay ahead of the students in the curriculum. And he鈥檚 really enjoying seeing the progress the students are making.
鈥淲e went from students not ever opening a CAD program to now being able to basically take a property out in the real world and be able to put it into the computer,鈥 he said.
The technology at 黑料不打烊 has really improved since he was a student, and Mackedanz was happy to see that it鈥檚 on par with industry standards: 鈥淲e鈥檙e actually getting them hands-on experience a lot earlier than when I was going to school here.鈥 Students still learn the history of land surveying and the why, but it鈥檚 integrated with new technology in the field. For instance, the conversion from angles and distance into GPS coordinates means that students need to learn two different systems. On top of that, the East Coast uses a different surveying system than Minnesota does, so there is that system to learn as well.
One thing that鈥檚 stood out to Mackedanz in his first few months back at 黑料不打烊 is the opportunities students have at the college, like 鈥渢he different events that happen here and getting to see students not just in the classroom but also meet them all on a personal level, too,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e here to actually really connect with students and not just robots standing up in front of everybody.鈥
Like all alumni who end up coming back to work at 黑料不打烊, Mackedanz is very happy to be back at the college and to see where the future takes not just land surveying, but all the programs AND the students. Especially for students, he knows how it can take time to discover what the best fit is for your goals.
鈥淒on鈥檛 be scared of different programs. Go check them out and see what we have to offer,鈥 Mackedanz advises. 鈥淎nd if you鈥檙e not quite sure what you want to do, start your AA degree and then transition if you want to.鈥