It’s never too early nor too late to refocus your career on a different area of interest or even a whole new industry. Check out new SME member David Atess who has discovered manufacturing and is following his passion! He joined SME the week of June 26^th as a member of SME Oklahoma City Chapter 125.

David graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2015 with a degree in business administration and a minor in marketing. As a self-professed entrepreneur, his fascination with consumer behavior and how emotions play into advertising motivated him to work in sales for a technology company and train sales teams for a solar energy equipment supplier.

Along the way, manufacturing technology caught his eye, and in 2022 David decided to go back to school at Meridian Technology Center in Stillwater, Oklahoma, to focus on computer-aided drafting and additive manufacturing. As part of his school program, he works regularly with Ultimaker s5 and s7 printers as well as a variety of Formlab resin printers.

 In addition to working to complete certifications in SolidWorks and AutoCAD, he recently earned his CAM-F certification for additive manufacturing through SME. Although certification is a great accomplishment, in June he and a teammate competed in the SkillsUSA additive manufacturing competition in Atlanta, winning bronze in the post-secondary category. He does admit to having a competitive advantage, however. He said, “I have three 3D printers at home – both FDM and MSLA – with the knowledge to troubleshoot, as well.”

He also runs a small 3D print shop using Instagram and Etsy, which makes him entrepreneurial in anyone’s book.

Outside of work and school, he admits to spending a fair amount of time outdoors. In addition to camping, fishing and mountain biking, he has traveled across North America to compete in downhill skateboard racing.

Please welcome David and connect with him on SME Connect!