Casey Putsch is the founder of the Genius Garage Educational Programs and after 11 years of bridging the gap from academia to industry and helping college students land incredible jobs, he is asking some BIG questions. Is Genius Garage helping the wrong group of people? Is the American Educational system irreparable? Would helping military veterans find a suitable and enjoyable career path in the civilian world be the most powerful good Genius Garage can do?
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That had to be an extremely difficult video for you to make, Casey. It's equally hard to hear, but I think you have a point.
I was once stupid enough to F around and find out and what I found out was that the military didn't even want me. Crap…now what? I seized an opportunity – the only opportunity presented to me – to attend a trade school for Electronic Engineering, and in one year secured an Associates degree. I could have continued on to earn my Bachelors, but I needed to go to work, get my hands dirty and gain some experience, fast. Plus I was hongry! So I began my career, and quickly gained momentum.
I have been fortunate enough to work for Standard Oil, as a test car driver, my first job out of school. A bit of a diversion, but it paid well and was fun. Then on to various tech companies like Goodyear Aerospace & General Dynamics, National Semiconductor Corp, AT&T Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, and finally, Nokia. All with an Associates degree.
I didn't know what the Hell to do, or even which direction to turn until I was 25. Then, it was balls-to-the-wall.
One thing I learned was to be grateful for every opportunity. Who would be most grateful, and likely benefit the most from Genius Garage? Veterans…that's who. And now, can you please explain the Ferrari F1 car?
What about people who went to school, got a degree, got disillusioned with the industry, and are working in random other industries (if in engineering at all)?
As a vet and an engineer I love this idea. My next comment will probably make a few people mad, but as a previous people manager in a large privately held company I have the experience to back it up. You will find driven college kids and driven military vets, you will also find lazy college kids and lazy vets. However, you will find a much higher percentage of driven vets than lazy ones by a huge margin. If you feel compelled then go do it. You seem to be the kind of guy that can make it work or see that it won't. I'd also tell you to pray about it and find God's guidance. I know you have said you aren't very religious in another video, but maybe now is the time to get better guidance.
Yes but mix them up veterans can teach young people a lot especially this new generation
Idk if you’ll see this but I wanted to join genius garage when I was in high school, i graduated 2020 during covid, decided to join the army and got out this year in January, I would love to be apart of genius garage and a lot of young vets like myself (23) would love everything you do! Keep it up!
I think if you want to continue Genius Garage, you should bring on those you have a good feeling about or click with, regardless of age or background. If you keep hitting walls, I think it is a sign of change and it seems you have put in way more effort that should be required. When things start flowing as if God, or the universe is working through you, it is a sign you are on the right track.
If you can become accredited with the VA as an avenue to employment or become certified as some type of OJT or apprenticeship training, then veteran students can receive a monthly housing allowance and your charity can get paid. With veterans, there are worker retraining (vocational rehab) for veterans with a certain service-connected disability rating. Some of your veterans have background in working on various types of engines (wheeled, tracked, aviation) I'm thinking another turbine-powered concept car on the horizon?
With veterans, you're likely to find a better work ethic, discipline and some level of time management skills.
Sent you a contact through the website. I’m a “combat” veteran grinding my way through the racing Motorsport space and earning a mech engineering degree. I’m a nobody and I’m relatively young in the industry. This video is awesome and
I’ll be the first of many warriors on deck saying “ send me I’ll go” aka teach me the wrench, teach me solid works show me the privateer teams I can go do battle with and so on. you’re a patriot and real American for voicing this thought. Racing is about war and no one goes to war better than the Marines. Let’s talk about going to war. Great video
I’m a veteran in automotive tech school currently and would love to learn from someone that is actually passionate about racing not just someone that gives busy work 3 hours a day like most tech schools!
Stop handing out shit to people coming out of the military. If they can't get something going with the existing free shit in place available only to them already, you aren't going to help them.
It’s hard to fix a spider’s web of a generation groomed in a pandora box entitled society. Although there are exceptions. Respect, discipline, and a honest day’s work mentality have long been forgotten, replaced by a large majority of wanna bees that think they have what it takes. I think the veteran idea is spot on. The hardest part, has already been instilled in these warriors and a perfect place for you to spend your time. I’m sure there’s plenty of funding assistance from private sources as well.
I can see this change being a positive one. I see lots of comments saying do both, and I can see that helping some college students grow and learn a lot too. If you do end up doing both, maybe there is a way to be more picky with the college kids you accept. I'm not sure how to do that, though, as it's hard to determine someone's work ethic without seeing them do hard work. I also agree that the engineering student who puts in a decent effort is going to be fine where a military guy coming back to the public world could use more assistance.