Colin Roos

About me

I was born/grew up in: Timmins, Ontario, Canada

I now live in: Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

I completed my training/education at: Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering at Laurentian University

What I do at work

As an entrepreneur, I am my own boss. My day-to-day takes me from writing grant applications and filing taxes all the way to designing equipment and building it in the shop. I tend to focus where my interests lie, in engineering. I spend a lot of time designing new things on the computer using Computer Aided Design software and doing calculations to make sure whatever I build is going to be safe and do the job it's supposed to do. Problem solving is essentially what you learn at engineering school and that's what I do every day. Sometimes it will be trying to find the right microprocessor to control a robot, or maybe it's trying to figure out a way to fix a bracket that has broken in the shop.

I run a company with only five employees. We work together to come up with the best way to solve whatever problem we’re given. Working with my colleagues is just like working with my best friends – we make sure to have fun while we work!

When I was in high school, I was on our robotics team. Being part of the team taught me how to target a problem and break it down to find a solution, even in the heat of competition. This has been really important in the workplace because every job you do is a competition; a race against time and money.

My career path is

After graduating from high school, I started studying mechanical engineering at Laurentian University. Part of the way through my school, I started a specialty of mechanical engineering called mechatronics engineering. Mechatronics engineers design, build and work with systems that interface electronic and mechanical systems, all that to say we play with robots! I'm still in school but I an currently doing a co-op placement at Hatch, a global engineering firm. In addition to my placement, I also consult for a mining company on robotic applications as part of my business.

I am motivated by

What makes me get up in the morning is the thought of discovery. Doing something different than or learning something new that no know in the whole world has done before is really cool to me. While I may not invent the next lightbulb or create a flying car, the most exciting part of my job is improving something.

Being an engineer give you tons of options in areas that you want to work in. Its one of the broadest careers you can choose. I still haven't decided exactly where I want my career to take me but so far I've worked in very different areas, from biological problem solving to building mining robots, and that's only the start!

How I affect peoples’ lives

I have been involved in a few different projects, each with their own benefits to others. The responsibility of an engineer is to create, innovate and maintain machines, infrastructure and technology to benefit society. The main priorities of an engineering design are safety, functionality, environmental impact and cost. My job is to figure out new ways of doing things so that we can make things more safe, work better, be more environmentally sustainable and have lower cost.

Outside of work I

Outside of work I enjoy mountain biking, playing hockey, kayaking, camping, playing video games and tinkering with electronics. I'm also spend a lot of time volunteering as a welder for our local engineering design team.

My advice to others

Get involved early! Find what gets you excited and start figuring out how you can do more of that. Keep in mind that business gets done face to face, get out there and talk to people if you're looking for a job or just want to know more about something!