From Hobby to Future Career
It has always been Robert Maksimowicz’s dream to work as an engineer. “From the age of 8, I was soldering circuits and building electronics as a hobby,” he says. “At home I have a lab with nearly every imaginable component and tool needed to build electronics. It was something I began building up when I was 8 years old and has since grown past the size of the room it occupies.”
Picking electrical and computer engineering as his major was a natural choice for Maksimowicz. He sat down with The Box to talk about his educational journey and his plans for the future.
Can you talk about some of the projects are your working on?
I’m currently working on building a mini offline data hotspot that will allow people to connect to a wireless hotspot generated from a device the size of a juice box. It will host entire encyclopedias, 60,000 books as well as medical, scientific, and engineering documentation. As I build projects, every new project becomes an expression of a new boundary of what I find to be possible.
Is there a project you are particularly proud of?
My offline data laptop is my proudest project. It works as a hub of resources, such as encyclopedias, books, and video resources, which can be accessed without an Internet connection anywhere in the world. It has sold on Etsy to several individuals throughout America.
Have you worked with a professor on a project at New York Tech? Can you tell us about it?
I’m currently working with Dr. [Michael] Nizich in the ETIC [Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center] as the project manager of the NASA prototyping team. we are currently working on building a vest for providing physical therapy to people who may for example have a traumatic brain injury and lost motor function and also a paracord tension measurement device. Before that, I worked on creating a car door light so that oncoming traffic is able see open doors more clearly at night. I created it from concept to deliverable for a client of the ETIC who owned the patent to the original idea.
Can you talk about some of your accomplishments outside of school?
I run my own web hosting company with a few business clients, creating some original products that I sell online, and prototypes that I hope to have patented someday soon. I also run a successful freelance 3-D design and printing service.
How is New York Tech preparing you for the future?
New York Tech is teaching me the skills I will need to further my abilities as a full-fledged engineer. Although I have my personal experience as an electronics hobbyist, I still learn something new every week that I can apply as an engineer.
What are your career goals?
My ultimate goal would be to have my own engineering and manufacturing company that makes products that have a positive impact. If what I create makes life on Earth a little sweeter, more enjoyable, and easier that would be my end goal. I want to make products that benefit people and create a brighter future for tomorrow. Another alternative to achieve the same purpose of benefiting humanity would be working for an engineering company that aligns with those same aforementioned values. An ultimate dream would be working for NASA to develop innovative technology that helps people and expands what is known to be possible.
What do you love about New York Tech?
I would say it’s the amazing people I’ve come to know over the years and the close proximity to home. Being close to family is very important to me and being around people with a positive outlook on life creates a great atmosphere for growth.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
