By: Alyssa Sadowsky
Dickinson High School Senior
TMI Systems is a manufacturer of casework, architectural woodwork, and countertops. They have projects all around the country. Some projects they have done in Dickinson include cabinetry at Dickinson Middle School and CHI St. Alexius Health.
I began working at TMI as a drafter in late August. I am there every other day for two class periods (around three hours). Drafting has always been my favorite class, so I was excited to be placed in a drafting-related Work-Based Learning program.
Although I am well-versed in AutoCAD, working at TMI was a bit of a learning curve for me because I had to learn how to use TMI’s software, JSepp. Thankfully, I had coworkers who were patient when teaching me the software. After familiarizing myself with the systems, I completed three test projects. These tests were very useful for learning. They progressively got harder which helped ease me into real projects.
After my test projects, I began a project that included around 200 rooms of cabinets. This project was very tedious and I completed it in small chunks. Now, I am working on live projects. Through these projects, I’ve become more detail oriented and have practiced reading spec sheets- skills that will be very useful for my future as an architect.
The work I do at TMI is pretty independent, which is perfect for me because I enjoy trying to figure things out on my own. It is similar to drafting class in that way, so those who enjoy drafting would probably like working at TMI. My time at TMI has been great and I look forward to continuing there next semester.