Do you love physics, possess critical reasoning, and want to solve problems? Well you may want to check out the career of a research engineer? Today on the My Career Shop Podcast, I am joined by Nathan Tsou, a research engineer who works with the J. Sterling Jones Hydraulics Laboratory at the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (U.S. Department of Transportation). In this episode, we will discuss Nathan's journey from being inspired in high school to working with the U.S. DOT, the prerequisites to becoming a research engineer, importance of getting an internship and advanced degrees (Masters and PhD), types of engineers, the various tasks a research engineer performs, stress in their life, type of characteristics that help a research engineer flourish, why some research engineers fail, pros and cons about the profession, engineering judgement, and tips to help you succeed and much more.