Eric Miller

Eric Miller is a hard-working farm kid who’s grown into being responsible for training engineers throughout his company. He’s got lofty dreams, but keeps grounded in his faith and family.

Age: 30

Position: Training Manager, Applied Engineering

Family: Single

Hobbies: Golf, Fishing, Waterskiing, Snowboarding, Hunting, Basketball, Volleyball

Community Involvement: I am a member of Church of the Ascension Parish and I also serve on the stewardship committee there. I’m a committee member of the annual Clover Classic charity golf tournament for the ND 4-H Foundation and I’m a member of the professional development team in the Young Professionals Network. I am on city league volleyball, basketball and softball teams.

Career Path: I graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from NDSU and accepted a design engineer position with Applied Engineering in 2002. The potential for a variety of projects in multiple industries caught my interest, along with the location in Bismarck. After gaining valuable experience designing, testing and assisting with the manufacture of several products, I was ready to try something new. A fellow coworker convinced me to apply for an internal open position as a technical trainer, and I decided to give it a shot. I liked the idea of learning new systems and software, developing course curriculums, and improving my public speaking skills. After training many different engineering courses over three years, another opportunity presented itself as my supervisor left the company. With experience training and leading projects, I was in position to accept the challenge of being promoted to training manager, which is what I have been doing for over a year now.

Mentors: My Mom and Dad.

Briefly, tell us about yourself: I’m a small-town farm kid who grew up in the middle of a large family. I have three brothers and two sisters. I enjoy anything outdoors. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I like to laugh, but I like making other people laugh even more.

What motivates you? God Challenges in your career path: The biggest challenge in my career came last year when our training department was busier than ever. I was just learning the training manager duties, and there were three trainers reporting to me from two different locations. It seemed impossible to meet the deadlines and commitments that I was responsible for, but somehow things worked out.

What challenges do you face as a young professional, particularly during difficult economic times? It can be a challenge to keep a positive and optimistic outlook with our current economic situation. This is especially true for young professionals because most of us have never been through anything like this before. There are still many good things happening in our country and in our state, so it’s important to retain our faith in the human spirit and the perseverance of Americans.

What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? I volunteered to be hypnotized with seven other people at a show in Mandan in front of a large audience. (It didn’t work on me though for some reason)

Anything you’re particularly proud of? I’m proud to be a resident of North Dakota, where we are known throughout the nation as hard-working, honest people.

What advice would you offer other young professionals? Don’t be afraid to take a risk every now and then.

What are you thankful for? I’m thankful for my family and friends, and for having the opportunity to grow up on a farm in rural North Dakota.

What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?: Ten years from now, I’d like to be flipping through pictures of an Alaskan halibut fishing trip while training engineering software to a group of design engineers in Germany during a flight from Alaska to Ireland on my way to a four-day golf vacation.