I did my training in NAL. I began it in my last semester. It was around the time when VMD subject took a turn around. This was the semester that AeSI folks all around saw no person passing in VMD!! So that time i joined NAL and was fortunate to be able work under Dr. S Ramamurthy, then sceintest F.
Apart from applying my aerospace knowledge there, i learnt NASTRAN, ANSYS, solidworks and many other programming languages..
Of those days i remember this 3 points that I have learnt from my mentor. This are the 3 steps that have made my learning of so many software's easy and fruitful
1. Always begin with basics. You will never get stuck. don't jump steps. Approach the problem from the root. follow all assumptions and tackle one problem one at a time. From CATIA to NASTRAN, everywhere Dr. Ramamurthy began any analysis project from the basics. he kept the focus of the basics and developed the whole thing from that point. He incrementally added the details and curved out the perfect mesh or model.
2. Work is your puja. This is the nirvana, this is the karma. If you can enjoy it and bring your passion into it you are the number one. He used to say this and this is what Dr. Ramamuthy followed. This is what he preached and followed. One glance at his desk will reveal him hunched back and playing around with his books, thesis or softwares. I still remember he was the first scientist who came to our division and the last who he left. He was very much involved in all his projects. How con he bring so much . Well his work. his passion in the subject supplied all the energy. Like Natrajan sir., his passion was his fuel.
3. Avoid shortcuts, they might be easy on the surface but they need more more work in the long run. Shortcuts can stumble you in unfamiliar territories but not the long cuts...shorts cuts are like AeSI, easy to get in But difficult to pass. He followed this in learning software too. He used file menu than relying on the shortcuts of the tool bar. For many it seemed to be a waste of time but I have seen that because he was accustomed to using the menu, he was more efficient in any machine he sat, while the lead designer in our team was great in his own customized system but his productivity decreased drastically if he sat on a different system, struggling to find the shortcut toolbars. So while learning any software, rely more on the menus and standard keyboard shortcuts than on toolbars, they might look inviting but with menus you will be more productive in the long term.
So folks what do you say? What have you learnt. Share your knowledge? Training is all about learning. So what have you learnt from your experiences.