Shawn Kane joked that he doubled majored in mechanical engineering and cycling while studying at N.C. State. After two years with little luck in his job search, Kane returned to his childhood passion—cycling.
Kane, a 2008 graduate, left the University in pursuit of a job in automation, a competitive and slim field in mechanical engineering.
“My focus was a little bit more specialized than other mechanical engineers,” Kane said. “Most of them have an idea of what they want. I was very specific. I didn’t want to sit in a public works department. I was more interested in the problem solving side—so I applied to a lot of automation companies. I had a few interviews. I assumed they found other people.”
President Barack Obama recently announced a call for more engineers, but with 15 percent of engineers graduating with degrees in mechanical engineering, a vast plurality in the diverse field, many have trouble finding employment.
“What I have seen is the engineers with specialized degrees like chemical engineering and aerospace are in demand, but civil and mechanical fields have suffered setbacks,” Stacey Ober, public relations manager of National Society of Professional Engineers, said.
Kane saw himself in the same situation. At the height of the recession and with just an undergraduate degree, he started working at bike shops in Raleigh while looking for jobs.
“At the time, when I was looking into it, there was a lot of people getting laid off and out of work,” Kane said. “That may have hurt a little bit.”
While working as a bike mechanic, a job he has done since childhood in his father’s bicycle shop, Kane saw an opportunity to follow his passion.
“I’ve been involved with cycling since I was little, and I raced here at N.C. State,” Kan, who was the president of the cycling club while studying at the University, said. “I worked with some pro cycling teams and traveled around the country with them. I was looking for an opportunity to manage a shop, and I was working my way up at a shop in Raleigh when the opportunity came along to run the whole shop.”
Now Kane is two weeks away from opening up his own bicycle shop, the Bicycle Gallery, in his hometown of Jacksonville, N.C.
“I am definitely not really doing anything with mechanical engineering now,” Kane said. “But I’m excited to be working in Jacksonville. It’s a smaller community, not like a bike Mecca in the Triangle. Our focus is to build the bike culture. Bike cultures don’t appear; they’re kind of cultivated. We want to promote it, not just sell it.”
According to Kane, the Bicycle Gallery will work with the city of Jacksonville to expand greenways, forge new trails for mountain bikers, start a high school mountain biking team, and instruct basic bike maintenance and repair courses.
“It’s always fun giving back and serving the community,” Kane said.
Kane said he’s embracing his new future in the cycling world without regret.
“Cycling was my highlight at my time at State,” Kane said. “I had a lot of professors that I liked, and they were amazing teachers, but the cycling group was great. I met most of my roommates and friends through the cycling club. There was a good group of us; a large percentage of the mountain biking guys were engineers.”
Kane said he put in just as many hours training, traveling and racing with the cycling team as he did studying.
“I was a really focused student. I took my studies really seriously,” Kane said. “But looking back, I took cycling really seriously, too.”
Not only was Kane a student and an athlete, he also put himself through college working at bike shops and as a UPS delivery man, work which he says forged his character.
“Those experiences really shaped who I am, and no matter what, I think success is defined by hard work more than anything else,” Kane said.
