In this special role-reversal episode of the Being An Engineer podcast, longtime host Aaron Moncur steps into the guest seat while previous guest Mike Romance takes over as interviewer.

Aaron shares the story behind his journey from a laid-back childhood growing up in Hawaii to becoming the founder of Pipeline Design & Engineering in Phoenix, Arizona. After being laid off during the 2009 recession, Aaron faced a moment of uncertainty that ultimately pushed him to start his own engineering business—learning sales, marketing, and leadership along the way. What began as a one-person consulting effort grew into a thriving engineering services company focused on automation, custom machines, fixtures, and product development.

During the conversation, Aaron reflects on the early challenges of entrepreneurship—cold-calling for his first customers, figuring out how to quote complex engineering projects, and learning to build a team and culture from the ground up. He also shares one of his favorite Pipeline stories: rallying his team to design and deliver two complex automated test systems in just ten weeks—an effort that required nights, weekends, and a fully committed team.

The discussion also explores Aaron’s broader mission: accelerating the speed of engineering by sharing knowledge across the industry. That vision led to the creation of the Being An Engineer podcast, the online engineering community The Wave, the PDX – Product Development Expo, and Pipeline’s CAD Club for middle and high school students. Together, these initiatives aim to highlight the often-unsung role engineers play in shaping the modern world.

Along the way, Aaron and Mike dive into topics like engineering education versus real-world learning, the challenges of running an engineering services business, the importance of culture and leadership, and why engineers deserve more recognition for the impact they have on society.

If you’ve ever wondered how Being An Engineer started—or what drives the person behind the microphone—this episode offers a candid look at the story, philosophy, and vision behind the show.

LINKS:

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pipelinedesign/ & https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeromance/

Guest website

Aaron Moncur, host

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The Being An Engineer podcast is brought to you by Pipeline Design & Engineering. Pipeline partners with medical & other device engineering teams who need turnkey equipment like cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us at www.teampipeline.us

Watch the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TeamPipelineus