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Jason Cox
Jason Cox
01:07

Jason Cox

Cox Machine

Wichita, KS USA

"You don’t have to work yourself out of an industry—you just have to know where it’s going."

Career Roadmap

Jason's work combines: Engineering, Business, and Building Things

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Day In The Life

President

I oversee the operations and strategic direction of an aerospace company.

01:38

Day In The Life As President Of An Aerospace Company

My Day to Day

My main responsibilities as president are to connect with our customers and set the strategic direction of the company. I spend two to three days every two weeks traveling to the places our parts are used and talking to the people using them. I meet with the strategic decision-makers for the companies that we build parts for to make sure we all have the same goal. My days are filled with a lot of meetings with the main goal of establishing what the company's doing and where the company is going.

Skills & Education

Advice for getting started

Start working on your business acumen sooner rather than later. Find trade publications online for the industry that you're interested in and use them to keep a finger on what's happening in relevant businesses. I also recommend taking any chance you get to attend an industry conference, whether that be virtual or in-person. Even as a college student, the better you understand the industry, the more prepared you'll be to find the most valuable courses for your journey.

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Mechanical Engineering

    Kansas State University

  • Graduate Degree

    Mechanical Engineering

    Kansas State University

Learn more about different paths to this career

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life has been direct

  • 1.

    I’ve always been very interested in the mechanics of things—I would take my toys apart as a kid and also spent a lot of time watching my grandfather work on antique motorcycles.

  • 2.

    In high school, I worked at an autoshop and was part of the drafting program in school.

  • 3.

    I earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Kansas State University.

  • 4.

    After graduating, I started my career as a design engineer for Cessna Aircraft Company.

  • 5.

    I spent three years with Cessna before joining my family’s aerospace business, Cox Machine.

  • 6.

    I started at Cox Machine as a production manager and then transitioned to chief technical officer.

  • 7.

    I took over as president of Cox Machine in 2016.

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