#MyFirstJob: Billie McKinney

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Posted on June 24, 2019

Bob Lowry

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#MyFirstJob is a series focused on University of South Alabama Class of 2019 graduates who are beginning their careers.

When Billie McKinney graduated from the University of South Alabama this spring with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, he was all set to follow in the footsteps of some of his family members while also holding something unique.

“I am the first of my family to graduate as an engineer,” McKinney said, adding, “Many members of my family have or are working for Ingalls and have retired from Ingalls.”

Ingalls is Ingalls Shipbuilding, located in Pascagoula, Miss., and known as a major builder of military ships for the United States armed forces. Among the newest of its 11,500 employees, McKinney was hired as a structural engineer. Listening to him, one can tell that he takes his job responsibilities very seriously.

“As a structural engineer at Ingalls, my job consists of ensuring the safety of the men and women of the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard,” McKinney said. “To do so requires that I effectively analyze the structures for Navy and Coast Guard compliance that support the systems the men and women rely upon on a daily basis. As a son and grandson of former Navy servicemen, I take great pride in providing these men and women with the utmost dedication, professionalism and work ethic that they provide our country daily.”

McKinney is from Vancleave, Miss., about 45 minutes west of the University of South Alabama campus. He had his eye on Ingalls before he left South. “I completed a summer internship with Ingalls in 2018. For me, being a structural engineer at Ingalls was always a goal of mine. In that process, I knew I could better my chances of accomplishing my goals by setting myself up as best as possible for when the time came. The steps that I took were maintaining high academic standards and professionalism, and gaining the most professional experiences through co-ops and internships and networking.”

McKinney checked all those boxes at South. In his final year, he was president of USA's chapter of Chi Epsilon, the civil engineering honoring society. “As the president of a student organization, you are responsible for ensuring that the organization is run properly and effectively. I have always felt like a natural leader ever since high school and this level of responsibility helped me further my experience and knowledge of what it means to be a good leader for my peers.”

While the convenience of commuting from Vancleave to Mobile was a real positive for this 29-year-old father and husband, it was South’s engineering program that made the difference. “The education I gained at South Alabama prepared me tremendously for the engineering work force,” McKinney said. “While at South, I was able to not only gain the technical knowledge and background required for engineering, but the professional characteristics that make a successful engineer as well. The staff at the College of Engineering took great pride in ensuring that the students who leave the University are well prepared for all aspects encountered as an engineer.”

And now that McKinney is, in fact, working for a living as an engineer, all the commutes and all the tests and all the projects have been worth it.

“For me, it is an amazing opportunity that I have been awarded in this life. To be able to provide a better quality of life and role model for my family is invaluable. On the academic/professional side of the question, in a sense it is almost the same for me. Through college, I always took my education, assignments and due dates very seriously. I knew that one day, as a professional, I would be relied upon to provide my client with the satisfaction that my work was performed accurately, efficiently and within a timely manner. This type of attitude I feel would prepare, and has prepared, me to become the best engineer possible.”

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