Dr. Joe McGinley—a quadruple alum—shares his experiences of splitting his time between his roles as a practicing surgeon, executive, radiologist and physician, while also climbing mountains (literally).

 

Joe McGinley is busy, but you can't tell by his demeanor.

 

The practicing surgeon has split time in recent months between day jobs as an executive, radiologist and physician, while also climbing mountains (literally). He spoke with students last week about his time as an Owl, his career arc and how students can apply their engineering education.

McGinley—BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering, PhD in Physiology and MD from Temple Medical School—is founder and CEO of McGinley Orthopedic Innovations, McGinley Education Innovations and also President and CEO of McGinley Manufacturing, in addition to working as a radiologist for MSK Intervention and Sports Medicine.

"It's been incredible to see the college grow since I was here. I joked around with the Dean earlier that I don't know if I could get in today if I applied," McGinley said to laughter. "You should feel very accomplished being part of that success of a program that's on the upswing."

McGinley walked the group of Senior Design teams through his day jobs, and specifically through taking an engineering idea from concept to completion and then through to its commercial application. He also touched on transitioning from hard-and-fast engineering work to becoming an executive, and the personal drive necessary.

"When you start a company or when you're motivated to advance your career, it takes hard work. There's no doubt about it. You have to be willing to be wrong and learn from your mistakes. And you have to have a desire, a passion," he said.

McGinley also relayed a poignant talk he had with a security guard just before his presentation, where he was asked to rate his average day as a CEO from 1-10.

"Every day is a 10—of course, if you asked me on the bad days, I wouldn't say those are 10s, but those are the days you really learn," he said. "You can't have a better job than when it's your own product, your own ideas."

He credited his extensive time at Temple, over 13 years, as central to his success, but kept it light.

"With four degrees from Temple, they just couldn't get rid of me, but I loved every day of it."