After his graduation Christie started as an apprentice in the engineering shop of the Westinghouse Machine Company. After the introduction of its first steam turbine, Christie specialized in that field.[2]
Further career in education and recognition
By 1909 he was research Assistant in Steam and Gas Engineering at the University of Wisconsin,[4] and associate professor of Steam and Gas Engineering by 1914. In 1914 he moved to the Johns Hopkins University, where he became associate professor, and later Professor of Engineering until his retirement in 1948, and director of the McCoy College until 1953.[2]