Any Engineers Here?

Off Topic
21

My degree is in IE (Industrial), but I’m currently doing facilites work for the Air Force.

Some thoughts:

Bust your butt in school. You can’t goof off like the Arts & Sciences majors, but the payoff will be a nice paying job when you graduate.

Take every opportunity to participate in REAL WORLD internships to get a reasonable idea of what engineering work is really about. Hint: Most of it is much different than adademic projects.

Make sure this is what you want to do. My engineering experiences have included LOTS of ass in chair time in gray cubicles in windowless buildings.

Pay and job security are usually good, but beware. Working as a government engineer for the past couple of years almost feels like a deal with the devil. Great pay, benefits, off time on the one hand; lots of politics, nonsense, working with zombies, and dealing with maddening beaureacracy on the other. I’ve worked in the private sector also and the company I was with demanded lots of overtime/travel and a mucho butt-kissing.

If it sounds like I don’t enjoy engineering work, that’s because I don’t. Keep in mind this is just my perspective. I enjoyed engineering school and the problem solving skills I developed, but if you’re just going into engineering for the money and job security bite the bullett and do something that you have a passion for.

22

[quote]FFJeff wrote:
Mech E here. Going in senior year at CSU.

Here is an interesting link:

http://www.jobweb.com/joboutlook/2006/default.htm

Engineering majors are in very high demand: 4 out of the top 10 highest demand jobs are engineers, with ME toppin the list.

What are you interested in? It seems that a lot of people get in to engineering expecting something completely different from what it actually is. It looks like there are a lot of Warrior Nerds here that can give you plenty of advice.

Jeff- Proud Enginerd[/quote]

CSU sucks.

I can’t wait for the Rocky Mountain Showdown this year.

23

I’m a mechanical eng. student, senior year but 2 years left before graduating.

I didn’t figure out what I wanted to do until after my second year of college, at which point I became a mech-e major with an interest in biomechanics and an aspiration to be an orthopedic surgeon (lol, that’s a mouth full).

I’ve just started to take the advanced engineering courses, and will be taking a few graduate engineering courses next year so I can give you a little advice.

1)If math is not second nature to you already, you have a long road ahead; but it is definitely NOT impossible. If you love what you are learning, you will do well. Engineering science classes are some of the most fascinating.

2)Get involved early. One of the biggest perks about being an engineering major is the vast array of amazing extra-curricular clubs, teams, and projects.

If you think you like engineering, pick the coolest one and join up asap. It will show you the practicality of what you are learning, making classtime, studytime, and tinkertime more fun (even though you are busting your behind).

  1. Pace yourself. The difference between those who succeed in engineering, and those who drop is the simple recognition of what you can and cant handle (course load wise).

Out of my 7 or so friends who started in engineering, only 1 remains. We have shirts here at uf with our motto; “Leaving college in four years is like leaving a party at 10pm.”

4)DO NOT LISTEN TO YOUR ADVISORS, they will set you up for failure. Commonly they tell you to take about 15-16 credits of intense courses all at the same time; unless you are a genius you will do shitty in all of them, and learn nothing.

Do not take more than 2-3 core engineering classes at once, fill the rest with gen-eds or things which just interest you. It makes a world of difference when you have the time to fully understand what is being taught, rather than just trying to pass tests.

  1. Ratemyprofessor.com!! like in any program, there are teachers to avoid and those to seek out. Find the good ones, avoid the bad ones. Many seem to enjoy the fact their class average is 30%; I don’t give a crap if THEY curve, the real world doesn’t. You are there to learn.

Engineering is the coolest, but there is a downside; good looking women are sparse (that’s what gen-eds are for anyway).

Seeing as how you are all engineers, I thought you might get a kick out of this (it’s a shirt the mechanical/aerospace department sells here).

Top ten reasons to date an engineer:

  1. Projectile Motion: do we need to say more?

  2. Trained to do the job right the first time

  3. specialized in experimentation

7.have significant figures

  1. Know all the dynamics of relative motion

  2. Accustomed to pulling all-nighters

  3. Know the benefits of friction and viscosity

  4. The world revolves around us: we choose the reference frame

  5. We know the right hand rule

  6. We know it’s not the length of the vector that counts, it’s how you apply the force

24

I’m a ChemE, retired after 25 years at it. It was what I wanted to do since middle school…always loved chemistry and science and I am good at it. The college course work took effort but I already had the habit of applying myself in science/math in high school so no big deal. To the OP, do you already have that habit as you are going into your senior year?

Most of my career was chemical engineering and most of the time I was amazed that I got paid so much for doing what was so much fun. Lucrative pay plus some well timed jumps out of the stock market enabled very comfortable retirement before 50. Now it’s farming and kid raising with some interesting technology applications thrown in for extra credit.

If you’re good at analysis (taking apart problems) and synthesis (putting together solutions) you’ll do well. The math, statistics, physics and chemistry are your tools you will more or less use throughout your career. The learning must not stop. To be the most successful, read broadly in many fields looking for analogies between other fields and your own fields problems. I found that approach to be great at providing “ah ha!” solutions that got me a lot of positive recognition (and big raises, bonuses and stock options!)

Always be working yourself out of “this” job so you can be given the next better opportunity. Engineers who do more with less are given more…basic investment principle. Don’t make yourself indispensible on “this” job…work to make “this” job do-able by someone much cheaper than you and make sure your sphere chain of command knows about it (your mgmt, the production mgmt, the development mgmt). Don’t become known as a “firefighter” engineer unless it’s someone who puts out “fires” and keeps them out. An engineer always operating in “firefight” mode will develop rumors that maybe he/she is starting the “fires” in order to get the attention of putting them out.

That being said, it’s not a 40 hour a week job. It’s a professional job so you do what the job takes to get done. Before I had my kids, I worked long hours, I did several all-nighters a year but I was well compensated. You don’t expect money for nothing, right? By the time I had my kids (late 30’s), my reputation was established in the top 25% and telecommuting was possible so I could do work from home after the kids were in bed.

I have no regrets about my first career. After my kids graduate from high school I could see myself returning. Or not… as I’m getting plenty of mental stimulation with learning the application of science to farming.

Best of luck in your chosen career.

25

CU blows-dirty hippies ;). I too am looking forward to the showdown. Always a good game.

26

Well, I am in a physics graduate program, so I am not an engineer, but I would suggest you go through with it. Sure, you’ll have to study your ass off, but the technical skills you learn will be applicable in many industrial/laboratory settings. Basically, you will be smart and know how to solve quantitative problems, and will be in demand.

Of course, you could go the physics route and study condensed matter and work in a nanotechnology lab, which pretty much guarantees you a job when you graduate. Anyway, good luck with whatever you choose (study physics…).

27

I am not an engineer. However I have known and worked with many engineers over the years so I thought I would chip in my 2c.

It is a hard discipline and will require a lot of study and work. If you choose this path then plan to put a tonne of effort into your studies over the next 6 years or so and expect to be rewarded heftily.

But the rewards can be excellent. Some of the most interesting jobs in the most interesting places in the world, and good pay too, and good packages.

Depending on the field you are in, the work can come and go, sometimes there are drier years and sometimes there are heavy years of high demand. At least, it has been like that over the past twenty years or so, and it depends on your field. But note that “dry” doesn’t mean no work, it means less ability to command some juicy income packages because of a shortage. If you are good then you should have no problems finding work for the rest of your life, especially taking into account the major advances in some countries (e.g China).

So I would say yes, it is worth looking into. But electrical, mechanical, or aeronautical isn’t really narrowing it down much, there are big differences between those fields.

Note also you might be able to switch disciplines after your first year of study, and you’d have a better idea of where you want to go, after talking to a lot of other students etc… with contacts.

And don’t go past going into the university and talking to the heads of school directly, or even students there already, to scope it out.

Good luck!

28

Engineering is a good career with many oppurtunities post gradutation. I graduated last may with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from TCNJ. One thing I think you should consider is not going to an engineering specific school. I feel the interaction with students of all types can only lead to a better college experience.

Also, like everyone else said, make sure you want it because it WILL be hard. But in the end, it’s more than worth the effort. The best advice i can give is to use study groups, swallow your pride and ask for help if you need it, and try to get an internship every summer.

I had an internship with Navair every summer and that led to them offereing me a job before i had even graduated. One last thing, don’t forget you’re in college. You can be an engineer for the rest of your life, but you’re only an undergrad for 4 years (sometimes 5).

29

I have to agree with pretty much what everyone else here has posted. I just graduated from Penn State as a Mech Eng (aka engiNERD) in Dec after 4.5 years. So I thought I might reinforce in with a couple of things.

  1. Intern or co-op. If your school has a big co-op program i.e. Drexel then do that otherwise I would try and land a couple of internships during your summers for a couple of reasons…
    Engineers are in very high demand right now it seems but you need experience. That was all I heard when I was interviewing… you need more experience. I even had 1 summer internship. While that is not a lot of experience I know plenty of people that have absolutely no experience. The other reason that I think that it is better to intern unless you have a big co-op program is that it helps to find a “group” and if you are going to co-op and your “group” does not then you will not be on the same schedule.

  2. Like I said and like many people people have said before find a “group”. It can be pretty rough going solo as an engineer. Being able to work on homework assignments and study for tests with friends is a major plus. If you do not understand something usually someone else with be able to shed some light on the subject. Plus spending lots of time by yourself doing homework is not my idea of fun.

  3. I found that after my first two years (general core classes) that my GPA went up. I agree with people that the subjects do get harder but I found that I was more interested in the subjects and therefore I had an easier time. Lets face it Calculus and the like are BORING… fluid dynamics, heat transfer are a little more interesting in my opinion. So even if your first couple semesters are rough you may want to stick it out unless you truly do not want to be an engineer.

  4. Engineering is hard it is not impossible. Find a balance between school, social life, and other activities. I knew plenty of kids that spent hours each day in the library doing work. Now there is nothing wrong with that. I will be the first to say congratulations on your high GPA. Personally, I would rather have a more balance in my life. Do not expect to be partying every night. You do have to put in a lot more time that other majors but you should be able to have plenty of fun too.

  5. School is a lot different than work. you can go into so many professions after your graduate and never even have to look at Bernoulli’s equation or Laplace transforms ever again although you probably will not see them ever again even if you do engineering work. Lots of business were looking to interview me because engineers have good problem solving skills. I talk to finance people, consultants, sales people while I was looking for a job. Companies LOVE engineers. Also, working as an engineer is all about problem solving not about memorizing theories and equations. And to me it is a lot more fun than anything that you do in most classes.

30

I’m a structural engineer. Graduated 22 years ago.

31

[quote]oboffill wrote:
In high school I wanted to be a Computer Engineer. I was good with computers, I was good in math.
……
B.A. in Philosophy here I come. [/quote]

That’s funny… I got my BS in Computer Engineering, and now I’m doing my PhD in Political Philosophy.

32

Mechanical enginner, graduating this week

33

I work in Mechanical Engineering and am pursuing a law degree to practice patent law. i own entirely too many books.

34

Biomedical.

It’s tough (the degree), but you’ll do allright after you graduate.

On a side note, for all of you other engineers here with actual engineering degrees, am I the only person who gets pissed off at the bastardization of the term “engineer” (i.e. the cleaning crew being ‘sanitation engineering’, etc)?

35

On a similar note to Magarhe, I am not an engineer but work at an aerospace company that is chock full of those nerds… err, I mean talented employees. :slight_smile:

One thing to keep in mind is that being an engineer in many companies (like mine) is the first step to a lot of different career paths. I work with people in finance, legal, sales, operations and senior executives all of whom started as engineers. It’s seen as a cornerstone of learning of the business and then you can take it in any direction you want from there.

36

I received a B.S. in EE and B.S. in CpE five years ago. I’ve followed them with a MEM (Master of Engineering Management) that I just finished this past August.

Engineers can choose extremely varying career paths from risky cutting edge small business technical work to job secure government engineering program management (What I do, and I agree that working for the government is a deal with the devil as theBrowser has said). Technical or management; risky or secure; big company or small; and all levels in between, you should be able to find something that fits you.

Sure, you may have more time to screw-off with an easier major, but that could really limit your earning potential for the next 30+ years. Engineering is definitely a hard major, but the rewards are certainly there. Don’t expect to get rich, but you should always do really well.

Your career will be what you make it, but plenty of opportunity exists. I wish you the best of luck with whatever you choose.

37

Hi,

I graduated with a Batchelors in mechanical engineering last summer. After doing a bit of travelling, I’m in the process of looking for a job. The schooling was tough compared to a lot of other subjects, but I kind of get the feeling that it will be one of the most rewarding careers out there if I pick the right projects to work on. Engineers are involved in pretty much any aspect of life you can think of, so there are limitless opportunities out there.

It’s tough when all of your mates are out partying without you 'cos you have 5 times as many sheduled lectures as them, but at least you know at the end of it you won’t be a desk jockey, plugging data into a computer 8 hours a day!

Mdm

38

I can’t stand it. I also don’t like tech’s using it.

At least Canada has the Iron Ring, so you know anyone without it isn’t a real engineer.

[quote]mica617 wrote:
Biomedical.

On a side note, for all of you other engineers here with actual engineering degrees, am I the only person who gets pissed off at the bastardization of the term “engineer” (i.e. the cleaning crew being ‘sanitation engineering’, etc)?[/quote]

39

Electrical Engineering major here, finishing up my second year at Stevens IT. Actually, I’m doing a four-year joint bachelor’s/master’s program, plus minors in physics and computer engineering. That translates to 24+ credits a semester. I just made my schedule for next semester, and I’ll be taking 26 credits. Actually, I don’t work very hard and skip most of my classes, but I can’t help but pile on the credits. When they offer you a free education, it’s like being in an all-you-can-eat buffet.

I’m starting summer research after this semester; it pays a few hundred a week, plus free housing, and it’s basically my only chance at experience. Well, that and our version of the senior thesis, a year long engineering design project.

40

Wow! Tons of good stuff here guys. Thanks a TON for all the info. Next week (my spring break) I’m going up to UCF for an interview/visitation, then heading over to Embry-Riddle later in the week.

I have a strong work ethic, and math is one of my stronger subjects (especially compared to literature…ick!). So far I have a 4.52 weighted GPA. Still waiting on ACTs and SATs though (I hate both of those tests…). I’ll end up taking each one a second time though just for good measure.

Engineering has been something I’ve always been fascinated with, and have wanted to do. I love to know how stuff works, how to design things, how to improve things, take things apart…etc. At first, I researched chemical engineering freshman year (so 2 years ago), and found it was interesting, but not my cup of tea. Then my uncle’s recently turned me on to the possibility of aeronautical engineering (hence Embry-Riddle, where he happend to go), and also mechanical and electrical engineering (leaning a tad bit towards electrical more than mechanical, as it kind of goes hand in hand with my hobby of electric RC cars).

Anyways, thanks a ton for all the stuff once again guys. One more question, what schools did you go to (or are you going to) and have you ever heared of ABET (I think UCF is ABET certified; something to do with a board of engineers or something?).

Thanks again!

CU Aero Stallion- Care to explain more about aerospace engineering? That’s always caught my interest right along side electrical engineering.