|
Phlegmbot posted:Your age and other degree are fine. Depending on your interests, you could easily use that econ degree and your engineering degree in your future career. It's more that I regret that I didn't put in the effort while I was in college than just being flat out jealous of them. I will admit that hearing about what they're working on is entertaining. I'm going to start off at a CC in the evenings and work full-time while I'm doing the basic coures (Calc 1-3, Physics 1-2, and Chem) and transfer to a State school. Is there anything I can do while attending CC and working (My job has nothing to do with design or engineering) to help find an internship when I get to one of the State schools? I've thought about attending some local ASME stuff to network. Once I get in school I'll find a design team or a research opportunity, but the CC doesn't have those. I'd really like to do this and I'm trying to save as much money as I can at the moment, but I will need to either work part-time or do a summer internship to make sure I have enough money to get by.
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2011 22:53
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 03:01 |
|
|
.
Thoguh fucked around with this message at 14:59 on Aug 10, 2023 |
|
#
?
Dec 12, 2011 03:02
|
|
|
Thoguh posted:A semi serious suggestion would be to take up robotics or something as a hobby. Even if all you do is make a homemade roomba at least it's something to talk about in an interview.
|
|
#
?
Dec 12, 2011 10:36
|
|
|
Thoguh posted:Just being a bit older and having actual work experience will be a big plus. A semi serious suggestion would be to take up robotics or something as a hobby. Even if all you do is make a homemade roomba at least it's something to talk about in an interview. I think I got my current job mostly by bringing my PlayStation optical-drive replacement via FPGA *to* the interview and showing them that I did know FPGAs despite never having used them in a professional setting. Projects are fun, but I've found myself really scaling back on them (the pure EE ones anyways) because it's like taking your work home with you 
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2011 16:59
|
|
|
Just had an engineering fellow tell me the project I'm working on could potentially move into patent territory. Kind of a great feeling considering I'm just a Co-op  e: Also, anyone have any suggestions for me for tomorrow? I'm giving my final presentation which is basically like an overview of my projects. Supposed to be a few big-wigs there. Traitorous Leopard fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Dec 14, 2011 |
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2011 16:24
|
|
|
I have a B.S.C.E. and decided to go back into food service. :P Seriously, though, it seems like all the engineering jobs these days are for senior/managerial level (where I live, anyway). If you like working with a bunch of nerds, sitting at a desk, and doing algebra simply because you can, then engineering might be for you. My last job was in environmental regulation, which was pretty cool, since I like that weird intricate language and finding loopholes in it. There are so many avenues you can travel down with any engineering degree. A lot of them turn out to be fairly interchangeable. I even worked in R&D for medical devices at one point. Also, you don't even have to stick with engineering just because you have an engineering degree. I should say that civil engineering was my second degree. My first was in physics. So, yeah, even though I may have felt like I should have majored in something else, I went back and did just that, and now I have no regrets about either degree. Degrees in the sciences show potential employers that you have maybe the most important quality an employee can have - the ability to think critically.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2011 21:00
|
|
|
Slightly related, I learned that I passed the PE today! gently caress yeah! Civil/Structural
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2011 00:08
|
|
|
Scissors posted:Slightly related, I learned that I passed the PE today! gently caress yeah! You lucky sob! Congrats! All I have is "Exam results/diagnostics not yet available " Traitorous Leopard posted:e: Also, anyone have any suggestions for me for tomorrow? I'm giving my final presentation which is basically like an overview of my projects. Supposed to be a few big-wigs there. Without any other context, just remember that no one knows your material on what you did better than you. You should be fine on your feet, not that you probably have any worries anyway. If you can stay after and network, especially if there are bigwigs, then of course do that.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2011 00:13
|
|
|
Scissors posted:Slightly related, I learned that I passed the PE today! gently caress yeah! licensing fees and ridiculous insurance premiums, and keep paying them for the rest of your career/life, but buying that stamp is an awesome feeling, isn't it?
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2011 04:24
|
|
|
Traitorous Leopard posted:Just had an engineering fellow tell me the project I'm working on could potentially move into patent territory. Kind of a great feeling considering I'm just a Co-op as stated you know the material better than anyone... Shoot straight and don't bullshit if you don't know the answer to a question.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2011 04:28
|
|
|
grover posted:Congrats! Of course, now you'll have to start shelling out Yeah, and continuing education too. And all for the fact that I probably won't stamp/sign anything for another 3-4 years anyways.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2011 14:40
|
|
|
I have a degree in computer engineering and my first job has me doing mostly physics/applied math type algorithms and magnetic modeling. The work is alright but not really what I want to do for the rest of my life. My question is if I stay here for any significant amount of time, is it going to make it difficult to get a job doing something different? Id rather have a job pertaining more to what I actually went to school for (embedded systems and what not).
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2011 22:02
|
|
|
Sir Vanderhosen posted:I have a degree in computer engineering and my first job has me doing mostly physics/applied math type algorithms and magnetic modeling. The work is alright but not really what I want to do for the rest of my life. How long have you been at this job? If you stay it's just work experience. If you don't like it, start looking for a new job now. If anyone ever says anything about you only working there for a short time you can simply tell them that it turned out to not be the right fit for you.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2011 00:21
|
|
|
psychokitty posted:I have a B.S.C.E. and decided to go back into food service. :P That's why I love working in the oilfield. Get to spend a week or so a month in the field driving out to my rigs or meeting (drinking) with vendors. I love the patch
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2011 04:00
|
|
|
Sir Vanderhosen posted:I have a degree in computer engineering and my first job has me doing mostly physics/applied math type algorithms and magnetic modeling. The work is alright but not really what I want to do for the rest of my life. The longer you stay, the harder it will get. If you want to switch, but are not able to do it right away, do everything in your power to stay up-to-date in embedded systems. Join the societies, read the websites, etc. You will be walking into a job interview in the future and you need to be able to talk like you eat, drink, and poo poo embedded systems. You will be able to talk about your present job from behavioral and general engineering perspectives. I just switched industries after three years (power to communications). I had gone to school for communications (well, EM and some comm) and not power - similar to your situation. Timing worked out well because I got a promotion from engineer to senior engineer too.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2011 04:32
|
|
|
.
Thoguh fucked around with this message at 14:59 on Aug 10, 2023 |
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2011 05:10
|
|
|
Anybody have any tips for an EE to find jobs in an interesting or exotic place? I'm not too concerned with pay or advancement opportunity at the moment, but I would like to spend a year or two just experiencing something different, preferably outside the US. Any specific companies or industries I should be looking at? I'm not fussy about where I go and it doesn't have to be in a first world country. I don't have much experience yet, I'm graduating with a good GPA and 1.5 years cooping/part time in the power industry.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2011 06:36
|
|
|
Thanks for the replies. I was an intern at the place for about a year and I've been full time for 4 months. To be fair, I do a little embedded system stuff while I'm here, just not very much. The problem is the company is really small and the software department is 1 guy. There isn't a huge amount of time for him to sit down and get me caught up, so he does it little by little. They pretty much created my current position for me, so I figured I should probably stick it out for a year or so and see what happens.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2011 14:25
|
|
|
OctaviusBeaver posted:Anybody have any tips for an EE to find jobs in an interesting or exotic place? I'm not too concerned with pay or advancement opportunity at the moment, but I would like to spend a year or two just experiencing something different, preferably outside the US. Any specific companies or industries I should be looking at? I'm not fussy about where I go and it doesn't have to be in a first world country. I don't have much experience yet, I'm graduating with a good GPA and 1.5 years cooping/part time in the power industry. Power, and do field work for a supplier in the power or industrial equipment (VFD, large motor, automation, etc). Has taken me all over the world, though you'd better not be picky; you'll spend most of your time in the developing world. IIRC we're hiring at the moment, I'll check into that this afternoon.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2011 16:42
|
|
|
Sir Vanderhosen posted:Thanks for the replies. Where are you located? Garmin, the GPS guys, are always hiring embedded programmers if you are interested in consumer electronics.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2011 17:57
|
|
|
OctaviusBeaver posted:Anybody have any tips for an EE to find jobs in an interesting or exotic place? I'm not too concerned with pay or advancement opportunity at the moment, but I would like to spend a year or two just experiencing something different, preferably outside the US. Any specific companies or industries I should be looking at? I'm not fussy about where I go and it doesn't have to be in a first world country. I don't have much experience yet, I'm graduating with a good GPA and 1.5 years cooping/part time in the power industry. Defense contractor, field engineering. Say that you'll travel anywhere and everywhere for as long as you can.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2011 20:12
|
|
|
Not getting my hopes but up, but along the same lines, anybody have any tips for a software (CS) guy to find jobs in an interesting or exotic place?
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2011 20:54
|
|
|
I passed!!!  You guys can call me-- Hed PE
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2011 00:14
|
|
|
Safe and Secure! posted:Not getting my hopes but up, but along the same lines, anybody have any tips for a software (CS) guy to find jobs in an interesting or exotic place? Same fields, basically. Heavy industry is usually in need of SCADA control system programmers (bonus if you know anything, and I mean anything, about security), and it usually involves at least some site-time. You could also do independent freelance work, but finding that can be hit or miss.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2011 01:23
|
|
|
resident posted:Where are you located? Garmin, the GPS guys, are always hiring embedded programmers if you are interested in consumer electronics. Thanks!
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2011 01:46
|
|
|
A Jew in Manhattan posted:Saw this post and looked them up. Those positions actually sound interesting; I'm going to apply for a summer intern position later. Their summer internship is pretty highly regarded by Forbes among others. You will get a lot of good experience if you get one. Good luck!
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2011 03:28
|
|
|
OctaviusBeaver posted:Anybody have any tips for an EE to find jobs in an interesting or exotic place? I'm not too concerned with pay or advancement opportunity at the moment, but I would like to spend a year or two just experiencing something different, preferably outside the US. Any specific companies or industries I should be looking at? I'm not fussy about where I go and it doesn't have to be in a first world country. I don't have much experience yet, I'm graduating with a good GPA and 1.5 years cooping/part time in the power industry.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2011 04:44
|
|
|
OctaviusBeaver posted:Anybody have any tips for an EE to find jobs in an interesting or exotic place? I'm not too concerned with pay or advancement opportunity at the moment, but I would like to spend a year or two just experiencing something different, preferably outside the US. Any specific companies or industries I should be looking at? I'm not fussy about where I go and it doesn't have to be in a first world country. I don't have much experience yet, I'm graduating with a good GPA and 1.5 years cooping/part time in the power industry. Look into the mining industry. Mining has a lot of need for power systems guys, and those opportunities are pretty cool in location, scale, etc, IMO.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2011 15:02
|
|
|
KaiserBen posted:Power, and do field work for a supplier in the power or industrial equipment (VFD, large motor, automation, etc). Has taken me all over the world, though you'd better not be picky; you'll spend most of your time in the developing world. IIRC we're hiring at the moment, I'll check into that this afternoon. This. Buddy of mine is all over the place. It takes him away from his fiance for 4-5 weeks in a stretch, then he's back for a week or two, then he's off again. When he's not in the sticks, he's in third-world poo poo holes where he needs to be escorted by armed guards.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2011 17:13
|
|
|
resident posted:Their summer internship is pretty highly regarded by Forbes among others. You will get a lot of good experience if you get one. Good luck! I interviewed at Garmin and got offered a summer internship--it didn't work out but there is no doubt from my tour that they have some neat things going on and if I had done it I'd have gotten a great head start in analog and digital electronics experience. I know some of the people who did a summer there and their interns actually get real projects to bring to completion themselves (under guidance). It's great experience, even if you don't end up there.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2011 17:28
|
|
|
I was talking to my sister about my internship today and I'm feeling a little down, hopefully I can get some good opinions from you guys. I'm coming to the end of an eight month internship with a Fortune 50 company involved in Metals Technologies in China. I've basically just been converting CAD drawings from PDF to AutoCAD and making small changes to AutoCAD drawings. In regards to engineering work, that's all I did. Due to the language barrier(everyone speaks English but their level of English and willingness to actually speak it are a completely different matter) I didn't really learn a whole lot about engineering. Things like properly dimensioning parts and why something is designed the way it is are completely lost to me since I never learned. I did however do a few other good things while I was there. - I had an idea for an improvement to a machine that got sent to HQ to get reviewed for potential future R&D. - led two meetings about SolidWorks since I'm the only person in my group that knows how to use it. - Since I'm the only native English speaker in my group I've produced the final copy of the CAD standards for our group. - I joined in an English discussion with my group 3 hours a week which has evolved into me co-leading four different groups a week with me helping about sixty people with English. - I studied Chinese for seven months for about 8 hours a week and will eventually take classes once I return to university. I really should have learned more engineering stuff and I tried several times but the language barrier is just a little too much for me to learn a lot more. I didn't really get to work on big projects, all the meetings were in Chinese save for two when an American stayed with us for two weeks, and most all the office talk was Chinese.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2011 17:58
|
|
|
Do you want to be a nuts-and-bolts engineer or would you be more interested in working at a higher level, e.g. procurement and stuff like that? There are tons of organizations that offshore their manufacturing to China and need technically-minded people to go and set up deals, inspect factories, liaison between the design engineers in the US and the manufacturing engineers in China, etc. That's actually probably a really good career path into management, too, and probably a pretty solid long-term career path, because honestly mechanical engineering in the US is dying a long slow death.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2011 22:10
|
|
|
KaiserBen posted:Power, and do field work for a supplier in the power or industrial equipment (VFD, large motor, automation, etc). Has taken me all over the world, though you'd better not be picky; you'll spend most of your time in the developing world. IIRC we're hiring at the moment, I'll check into that this afternoon. That sounds neat, are they interested in entry level people? I totally understand if you don't want to post this, but I would like to know which company you work for so I can do some research. I can give you my email address if you would prefer not to post the name. When you travel do you usually get much of a chance to see the local sights when you are off the clock, or is it pretty much work 24/7? Plinkey posted:Defense contractor, field engineering. Say that you'll travel anywhere and everywhere for as long as you can. So Lockheed Martin and the like? In a way I regret not really looking for an internship that would have got me a security clearance. grover posted:US Government has a ton of jobs at bases and embassies around the world. In a lot of cases, US citizens are required, especially when dealing with classified material. Check out http://www.usajobs.gov/ and see what's open. Overseas jobs like this usually only have 1-3 year rotations, so there's always turnover. I'll check that out in the morning, 1-2 years sounds perfect. Dead Pressed posted:Look into the mining industry. Mining has a lot of need for power systems guys, and those opportunities are pretty cool in location, scale, etc, IMO. I never thought about that, I guess it makes sense that there would be a lot of developing countries with a lot of mineral wealth but without the educated work force needed to extract it. I've heard from Australians who say you can make serious cash out there, might be worth looking into. I imagine the first world countries wouild be a lot harder to get into and would have a lot more native engineers competing for the positions though.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2011 03:39
|
|
|
OctaviusBeaver posted:That sounds neat, are they interested in entry level people? I totally understand if you don't want to post this, but I would like to know which company you work for so I can do some research. I can give you my email address if you would prefer not to post the name. We do hire entry level people fairly often (that's how I got in), IIRC we still have one position open for an entry level field engineer now. I'm not gonna post the company, but if you give me an email address, I'll send a link to the application to you. It varies by jobsite, I got to see pretty much everything I wanted to in China within a reasonable distance of the site (6 day workweek meant day trips only, sadly), but I've been working my rear end off (70-85hr a week) at my latest site, though fortunately there's not too much to see here. Our schedule is usually around 45-50hr/week, so that can cut into the sightseeing and fun a bit, but usually there is some time.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2011 17:30
|
|
|
Can anyone suggest places to apply near Boston for a third year mechanical engineer[ing major] with a decent GPA (3.2) and some fairly impressive experience last summer at a solar energy startup? Definitely doesn't have to be alternative energy related; I'm trying to cast a wide net. I really want to get a toehold in GE, where my grandfather worked for 40 years and lots of my graduated engineering friends are really enjoying themselves. I can't find any engineering openings on their site though. Thanks! Large Hardon Collider fucked around with this message at 23:55 on Dec 21, 2011 |
|
#
?
Dec 21, 2011 22:40
|
|
|
Large Hardon Collider posted:Can anyone suggest places to apply near Boston for a third year mechanical engineer with a decent GPA (3.2) and some fairly impressive experience last summer at a solar energy startup? Definitely doesn't have to be alternative energy related; I'm trying to cast a wide net. e: I'm retarded, are you still in school, or a graduated ME with 3 years of experience looking for a full time job? If the latter disregard above.
|
|
#
?
Dec 21, 2011 23:23
|
|
|
movax posted:
|
|
#
?
Dec 21, 2011 23:57
|
|
|
I want to be an intern in GE, but in my country internships aren't as common and they at least don't have a contract with my school. I'll probably end up in Bombardier or Procter & Gamble since they do! And I just learned I have the highest grades of my class. Being Queen Nerd paid off. Anyway, I just want to share an internship fiasco I experienced a couple of weeks ago: My school produces the best engineers of my country (or so it has been evaluated), so a very important company in its field made a contract with my faculty. Every year they get the two best students as interns, they do a semester with the company, then another at school, until they graduate, when they get hired as engineers. So, thinking I was really prepared in languages and technical knowledge besides the grades, I applied for the internship. Well, I shouldn't have. I got interviewed by 5 people (President, and several managers), and got told extremely sexist things by 3 of them. One even mentioned when they saw that two women were applying, that they shouldn't even call us, since women end up doing secretary work. The unprofessionality of it all still baffles me. They shouldn't have called me on the first place.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2011 02:17
|
|
|
OctaviusBeaver posted:About Mining: First world opportunities are abundant, as well. I wouldn't discount anything in the States. Think about it this way, all resources are either grown or mined, and the US is definitely a leader in raw materials. Much mined material isn't cost effective to ship for processing/refinement, so it stays here. You can find stone quarries pretty much everywhere, metals out west, coal pretty much everywhere, and salt at some random locations. I understand the appeal internationally; there are definitely opportunities there as well. Australia has an outrageously booming coal industry that exports to china, and then you've got gold and other fun stuff in Africa. But everything you find out there, you can find in the states as well. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2011 02:27
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 03:01 |
|
|
evensevenone posted:Do you want to be a nuts-and-bolts engineer or would you be more interested in working at a higher level, e.g. procurement and stuff like that? There are tons of organizations that offshore their manufacturing to China and need technically-minded people to go and set up deals, inspect factories, liaison between the design engineers in the US and the manufacturing engineers in China, etc. There are still many opportunities for mechanical engineers, especially if you're willing to pick up some skills in other areas. If the only goal is a great and constantly in demand career, there are better choices, but I think saying it's dying is overstating it pretty significantly.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2011 05:47
|
|
