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Kenshin posted:Good idea, I'm surprised I hadn't thought of this. After some of the advice I've seen, might it help a bit to spend a year or two getting a B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering, then find a job, then get them to pay for my Masters degree? Whew, got a lot to say: I had a buddy who had a nice GPA and GED scores with a Physics B.S. from our state school, and he made a pretty killer application and got into a Master's Aerospace Eng. program at Notre Dame. He basically said "I know I have to take undergrad engineering classes, but I am confident I can do this etc." His first semester was pretty rough, but he made it through. Difference is he enrolled into Grad school right from undergrad, so YMMV. So definitely don't think you have to go back to get a B.S. just to get an engineering Master's. I'm always focused on the time it takes to do things, so I'd remember that most Masters programs will allow these exceptions if you have the skills and therefore you can bypass the B.S. If you DO work and go back to school, whether for a B.S. or M.S., remember, 99% chance it will suck. I know people who work 40+ hr's and go to school and even 1 class a semester keeps them up late at night. Therefore, finishing a Master's is usually a 3+ year process, so if you go this route I'd hope its with a company you like, doing something you like, because if you end up hating work it's going to make the classes that much harder. You'll probably end up questioning the whole thing. It helps if you can find school that offers professional degrees, because by nature they are geared toward, well, professionals. Jumping right into a normal Master's may leave you with classes at awkward times and a lot of busy-work homework, as it's designed for full time students. Even though you may feel shoehorned into software, I bet you can find some place that will pay for a Master's and be different enough that you may find some relief. I'm not claiming to know precisely what a Controls Engineer does, but I know at my place of work they usually program how a certain part of the device works, but also put a lot of work into the engineering/mechanics behind that aspect of the device, so you might find some options there. So, in my opinion, if I did go back to school, I'd go full time. Finish it quicker, no work-school stress, and although I wouldn't be sitting on piles of money, I wouldn't be racking up debt. Would I go for an undergrad? Hell no, go right for a Masters. Would I get an Undergrad then work and get a Masters paid for? Even worse, as the undergrad would cost $$, and I could probably finish the undergrad classes as a Masters student. Would I get a PhD? If you really love it. When I was an Undergrad(1 year ago) my boss was a Post Doc and her fiance just received his PhD. Neither of them could find jobs, and felt they shoehorned themselves too much, although they still didn't regret what they did, it was harder than they thought. Will the economy be better in 5+ years? Well probably, but I'd still want to make sure I love what I'm doing before I commit.
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Feb 18, 2012 00:07
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That also helps a lot. Looks like I'll attempt to go with my previous goal of applying directly for a Masters. I don't plan on working full time during school at all, hell I will take summer classes full time if I can cut a year off of the time to graduate.
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Feb 18, 2012 02:30
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How many hours a week do the engineers here typically work? I consider myself pretty lucky to have a good salary while only having to work 40hrs/week, and paid overtime if I ever have to work more. Is that typical, or do most of y'all pull much longer hours at the office?
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Feb 18, 2012 03:23
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38/week but I work on flexitime. My company was up until a year ago a government-owned one, so that's why the culture is as it is.
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Feb 18, 2012 07:00
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grover posted:How many hours a week do the engineers here typically work? I consider myself pretty lucky to have a good salary while only having to work 40hrs/week, and paid overtime if I ever have to work more. Is that typical, or do most of y'all pull much longer hours at the office? I'm a QA Test Engineer and if I wanted to work 80+ hours a week no one would bat an eye, good or bad. The downside is that it's really low salary, and no overtime, so I genuinely get upset when I work more than 40 hrs/week because my company doesn't exactly have the best...anything. We were asked to come in one day during the weekend on a push, and even then a few people never showed up and management didn't say a thing.
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Feb 18, 2012 15:26
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I only work 40 hrs/wk myself. Currently I'm on a 9/80 (company is very open to working either a 9/80 or a standard work schedule) and debating if I want to switch to a regular schedule for that extra hour a day. It feels like I don't have a lot of time in the afternoon to do stuff, but I do like those 3 day weekends every other week. I do see some older workers working more than 40 hrs/wk (but maybe they just want some more time away from the wife haha) but I've never felt pressured to work extra hours.
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Feb 18, 2012 15:28
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Thoguh fucked around with this message at 16:05 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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Feb 18, 2012 17:32
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grover posted:How many hours a week do the engineers here typically work? I consider myself pretty lucky to have a good salary while only having to work 40hrs/week, and paid overtime if I ever have to work more. Is that typical, or do most of y'all pull much longer hours at the office? I am working 40 a week now, used to work 45 a week at my old place. If poo poo goes down I might work a bit more, and I have a side work project I've spent a couple of hours on some weekends working on.
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Feb 18, 2012 19:48
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50-60 hours, sometimes longer. No overtime, no comp time. Compensation is okay but still low for the area. Small company so I do everything from engineering to sales to answering the phones. Finding time to focus on a project is difficult so I often take engineering work home where I won't be disturbed. The only thing keeping me there is grad school in the fall and some stock options that will be valuable once we get absorbed by a bigger company.
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Feb 18, 2012 20:30
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Government engineer, so my workweeks are 40 hours; my employer has to pay me overtime or give me compensatory time off for anything over 40 hours. Of course, there's no overtime budget right now, so working more than 40 hours just results in comp time. During typical work, it's not an issue, as you're pretty much only expected to work 40 hours per week. The issue is that I travel a lot for my job, so lots of evening/weekend flights (which, fortunately, are considered working hours). The end result of that is that I pretty much have little opportunity to use my normal vacation time, as traveling doesn't leave me many days I can take off, and those days I do take off I'm doing on travel comp time which is supposed to be used first. Thus, I'm now hitting use-or-lose vacation time at the end of each year, which means that paying my overtime with travel comp hours really doesn't benefit me much. Ah, well. I guess earning so much vacation time that it expires on me is a good problem to have.
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Feb 18, 2012 21:56
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I usually work 7-3:30, though we're expected to work over when needed. So, while I usually work 40s, I've also pulled up to 12 consecutive days of 14-16 hour shifts (did get two days off when everything was said and done). I'm a project engineer at a salt mine and many of our projects can only be completed when production isn't operating, thus making it more likely for me to work weekends to get stuff done. Generally, no comp time. No overtime. Salary is pretty good for the area (southern Louisiana). If I had to guess, I'd say I make about 1.5x the average household income for the area; not bad as a 23 y/o straight out of school.
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Feb 18, 2012 22:21
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grover posted:How many hours a week do the engineers here typically work? I consider myself pretty lucky to have a good salary while only having to work 40hrs/week, and paid overtime if I ever have to work more. Is that typical, or do most of y'all pull much longer hours at the office? I'm a contract engineer and they don't pay overtime, so I work 40 hours on the mark. And when reality hits and I need to work some extra time to hit some deadline or another, I take it out of next week. The whole team is contractors so no one complains. Maybe if I weren't making $10-20k/yr less (not even counting lack of benefits) than some of my friends from college, I would be a little more flexible about it. 
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Feb 18, 2012 23:06
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somedude posted:I only work 40 hrs/wk myself. Currently I'm on a 9/80 (company is very open to working either a 9/80 or a standard work schedule) and debating if I want to switch to a regular schedule for that extra hour a day. It feels like I don't have a lot of time in the afternoon to do stuff, but I do like those 3 day weekends every other week. I do see some older workers working more than 40 hrs/wk (but maybe they just want some more time away from the wife haha) but I've never felt pressured to work extra hours.
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Feb 18, 2012 23:14
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Thoguh fucked around with this message at 16:05 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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Feb 19, 2012 01:53
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Do a lot of big companies have a leadership program for distinguished entry-level engineering candidates? I interviewed with GE a few days ago for a co-op position, and the recruiter talked a lot about their Edison Program, and it sounds really great to me. Is GE the only company that has something like this, or do plenty of other companies offer something for really ambitious graduates with just a bachelor's degree?
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Feb 19, 2012 02:46
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grover posted:How many hours a week do the engineers here typically work? I consider myself pretty lucky to have a good salary while only having to work 40hrs/week, and paid overtime if I ever have to work more. Is that typical, or do most of y'all pull much longer hours at the office? I work about 40-45 hours a week. There were some instances last year where I worked up to 100 hours a week but that was an emergency and I was compensated for it. Normally, I don't get compensated so I don't try to linger too long. I work hard, I work fast, and then I GTFO. We have the 8-3 core hour thing too. So no four 10 hour days or flex time. Although I suppose if I make sure everything I have is lined up and get permission from my supervisor, there could be a little flex time.
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Feb 19, 2012 04:45
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Japanese company here, generally 8-6 or so. Regular five-day schedule; the hardcore Japanese dudes are working before I get in and long after I leave. No overtime, it's expected "work hard, play hard". I think I get paid well for being in MI and being a junior guy title wise, so not too bad.
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Feb 19, 2012 05:58
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This might be a dumb question, but I work in the environmental industry (non-profit) and am becoming more and more interested in the production of solar/photovoltaic cells. What sort of engineer designs them (EE I'd assume), and what sort of education/curriculum would somebody need if they were interested in solar cell efficiency research?
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Feb 19, 2012 17:42
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Monocular posted:This might be a dumb question, but I work in the environmental industry (non-profit) and am becoming more and more interested in the production of solar/photovoltaic cells. What sort of engineer designs them (EE I'd assume), and what sort of education/curriculum would somebody need if they were interested in solar cell efficiency research? (Organic) chemistry for efficiency itself, maybe applied physics as well. But lots of areas touch. EE is involved a bit; ME for the grand design, and dealing with all the layers, as well as a move towards flexible displays; chemical engineering/ME for mass production.
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Feb 19, 2012 20:33
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BSchlang posted:Do a lot of big companies have a leadership program for distinguished entry-level engineering candidates? I interviewed with GE a few days ago for a co-op position, and the recruiter talked a lot about their Edison Program, and it sounds really great to me. Is GE the only company that has something like this, or do plenty of other companies offer something for really ambitious graduates with just a bachelor's degree? Theyre usually referred to as ELDP or engineering leadership development programs. EDIT: and yes.
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Feb 20, 2012 07:01
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I applied for the EEDP with GE, never heard back. Multiple facets of the EEDP, after being told to do that at a career faire in November. Looked like a fun way to go.
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Feb 20, 2012 07:50
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Any advice for someone starting their first year of EE next week, with the eventual goal of working in the space industry? I finished high school in 2008 so I've been brushing up on my math with Khan Academy and some college level textbooks I have and also building a small rocket motor in my spare time  . Also I live in Australia, which has no space industry to speak of, (athough there is Woomera!).
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Feb 21, 2012 02:08
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Don't get discouraged if this is really what you want to do. It is a miserable, often boring, first couple of years but it'll be worth it when you get to higher level major specific courses.
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Feb 21, 2012 03:48
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smashczar posted:Any advice for someone starting their first year of EE next week, with the eventual goal of working in the space industry? I finished high school in 2008 so I've been brushing up on my math with Khan Academy and some college level textbooks I have and also building a small rocket motor in my spare time If you don't mind leaving Australia, science is universal and really I don't think there is any stigma at all about hiring foreigners, except for perhaps language barriers(which you won't have if you come to the US) and perhaps some type of relocation costs or something. This would probably be even easier if you knock undergrad out of the park and then apply for graduate school in the country of your choice. There's no reason for a grad school not to take people from all around the world.
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Feb 21, 2012 03:54
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The biggest barrier is ITAR restrictions, I'd need US citizenship to actually work in the industry there which is obviously extremely difficult. I'm taking a long term view in that regard. The other aspects of relocation don't bother me at all, I'd like to try living somewhere else anyway.
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Feb 21, 2012 04:06
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smashczar posted:The biggest barrier is ITAR restrictions, I'd need US citizenship to actually work in the industry there which is obviously extremely difficult. I'm taking a long term view in that regard. In addition to Woomera, CSIRO runs the big deep space communication complex out near Canberra for spacecraft tracking and radio astronomy, and that's one of only three in the world part of NASA's deep space network. There are a fair few EEs there to keep all the equipment running, though ground-based stuff might not be your cup of tea.
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Feb 21, 2012 12:24
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smashczar posted:Also I live in Australia, which has no space industry to speak of, (athough there is Woomera!). If you don't mind getting 80-90% of the way there, the DSTO does some nice rocketry/scramjet stuff. Where are you studying?
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Feb 21, 2012 13:12
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I have looked at doing an exchange next year, I'm actually saving money for that purpose right now, or even a PHD. I'm sure it'll be expensive. I'm studying at Swinburne, and I only just scraped in with my UAI/ENTER so I have a lot of hard work ahead of me, but I'm looking forward to it because I have a purpose and a goal rather than just drifting and working whatever job. Thanks guys.
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Feb 22, 2012 07:12
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Pretty sure DSTO have a base out of Victoria, if not even in Melbourne. The DMO certainly do stuff down that way though I'm not sure if they interface with satellite systems, or if you can get that specific there. GKN AES are based in Melbourne too, so you've got quite a few options even if you stay there, though of course they won't be quite like the dream job of NASA or whatever when you think about 'space jobs'.
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Feb 22, 2012 13:17
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I'm the only engineer at a very small and sales-oriented company that sells energy-saving technology to certain businesses. A big part of what I do is come up with estimates of how much we will save (based on an excel model that isn't terrible but that also isn't great) as well as analyze savings from buildings after retrofits are complete. I generally do my best to make the calculations reasonably accurate, although I am definitely generous with my assumptions for the savings estimates, and once or twice I have run the post-retrofit savings calculations with a couple different methodologies and then chosen whatever calculation produced the best result. Despite that though, there is always some general tension, and sort of an implication that I have done something wrong if the savings aren't as high as the salespeople would like. Or to put it another way, that my job is to produce an attractive number rather than an accurate number. It seems like I'm the person where the sales BS meets reality, and it's definitely a cause of some stress. Not to mention the careful wording and spin I often have to use when speaking to clients. Does anyone have experience dealing with issues like these in a sales-focused company?
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Feb 22, 2012 21:05
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DuckConference posted:Does anyone have experience dealing with issues like these in a sales-focused company? Especially in small companies, this is the experience of everyone I have known to be in that position whether they be in engineering or finance. They basically say here are the numbers. You can expect me to be honest about them.
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Feb 23, 2012 01:56
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I'm a junior BSME student who does web development for some extra cash. I'm currently working part-time for a small startup, making very good money. This summer, though, I want a paid ME-focused internship. Does putting web-dev stuff on my resume water down my engineering abilities to potential employers? Also, anyone have tips for phone interviews?
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Feb 23, 2012 05:30
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Anyone have any good tips on how to look for jobs in Baltimore/DC area or Chicago from out of town (meaning, we are not living there but are looking to move there)? My SO is in her last semester of mechanical engineering at a good school, with a good gpa, and now in a (second) internship, but is a bit intimidated by looking for a job.
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Feb 23, 2012 05:37
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Doghouse posted:Anyone have any good tips on how to look for jobs in Baltimore/DC area or Chicago from out of town (meaning, we are not living there but are looking to move there)? My SO is in her last semester of mechanical engineering at a good school, with a good gpa, and now in a (second) internship, but is a bit intimidated by looking for a job. There's definitely no lack of opportunities in the area, what with all of the defense things floating around. Anecdotally I know they're looking for MEs at Indian Head (NAVSEA), and with two internships and a decent GPA she probably has a decent shot. I think Carderock (also NAVSEA) has openings as well.
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Feb 23, 2012 06:05
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Large Hardon Collider posted:I'm a junior BSME student who does web development for some extra cash. I'm currently working part-time for a small startup, making very good money. This summer, though, I want a paid ME-focused internship. Does putting web-dev stuff on my resume water down my engineering abilities to potential employers? Not in my experience. Demonstrated ability to do some programming/having good computer skills is pretty much always a positive for any engineering discipline. Modern engineering revolves around computers.
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Feb 23, 2012 15:20
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grover posted:How many hours a week do the engineers here typically work? I consider myself pretty lucky to have a good salary while only having to work 40hrs/week, and paid overtime if I ever have to work more. Is that typical, or do most of y'all pull much longer hours at the office? I average 50 to 60. I generally get to my desk between 6:45 and 7:00 and work until around 4:45. I'm also expected to take calls from the field at all times. No overtime but it's oilfield so the pay is good.
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Feb 24, 2012 00:42
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Large Hardon Collider posted:I'm a junior BSME student who does web development for some extra cash. I'm currently working part-time for a small startup, making very good money. This summer, though, I want a paid ME-focused internship. Does putting web-dev stuff on my resume water down my engineering abilities to potential employers? It's never a bad thing to have different skills on your resume, until you get to the point in your career where you have to make choices for space. I once got an interview because I'm a trained fingerprinter. The interviewer used to work in forensics and we spoke about mechanical forensics opportunities. It acted as a hook, and web-dev stuff is a helluva lot more useful to an engineer than fingerprinting. For phone interviews: Make sure you are in a quiet area, if you have any hearing problems try to minimize them. Do you have a phone voice? Try to minimize any accents you have and speak clearly; your interviewer can't use your body language to fill in any mumbling.
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Feb 24, 2012 01:07
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If you have access to a landline, use that instead of a cell phone. Quality is better and no chance of a dropped call or dead battery,
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Feb 25, 2012 03:09
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Sophomore ChemE student here. I'm going to be working for GE Energy this summer as an engineering intern. We just were given 7 choices for assignments and I wanted to post them here and get any comments from more experienced engineers as to what would be the most interesting as I'm currently still learning all the theory and haven't really done any real engineering before. 1) Supplier Quality and Operations Intern - This role will support the Cost of Failure, Supplier Recovery and Early notification programs by helping improving the metrics, data accuracy and looking for ways to improve program effectiveness. Location: Atlanta, GA 2) Environmental Health & Safety Coop - Obtain a thorough knowledge of Environmental and Occupational Health Regulations as they apply to GE Auburn. Location: Auburn, ME 3) Process Engineering Intern - They will be working on a process improvement program to help us improve our knowledge management and capture process Location: Houston, TX 4) Controls Engineer Intern - Controls Commissioning support for the Duke IGCC plant – reviewing drawings. Location: Houston, TX Note: The Duke IGCC is a cleaner-coal integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant at Duke Energy’s 160-megawatt Edwardsport Station in Knox County, Indiana. 5) Environmental Health and Safety Support - To provide environmental health and safety support to the GE Water - North America dispersed workforce; Location: Oakville, ON, Trevose, PA, Norfolk, VA 6) Mechanical Engineering Intern - Work with Chief and Lead Mechanical Engineers. Maintain specification library. Perform engineering calculations. Review drawings. Work on competitiveness and continuous improvement projects. Location: Schenectady, NY 7) Systems Engineering Intern - The design work includes both the thermodynamic steam cycle, and the water heat rejection cycle, as well as defining the plant control system design to result in plant operations per the customer requirements.The scope of the power plant work covers the initial proposal to the Customer, detailed design after receipt of an order, and troubleshooting operating plants. I n creating the power plant mechanical designs, CC Systems Engineering provides equipment thermodynamic functional requirements documents for heat exchangers, heat recovery generators, attemperators, pumps, valves sizing, piping system pressure drops, and sometimes emissions control equipment. The control system definition facet of CC Systems Engineering is to create functional requirements documents that are provided to a Controls Engineering group which does the detailed design Location: Schenectady, NY We have to pick a top 3 choices from there and I'm currently leaning towards 7 > 4 > 6/3. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
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Feb 25, 2012 20:32
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Thanks for the advice, guys. I asked about the web dev stuff because I got asked in for an interview and the email said those skills were "of key interest." I was worried I'd be interviewing for a programming job. All went well though. In the end it's probably what got my foot in the door, like you said.
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Feb 26, 2012 04:59
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