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Then you have my old manager that had a different GPA scale based on her perceived quality of the school. CMU - 3.0 is fine, Penn state - you better have a 4.0 or your resume is going in the garbage.
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May 10, 2012 15:13
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gninjagnome posted:Then you have my old manager that had a different GPA scale based on her perceived quality of the school. CMU - 3.0 is fine, Penn state - you better have a 4.0 or your resume is going in the garbage. Unless I were hiring for a research position that required a graduate degree I would give almost no fucks about the applicant's alma mater. I'm assuming "4.0" is slightly hyperbolic in your statement, but there are plenty of very talented people that go in-state to avoid accruing gigantic student loan balances and still end up in the 3.something range.
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May 10, 2012 16:52
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resident posted:Unless I were hiring for a research position that required a graduate degree I would give almost no fucks about the applicant's alma mater. I'm assuming "4.0" is slightly hyperbolic in your statement, but there are plenty of very talented people that go in-state to avoid accruing gigantic student loan balances and still end up in the 3.something range. I agree completely. It's a really dumb view, and really frustrating if you are a university recruiter.
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May 10, 2012 17:06
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I'm a BSME student graduating this December. Should I register for the October FE exam? None of my teachers or fellow students have said anything about it, but I just realized that registration opens next month.
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May 10, 2012 23:34
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Man, it's funny how different the mentality seems to be Canada vs the States re grades. Maybe I just didn't apply to the right places when I graduated, but literally not once did I get asked for my grades, and none of my buddies seemed to get asked either. It's probably a good thing, as my average wasn't the best, but I blame that more on not being a good test writer. I was top 10-15% in every design course, and bottom 30% of most of my test based courses. Course, I took as many design courses as I did, and was involved in design stuff outside of school, so that gave me lots to talk about in interviews. I know where I work the hiring process seems to focus more on project experience & how much you bring to a team, rather than pure knowledge. I think our top guys put it best when he said something along the lines of I can teach anyone with an engineering degree 95% of the technical things they'll need to know without any issue. Teaching someone how to be part of the team is a lot harder.
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May 10, 2012 23:50
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Large Hardon Collider posted:I'm a BSME student graduating this December. Should I register for the October FE exam? None of my teachers or fellow students have said anything about it, but I just realized that registration opens next month.
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May 10, 2012 23:58
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Wolfy posted:What do Civs do? A lot. Some work at construction sites as managers. As far as I know these are terribly easy jobs that don't require any real engineering. If this is something that interests you there is a degree called Civil Engineering Technology/Construction Engineer/Construction Management Technology or some combination. These degrees are typically light on math and geared towards these kind of jobs. Bah hah hah. I don't know which construction companies you've worked with, but engineers working in construction don't have easy jobs. It's often up to us to fix stupid poo poo design engineers do. Like design engineers deciding to put equipment in a location that cannot be easily welded or bolted down. Or a location that does not meet fire or electrical code requirements. Or rewelding equipment to certain standards because a vendor hosed up. Or stupid designs that get craft hurt. Anyone working any kind of design position should have exposure to construction. If they're not coming from a craft background, then they should go do some construction engineering for a bit. Some folks might think it is beneath them, but I think overall it results in better quality work. Senor P. fucked around with this message at 04:02 on May 11, 2012 |
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May 11, 2012 03:31
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Senor P. posted:
I could not agree with you more. Things on paper do not always translate well into the real world. When I was first starting out, not having a clear picture of how things got built led to a few change orders that could have been avoided.
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May 11, 2012 04:55
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Safe and Secure! posted:Sounds like your company is run by a bunch of B-engineers. Yeah just make up stuff that I didn't say and hurf blurf about it.  I find it hilarious that people think engineers working for construction companies would have an easy time. There's usually a lot of problems to work out and a lot can go wrong. Overturned cranes and collapsed floors are a disaster scenarios that you do not want happening, especially if there is loss of life. Investigations of the causes of failures are interesting if your client is an insurance company. Whether or not insurance payouts are made can hinge on the advice, and I've seen construction companies go bankrupt as a result.
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May 11, 2012 07:38
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Senor P. posted:Bah hah hah. I don't know which construction companies you've worked with, but engineers working in construction don't have easy jobs. It's often up to us to fix stupid poo poo design engineers do. What really pisses me off are engineers who never get out to the real world to see the consequences of their designs. A little more thought in the design phase can pay huge dividends in improvements in constructability and use. Edit: vvv are people really so naive as to not tell old LF fakeposts from reality? grover fucked around with this message at 12:38 on May 13, 2012 |
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May 11, 2012 18:05
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grover posted:Engineering is always a compromise. Sometimes, the design engineer simply made a mistake, but more often, these decisions were often made for a very good reason and changing the location creates other issues elsewhere. They're definitely not changes that should be made blindly by a tradesman who wants a little more room to work. But the numbers really do need to be ran by the original design engineer, or the design engineer at least consulted as to WHY he ran a pipe through the electrical panel exclusion area, etc, so that the adjustment can be made properly. Like building their own houses, violating building codes, then just stamping it off as passing inspection for the hell of it. Guess next time at work I'll just stamp off these pressure vessel welds as being 'acceptable'. Not adhering to codes is certainly a great way to ensure safety and quality. Senor P. fucked around with this message at 11:49 on May 13, 2012 |
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May 13, 2012 11:47
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Devian666 posted:Yeah just make up stuff that I didn't say and hurf blurf about it. I'm confused, you said you specifically don't hire A students and instead hire mostly B students. That would, by your own definition, make your company run by a bunch of B engineers. Sure, it's a dumb joke but I don't get what you're all butt hurt about.
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May 14, 2012 17:48
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Murgos posted:I'm confused, you said you specifically don't hire A students and instead hire mostly B students. That would, by your own definition, make your company run by a bunch of B engineers. Sure, it's a dumb joke but I don't get what you're all butt hurt about. The idea is that a B student isn't necessarily a B engineer as grades are a poor way of telling someones ability as a engineer.
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May 14, 2012 17:56
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Ingenium posted:The idea is that a B student isn't necessarily a B engineer as grades are a poor way of telling someones ability as a engineer. I get that. The point of the joke though was that by the only measurement there is that gives letter grades, that is school, then they would be B engineers. Like I said, it's a dumb joke but not anything to be all bent out of shape over.
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May 14, 2012 18:07
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TrueChaos posted:Man, it's funny how different the mentality seems to be Canada vs the States re grades. I put mine on my resume. It doesn't get you the job, but I think it helps you get the interview.
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May 19, 2012 04:34
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Ingenium posted:The idea is that a B student isn't necessarily a B engineer as grades are a poor way of telling someones ability as a engineer. The idea is that grades actually are a worthwhile signal of one's ability as an engineer. In this case, however, B grades signal better engineers than A grades. Safe and Secure! fucked around with this message at 05:07 on May 19, 2012 |
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May 19, 2012 05:04
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I'm a fan of engineers that can talk about interesting projects, personal or otherwise in great detail and with great enthusiasm. I kind of reflexively asked for a whiteboard + markers at an interview to help explain what I was talking about.
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May 19, 2012 23:23
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Dragonsven posted:Just be a physics major. That's how I became an engineer! Seconding this post from 3 years ago.
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May 23, 2012 05:06
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Isentropy posted:I had a few questions about graduate school in engineering. I worked for three years between undergrad and grad school and you don't just become unable to learn. You might have to refresh and relearn, but I got an MS in a different field than my undergrad and it was not impossible. As for your second question I have no idea.
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May 23, 2012 05:14
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I'm going in for an interview Thursday for an internship that my friend is currently the intern for. He said the interview they're going to ask me machining questions that I've got no clue about. I had a previous internship in engineering that revolved around CAD drawings but it was in China so I didn't really learn much because my coworkers couldn't explain. What should I say when they try to ask me machining questions?
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May 23, 2012 07:02
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My most successful interviews were ones where I honestly admitted that I had no idea what they were talking about when they asked me questions I didn't know the answers to. I'm pretty sure being honest about your weaknesses is a really rare and excellent trait for an employee; there are so many retards out there ruining everything because they refuse to admit when they're wrong/uninformed.
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May 23, 2012 07:22
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Thoguh fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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May 23, 2012 14:33
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I've got a dilemma. I've also got a massive tl;dr effortpost. My VP of Engineering has asked me to consider what I want to do with my future - PM or design. I'm coming to the end of a year-long role managing a $200m capital project, that I was picked to do by him when the business required a PM resource after not finding one via internal recruitment. Prior to that my experience is mainly design (FEA & hand design), though in the 6 months prior to the PM role I was similarly allocated to the task of implementing isolation & lockout across our work sites. This means I've not really done any design in 18 months. When I did do design, I got good reviews and was involved in the fundamental design of our major assets. In my current PM role, I've got great reviews as well. I had never really done any major PM work before this and had a prejudice against it, instead preferring design, but I've enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. I've got about 4.5 years experience now. With my current role ending the VP and his subordinate who I report through both want me to return to a mechanical structural design role. This section is currently significantly understaffed and has loads of work on, involving both FEA design and in-field testing (strain gauging for data analysis, etc.). On the other hand, my former supervisor of the PM role (who changed out in a company restructure a while ago) is trying to headhunt me to come work with him. His current role is PM/leadership in green-fields work that's basically acting as a business renewal/strategic development section. Essentially, he wants an Engineer who can do the pre-feasibility work in investigating which ideas to pursue further. This work would then involve work being passed to the aforementioned structural section, who'd be involved in actual development based on strategic decisions made in the development group. The twist is that the PM manager has asked the VP Engineering for a resource to do that role and they couldn't come to a mutually agreed conclusion. Reading between the lines, he probably asked for me and got told to get shafted. To this point, I've not expressed a preference either way - honestly, I could enjoy either role. Yesterday, the PM manager talked to me about what he was after and explained that if he can't get a resource, he'll have to internally and then externally advertise the position. I see a few options for me: 1) Go in to the design role. This is the default if I don't act. My pay won't change but I'll be doing straight-up design engineering in some pretty cool environments as we develop new tech, but we won't be calling the strategic shots. Lots of in-field experience, etc. My pay here is limited by the fact that I've yet to attain chartered engineer status, though I've now got enough experience that if I dedicated myself to working on it part time for a few months I could get all the documentation together. I get along really well with the Engineering people especially the VP. The only real downside is that the head of the structural section can micromanage and be pedantic on vetting work before it goes out. He's also the only chartered engineer in that section (pending a mid-year restructure) and this forms a bit of a choke point for work, which can be frustrating. 2) Beg to my VP Engineering to be the resource in strategic development area. This would take the form of another year-long tenure and would likely not see my pay increase either, because I'd still be employed and reporting to the VP Engineering. I enjoy working under the PM manager guy but largely don't know the rest of the team there. I'd do no design but I'd get to do some pretty cool strategic investigation/pre-feasibility stuff and really play a role in steering the business. 3) Wait for the PM manager to advertise it internally then apply. I'm not guaranteed the role but he's now multiple times tried to convince me to do it, so I figure I'm on pretty short odds. I'd almost certainly see a pay rise, possibly quite significant, but it'd remove me from the Engineering group until such time as they advertise a position again that I can apply for and get. The downside with this, as the VP Eng has tried to explain to the PM Manager, is that since I am not chartered, I cannot give 'Engineering advice' to the business so it'd be a possibly difficult position unless I get chartered and quickly. This has been a large factor on why they couldn't agree on a resource from the Engineering section - the PM manager wanted someone with more experience but the VP Engineering can't really spare anyone with chartered status. 2 and 3 really to me just come down to how I want to game the system. I'm not sure how the PM Manager would react to me waiting but I could play it off as 'I reconsidered' and he'd probably appreciate the pay rise thing anyway. TL;DR: As such, the decision essentially comes down to whether I want to do design or strategic development. Many people seem to say to go the PM role since you'll get more kudos working in a strategic position and I'd expect it'd transition to the big bucks more easily if could take going in to management (either people or project) permanently. On the flip-side, I really enjoy the technical challenges of design and have always enjoyed academic challenges, which is probably why I'm drawn to FEA work in particular. Secondly, doing 'real world' stuff on as large a scale as they're talking is no doubt going to be great field experience. So, opinions please? If you think I've missed supplying any info or want to ask questions, fire.
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May 24, 2012 13:53
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I think we all face this quandary at some point. Stick with the technical engineering we love and face limited promotion potential, or transition to management? PM is probably the better career move, but you'll quickly find yourself embroiled in the business aspects and removed from all things technical. There's a lot of grover fucked around with this message at 14:03 on May 25, 2012 |
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May 25, 2012 13:58
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I suddenly decided I'm worried that my resume is going to be terrible for getting an actual job and want some input. I'm a MechE going into my senior year and haven't had anything in terms of internships because I suck. I didn't want to risk doing nothing this summer so got research with a professor doing FEA of the brain and we're probably going to get a paper or two published out of it if all goes well. Will that sort of thing be worth anything to employers? I figure my only saving grace is that I have a 3.9 GPA at a really good school. I have experience with all the normal software (Inventor, MATLAB, ANSYS etc) and have various projects for classes I can talk up. Is it worth trying to put together any example work with the software to show I actually know more than the bare minimum? I also have the option of doing a thesis and graduating with honors or doing a senior project (basically a year long team thing to design/build a car/plane/rocket/etc for a national competition) with a team. I figure the project would look a lot better? I feel like I am way better set up for grad school than an actual job. Is there anything useful I can do for myself while I have a bunch of free time to make myself more appealing looking? I'm pretty set on working my rear end off to have something lined up before or soon after I graduate.
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May 26, 2012 03:09
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Thoguh fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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May 26, 2012 03:39
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Not a MechE, but when I look at resumes in ChE for my company, I don't care if you have a research position instead of an internship, so long as it's clearly explained what you did, you understood the work you did, worked with some independence, and show some passion for the field. Just make sure you have some accomplishments other than classwork to set yourself apart from your peers. Published papers will look great to any company that does research.
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May 26, 2012 04:02
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Nam Taf posted:I've got a dilemma. I've also got a massive tl;dr effortpost. Some background: I only have 3.5 years of experience but have been a supervisor in the official sense for about six months now. When I started my job, I was told at the beginning about the technical vs. management divide. Ultimately, I wanted to focus on management so I really tried to excel at the things that point me in that direction. So I frequently volunteered to work with different groups, manage projects, handle budgets, accounting, etc. I still did quite a bit of design work because my thought is that you need some technical background to do a good job as a manager. For the past year or so, I've been supervising and managing a lot with almost little or no design work. Then I finally got the promotion a few months ago. I do agree with grover that a lot of times, senior management does want more seasoned and experienced employees for management and supervisory roles. I got in because of hard work but really it was due to retirements and some reorganizations that ultimately worked in my favor. I think that if you are serious about management, you should seriously explore options 2 and 3. I don't know what the requirements are to get your chartered status but if you can get it as soon as possible, then go for it. If that is an issue and you are unable to get the job and must do design, then at least you've shown management (and the VP of Engineering) that you are serious about advancement, which may go a long way if an opportunity presents itself in a couple of years. Either way, I don't think you lose by trying. A little initiative goes a long way. The Experiment fucked around with this message at 13:53 on May 26, 2012 |
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May 26, 2012 13:50
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RedReverend posted:I'm going into my junior year of EE next fall and have been applying for summer internships. I've already got an offer working in Power and Systems on the local nuclear reservation from one company. Pros are: the job is mine if I want it, it's in my specialty of Power, my wife works for the same company so we might be able to carpool together, and it is guaranteed full time through the end of the summer. Cons are: it's a hell of a drive through horrible traffic, work starts at 06:00, and it's for a company that is doing clean up so it is working itself out of a job. That means that there is little chance of being picked up as an engineer after school is out. Update on this: I accepted the first job offer and have been working for a couple of weeks now. I went to the interview for the second job and explained to them that I was already committed to an internship this summer but that I was very interested in working for them. My thought was that since it is a two year co-op and they want someone who is willing to stick it out the entire two years that if they really want me they should not have a problem waiting a few months for me to start. The interview went well. Apparently I was the only interviewee who even knew what the power triangle was, which seems odd to me. Anyway, last Friday, they called and offered me the position. It was even explained why the two year commitment is so important to them. The average age of Engineers out at the area is 50+. There are a lot of people who are nearing retirement and they are basically looking for the next wave of Engineers to bring on. Best case scenario is that I'd be mentored for two years in Power Distribution by an Engineer that is looking to retire and when I am out of school I'd be taking over his job. Worst case is I graduate with two years of experience in my field. In addition, the company is willing to invest $7,500 per year into my masters degree. This is very exciting. No more applying for internships. Plus if all goes well, I could see retiring from this company. Thankfully, they must of really liked me to agree to wait three months, and allow me to fulfill my prior commitment before actually hiring me on. Everything worked itself out it seems.
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May 26, 2012 16:12
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Piggycow posted:What should engineers do in college to get hired As a general rule, real world experience in the same or related industry is a huge plus. A co-op or internship is usually considered real world experience. Doing an interesting extracurricular project will often make up for lack of real world experience. Under no circumstances should you position classroom projects as something other than exactly that. The recruiters might have taken those classes, so when they see "Designed an 8 Bit adder!" as a line item under "Projects" and then see "Intro to digital design" as a class taken, they will know you are full of poo poo. Knowing the specific engineering toolset is a bonus for our company, although not required. If you're an ME, know Solidworks, ProE, or whatever the 3D CAD/CAM/IM package your school uses. If you're an EE, at the very least, know a product related to your line of specialty (SPICE for board designers, Altera for FPGA dudes). Depending on who is reviewing your resume, having a ton of research may be helpful. I am personally heavily prejudiced against research at the expense of actual design in terms of who has actually worked out well at my firm, so if the research you are doing is design based, position it that way in your resume and interview. Some people give a poo poo about grades. I find that those people tend to hire fewer good candidates. At the same time, you should be able to get a B average at a good college. Put the 3.2 or whatever on there and own it. Not putting it on there is usually an auto-discard unless your resume otherwise reads like a manager's wet dream. Tim Thomas fucked around with this message at 18:07 on May 28, 2012 |
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May 28, 2012 18:04
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If any of you use LinkedIn, they just got hacked and it turns out they stored the passwords unsalted. Now would be a good time to change all your passwords if you use the same one between multiple sites.
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Jun 6, 2012 23:01
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T-1000 posted:If any of you use LinkedIn, they just got hacked and it turns out they stored the passwords unsalted. Now would be a good time to change all your passwords if you use the same one between multiple sites. thanks for heads up. literally just signed up for linkedin -_-
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Jun 6, 2012 23:10
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T-1000 posted:If any of you use LinkedIn, they just got hacked and it turns out they stored the passwords unsalted. Now would be a good time to change all your passwords if you use the same one between multiple sites. This is extra funny (and irritating) because after the Gawker hack, LinkedIn sent out e-mails "Hey guys, we downloaded the hacked passwords just to see if you used it here, and if you did, you should change it! We'd never be this dumb!  "gently caress LinkedIn and gently caress incompetent web developers in general. They can't even get web programming right.  e: LinkedIn posted:It is worth noting that the affected members who update their passwords and members whose passwords have not been compromised benefit from the enhanced security we just recently put in place, which includes hashing and salting of our current password databases. 
movax fucked around with this message at 14:54 on Jun 7, 2012 |
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Jun 7, 2012 14:37
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Any engineers here do Peace Corps? What did you get involved in and where?
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Jun 8, 2012 01:10
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I'm asking yet again, but what exactly can I do as a recent BS graduate in Biomedical Engineering? I've been looking at everything available in the Boston area and almost everything is either heavy software related stuff or lab bitch positions. I have zero idea what entry level jobs it qualifies me for, or what jobs it qualifies me for at all. I'm beginning to think that biotech is a very bad field. edit: Hell, what can I do PERIOD? Am I able to take apprenticeships, or become a teacher, or something? Am I in any way, shape or form useful!? Also check out what I found: quote:Mr. Chris C, Oh Indeed 
Pollyanna fucked around with this message at 20:30 on Jun 9, 2012 |
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Jun 9, 2012 20:24
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Tim Thomas posted:Completely anecdotal, but I work for a major cap equipment firm as a systems/EE and am heavily involved with college hiring. And then of course there are schools with final year industry sponsored design projects that actually, you know, do projects. My group implemented a data acquisition system on an electric tractor that previous years had built, monitoring a bunch of different things. Of course, I can talk about that project extensively and in depth in interviews to show it was a lot more than an intro course.
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Jun 9, 2012 21:17
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Pollyanna posted:I'm asking yet again, but what exactly can I do as a recent BS graduate in Biomedical Engineering? I've been looking at everything available in the Boston area and almost everything is either heavy software related stuff or lab bitch positions. I have zero idea what entry level jobs it qualifies me for, or what jobs it qualifies me for at all.
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Jun 10, 2012 00:40
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Pollyanna posted:I'm asking yet again, but what exactly can I do as a recent BS graduate in Biomedical Engineering? I've been looking at everything available in the Boston area and almost everything is either heavy software related stuff or lab bitch positions. I have zero idea what entry level jobs it qualifies me for, or what jobs it qualifies me for at all. Did you do any internships/co-ops/undergrad research? Maybe it's because my school focuses on co-ops, but the four people I know graduating with a BS in biomed in the coming weeks already have jobs lined up. The only person I know who can't actually get a job did a combined BS/MS in Biomed (course, not thesis based) and had a 4.0 GPA but worked as a student ambassador instead of getting in anyone's lab.
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Jun 10, 2012 02:41
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Yes, I loving did internships, I even loving designed a medical device and matching imaging system by the end of April. I don't understand how I go from that to "completely unemployable" unless I am somehow mentally retarded. What am I doing wrong?
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Jun 10, 2012 23:50
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Pollyanna posted:Yes, I loving did internships, I even loving designed a medical device and matching imaging system by the end of April. I don't understand how I go from that to "completely unemployable" unless I am somehow mentally retarded. What am I doing wrong? No need to get frustrated and lash out at people who are trying to give you advice.
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Jun 11, 2012 00:19
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