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Dead Pressed posted:I'm sure you've tried this, but in the past I have been able to get away by entering a derivative of $0, such as $0,000. Also, writing OPEN has sufficed as well, but, like I said, I'm sure you've tried that.
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Feb 7, 2013 11:34
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Prefect Six posted:From what I've seen the career move is usually the other way around. Most sales guys who are Engineers started out doing design or in other Engineering related positions in the industry, realized they could make (more) bank selling the stuff they specify and started/joined a sales outfit. I can definitely understand that. The reason that I ask about the transfer the opposite way is that I personally have a large passion for direct design and am afraid that accepting one of these jobs would make it difficult to pursue that passion further down the line. If this was the case, I would likely not accept the job offer and wait for something that is more on the design side.
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Feb 7, 2013 20:35
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KetTarma posted:Internships/Co-Ops are for students enrolled in a degree program. The expectation seems to be that you do an internship while a student to gain experience to compliment your classes. Well I have asked my friends and family if they have an open entry level positions at their companies, but no one is really hiring. I've never joined a society or club so my resume just consists of education, skills like Pro-E and Solidworks, and a description of my senior design project.
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Feb 8, 2013 10:58
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Go to the business subforum and read the LinkedIn thread . You might have luck there.
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Feb 8, 2013 12:23
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All you have to do for a great job is be at the right place at the right-time, and you're a shoe-in, qualified on paper or not!
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Feb 8, 2013 15:21
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I'm an engineering student in the second year of my four year degree at the University of Canterbury (NZ). The UC engineering degree is accredited by IPENZ which apparently has international recognition. Can anyone else weigh in on this? How useful will my degree be if I leave NZ? edit: UC has a very large population of international students, so the degrees must be worth something overseas, particularly in Asia.
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Feb 14, 2013 11:12
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Ingenium posted:After having spent I good amount of time on the job hunt, I have become a bit curious about the sales engineer/applications engineer position. I seem to be getting the best feedback from these kinds of openings, but I am worried that it will make it difficult to move into a greater design focus engineering position in the future. For anyone here that has done hiring for engineering positions, do these kinds of jobs have a negative impact on a persons chances to obtain a more typical engineer job? I'm an applications engineer for a company that builds environmental remediation systems. I deal with RFQ's from consultants that our sales reps bring in (so I'm not really involved in the actual "sales" aspect, outside of how we present our quote). I love it - fast paced work, and honestly 70-80% of design is done at the quote stage, at least for us. My bids usually have turnaround times of under a week, then you're on to something new. Plus it's great experience to see and understand the buisness side of things - because I work directly with the sales team I gain insight into their processes. As for career path, I'm moving into a mechanical design role within the next year, and then likely starting up the management ladder within 2 years of that, so I'd say its good experience. But it's going to depend on where you work, and how they handle the applications role.
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Feb 14, 2013 18:02
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Woo. Job hunt is over. Heading off to Peace Corps in Panama to work on water related projects. Since I'm going to have so much free time, I'm wondering if there are any suggestions for a good electrical engineering book or books that I could get into reading. I'm a mechanical engineer and took elements of electrical engineering and the class was horrible and I learned almost nothing. I picked up an Arduino some time back and I've started working on basic coding projects and circuits and such and I'd like to continue with it. The book we had for class was horrible though so I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a good book?
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Feb 17, 2013 07:05
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Once youre familiar with arduino, you can move on to an MSP-430 launchpad. Grab the book for it off of amazon.com Here's a question: I'm an EE freshman, have 9 years as a military electrical tech, looking to go into hardware/software embedded design. Is it worth it to apply for IT related internships like a systems admin intern position? Or should I just take an extra summer class?
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Feb 17, 2013 19:31
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The Candyman posted:I'm an engineering student in the second year of my four year degree at the University of Canterbury (NZ). The UC engineering degree is accredited by IPENZ which apparently has international recognition. Can anyone else weigh in on this? How useful will my degree be if I leave NZ? There is an international agreement between several national engineering licensing boards that says they agree to recognize each other's accredited degrees as equivalent in their own country. So if you decide to move to the US after you graduate, you could use your NZ degree if you decide to sit for the PE. I can't speak from experience as to how much that helps you get a job, as hardly anyone I know in engineering is even planning on taking the PE.
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Feb 17, 2013 19:58
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Shear Modulus posted:There is an international agreement between several national engineering licensing boards that says they agree to recognize each other's accredited degrees as equivalent in their own country. So if you decide to move to the US after you graduate, you could use your NZ degree if you decide to sit for the PE. I can't speak from experience as to how much that helps you get a job, as hardly anyone I know in engineering is even planning on taking the PE. Whether a PE license is required depends greatly on the field; it's more common in civil construction than in manufacturing. I suspect it's because manufactured items go through a different testing regimen, but PE licenses are uncommon in those fields.
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Feb 17, 2013 20:19
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KetTarma posted:Once youre familiar with arduino, you can move on to an MSP-430 launchpad. Grab the book for it off of amazon.com Why not apply to coops/internships in your field? Yeah it will be harder as a freshman but you have military experience so you have a decent shot. If it came down to taking summer classes vs an IT internship I would just take the classes and get a more relevant job when you're a sophomore or junior.
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Feb 17, 2013 20:21
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KetTarma posted:Here's a question: IT probably isn't going to be relevant if your goal is design. I'd take summer classes to get your core classes out of the way so you can get to the EE classes sooner.
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Feb 17, 2013 20:37
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I've been applying to every EE-related internship I can find but other than "I like making things with an arduino or ATmega as a hobby" I really have nothing related to design to talk about. It doesn't help that I have no relevant coursework either. I almost want to throw "I can program C++" on there but I feel that a semester isn't really long enough to justify that. On that note, should I try taking Calc3 and Differential Equations during summer semester? I made an A in Calc1 and have a B so far in Calc2. I'm on the GI bill so I dont have a job to worry about. I'm just not sure if taking two math classes during summer is a good idea or not.
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Feb 17, 2013 20:49
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Thoguh fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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Feb 17, 2013 22:10
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KetTarma posted:I've been applying to every EE-related internship I can find but other than "I like making things with an arduino or ATmega as a hobby" I really have nothing related to design to talk about. It doesn't help that I have no relevant coursework either. I almost want to throw "I can program C++" on there but I feel that a semester isn't really long enough to justify that. Calc III and DiffEQ are fine to take together, no worries there. Honestly I don't think they have that much overlap, anyway but it has been like eight years since I took either of them. Now, this is my personal opinion colouring things a bit, but don't say "I like doing Aruduino things" (maybe you actually aren't saying this). I would say you have experience with MCUs (Atmel AVR, TI MSP430, etc) and using them in various projects (build some sensors for the home, robot control, etc). What kind of EE do you want to do? You could get a cheap SDR dongle and dive head-first into communication systems and impress interviewers with your level of knowledge there vs. what courses you've taken. I take it you still have a clearance as well? I had a lot of friends co-op at the various three-letter agencies out in NOVA, as well as many defense contractors. One of my friends spent her entire co-op working on spearheading the engine controls for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye project.
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Feb 17, 2013 22:27
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I've been moving away from using my Arduino as much as I can. My resume is mainly stuff related to my military service as a nuclear operations instructor/electrical maintenance supervisor. That stuff sounds better to me than "I made babby's first arduino-bot." I haven't really figured out the MSP430 yet. I did build some photosensors from scratch recently. I also got a solid state relay and ultrasonic rangefinder to work with my paintball gun to make it fire on full auto anytime someone walked in front of the sensor. I have a raspberry pi that I've set up as a web/ftp server which I found fun. I'm afraid to keep it running full time since I'm pretty clueless on IT security. Yeah, I'm cleared but only to Secret. There are some defense contractors in my area but they want a higher clearance than what I have. I don't really know what type of EE I want to be. I usually tell people embedded design since that's what I can afford to play with at home. I'd love to do something with industrial robotics since there are a good number of manufacturing plants in the area. Honestly, whatever I can get hired for in Charleston, South Carolina would make me happy  E: If you can't tell, I kind of lack direction other than "get degree"
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Feb 17, 2013 23:30
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KetTarma posted:I did build some photosensors from scratch recently. I also got a solid state relay and ultrasonic rangefinder to work with my paintball gun to make it fire on full auto anytime someone walked in front of the sensor. This is something I haven't really seen mentioned in the portion of this thread that I've been following: At least in my field, I think technical hobbies and interests are about as important as GPA if you don't have much of a work history. I've been doing custom automation machines (basically 5 to 10 million USD robotic assembly and test lines) for about 20 years, and I have to say there is always a little bit of an eyebrow raised when a 4.0 grad gets sent around the company for interviews. The concern is that, even for programmers, our industry is very intolerant of those who don't have a good mechanical aptitude and electro-mechanical troubleshooting. More-so, of course for mechanical engineers. If you can dispel this concern with reference to you hobbies & interests it goes a long way. Build robots or 3-D printers for fun? Amateur machinist or blacksmith? Wired up your smart-house? Last year I turned down a job at a competing firm. During the interviews I came in with a 40 or 50 million dollar portfolio of past work, but we spent more time talking about the steam engine I designed and built, and some other related interests. Of course, I do have a fair amount of history in the resume at this point. Still, I see the same thing at my place. After you head back to the airport people are a hell of a lot more likely to say "remember that kid who built a rep-rap" than "remember that kid who got a 3.8 at Stanford". I'm not sure how you work that into a resume, CV or portfolio, but if I did not have a lot of work history I'd try and find a way. YMMV, but that is my view from a corner of the industry that utilizes small teams and puts a lot of responsibility on engineers at a very early point in their careers.
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Feb 18, 2013 21:31
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One question I was asked once during an interview, that I think is a rather telling one, is "What tools do you own?" Because that, right there, says a TON about a person and their hobbies and aptitudes. I'm surprised it isn't a standard question for any engineering positions- it sure is now whenever I conduct an interview.
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Feb 18, 2013 21:38
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I used my nxt lego and a mechano set to help cook breakfast back in the day. It was a bit hit and miss but it was a good 'hook' in an interview. Unfortunately the grill I hacked up broke and I've not had time to do it all over again. Rip lego chef. E: i just need to facilitate a forgotten about PLC in a store room grow legs and walk to my place 
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Feb 18, 2013 22:47
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grover posted:One question I was asked once during an interview, that I think is a rather telling one, is "What tools do you own?" Because that, right there, says a TON about a person and their hobbies and aptitudes. I'm surprised it isn't a standard question for any engineering positions- it sure is now whenever I conduct an interview. I'd love to get asked that question. "You're using a flower vase for an acid etch tank!? What the hell is wrong with you?"
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Feb 19, 2013 00:31
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winnydpu posted:This is something I haven't really seen mentioned in the portion of this thread that I've been following: At least in my field, I think technical hobbies and interests are about as important as GPA if you don't have much of a work history. During interviews, if there is an appropriate moment, I usually ask the interviewer what their favorite bit of engineering is. It's a good way to get a feel for them and to exchange mutual passions. I do agree that overall interest in the field tends to matter more than grades - I know a few guys that are poo poo at calculus but can bang out a clever design no problem.
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Feb 19, 2013 03:22
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Does anyone know of any good books/resources for computational fluid dynamics, from a mechanical engineering perspective?
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Feb 20, 2013 00:39
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grover posted:One question I was asked once during an interview, that I think is a rather telling one, is "What tools do you own?" Because that, right there, says a TON about a person and their hobbies and aptitudes. I'm surprised it isn't a standard question for any engineering positions- it sure is now whenever I conduct an interview.
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Feb 21, 2013 00:50
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Any MEs know of any resources that can teach me controls in like baby steps assume I'm really stupid methods? I just don't get any of it and I really really need to pass it.  Also our textbook is awful and the professor likes to teach his own way so it just adds to the confusion.
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Feb 22, 2013 00:57
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I'm not an ME but there's always Schaum's.
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Feb 22, 2013 04:51
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genderstomper58 posted:Any MEs know of any resources that can teach me controls in like baby steps assume I'm really stupid methods? I just don't get any of it and I really really need to pass it. Are you taking a course cross listed with an EE course? I did that and it stinks. I got through by hitting up the prof. a lot - I don't know if that's an option for you, but learning about it in a bit different context made it a little easier for me. Sorry if that's not helpful advice.I will say you're not the only one to be baffled by control systems.
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Feb 22, 2013 04:55
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Hed posted:I'm not an ME but there's always Schaum's. Thanks, went ahead and ordered it because why not.  CCKeane posted:Are you taking a course cross listed with an EE course? I did that and it stinks. I got through by hitting up the prof. a lot - I don't know if that's an option for you, but learning about it in a bit different context made it a little easier for me. Its still an ME course but we do a lot of stuff with electromechanical systems, mostly motors. The stuff right now just blows my mind and I can't really get it down at all. Mostly finding steady state error, PID controllers, R-H stability and stuff like that. I'm trying to figure this stuff out because I know its one of those classes that just builds on itself. Most of the class is doing just as bad as I am but I desperately need to pass this class and its basically the last class in my degree I'm worried about. Controls/Systems engineers must be geniuses or something because I've never had a class confuse me nearly as badly as this one haha
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Feb 22, 2013 05:04
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It doesn't take a genius it just takes a good foundation.
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Feb 22, 2013 05:27
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I'm looking for some career advice from other engineers, and I hope this post doesn't become to E/N...but here goes: I graduated from in 2004 with a BS in biomedical engineering. I was a slight slack-off, so I graduated with a sort-of-crummy GPA (2.7,) and no "real" work experience except one summer working as a "lab monkey" on my resume. I wish I had known then how important doing an internship/co-op was, or how important a Master's was in engineering, especially BME. I managed to get a job a few months after graduating, but it was a terrible job. I was a biomedical technician. I worked in a hospital, testing and fixing medical equipment. I hated it, partially from the work itself, partially from my bosses, and partially from where I worked. I also felt like I was "wasting" my degree since I was doing lower-level tech work, not actual engineering. After about 1.5 years of that and I quit and went to grad school. That...did not work out so well. The first two semesters actually went fine (3.7 GPA). But the third semester kicked my rear end. I ended up dropping/failing out because of the upper-level math classes. That was in late 2007. So I waited tables for a couple years, constantly applying to any sort of engineering jobs I thought I could do. Had a grand total of three phone interviews, and one face-to-face. Nothing came of those. Finally, in late 2009, I went sort of "crawling" back to that old job I quit because my student loan bills were pilling up and I needed something that paid better than waiting tables. So now here I am, three years later, still doing a lovely technician job, and while making more than I was as a waiter, I'm still making poo poo pay, paying off gargantuan loans, and feeling like I am totally, 100%, completely hosed at ever getting a "proper" engineering job. So where do I go from here? I can't imagine still doing this job even a year from now. I occasionally go and apply to entry-level BME jobs, but never hear anything back, because it's that old catch-22 of "need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience." Obviously, the poo poo I'm doing now doesn't count as engineering experience. It seems like my only option to get into BME, like I want to do, is attempt school again, but I don't have high hopes for that...if I couldn't do that math the first time around, I don't think I could do it a second, and then that brings up the issue of "could I ever do the math required for a job, even?" So...if not "proper" engineering, what might be the best way to get into one of those "quasi" engineering jobs, like engineering sales, or what have you? Honestly, at this point I'd be happy just to do a freakin' internship, but nope, they can only hire full-time undergraduates for those jobs, for some drat reason (I'm sure it's a tax reason.)
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Feb 22, 2013 21:12
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Everything I've ever heard about biomedical engineering is that it takes a masters degree to get an entry level position in the field. According to the DoL website, most BME jobs are in California. Maybe that helps?
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Feb 22, 2013 21:34
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KetTarma posted:Everything I've ever heard about biomedical engineering is that it takes a masters degree to get an entry level position in the field. Yeah, that's the problem...like I said, I'm not against going back to school to finish my master's in principle, it's just a matter of money, and not "getting" the math. Perhaps I can take an online course in diffeq to try and re-learn what I've forgotten. And I've been looking/casually but soon to be more aggressively applying for jobs everywhere. There is nothing where I live right now, so I know I'll have to relocate.
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Feb 22, 2013 22:09
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Thoguh fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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Feb 22, 2013 22:23
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DrBouvenstein posted:Yeah, that's the problem...like I said, I'm not against going back to school to finish my master's in principle, it's just a matter of money, and not "getting" the math. Perhaps I can take an online course in diffeq to try and re-learn what I've forgotten. Khanacademy.org has a bunch of diffeq information. I'll be taking it in the spring, woo.
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Feb 22, 2013 22:51
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http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/ http://www.class-central.com/stream/maths These two sites have pretty much everything anyone would ever want to learn from STEM.
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Feb 22, 2013 23:19
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DrBouvenstein posted:Yeah, that's the problem...like I said, I'm not against going back to school to finish my master's in principle, it's just a matter of money, and not "getting" the math. Perhaps I can take an online course in diffeq to try and re-learn what I've forgotten. What don't you like about being a technician? No offense, but being a technician is basically the perfect job for people who like engineering but don't "get" math. Could you be happier at a different technician job?
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Feb 23, 2013 00:53
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DrBouvenstein posted:Yeah, that's the problem...like I said, I'm not against going back to school to finish my master's in principle, it's just a matter of money, and not "getting" the math. Perhaps I can take an online course in diffeq to try and re-learn what I've forgotten. I would give school another try. Otherwise look towards universities. Get a low level job in a cellular lab, that translates well into pharma. You could maybe get into a large company doing bioreactors or protein purification. Maybe not that sophisticated, but it could help. But like you said, all BME jobs want PhDs and Master Degrees. I'm literally in the same boat as you. I have a similar GPA with a BSE in Biomedical Engineering. I think my entrepreneurship minor helped me a little bit, but I'm gonna have to get a masters to be taken seriously in a science field.
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Feb 23, 2013 00:56
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Corla Plankun posted:What don't you like about being a technician? No offense, but being a technician is basically the perfect job for people who like engineering but don't "get" math. Could you be happier at a different technician job? I might be...I'll be honest, a good chunk of my ire is from my employers/bosses. They constantly pile on more things for me to do, ask me to "just this once" do a HUGE work-related favor, that sort of thing. And on top of it, I get paid poo poo. Just poking around Salary.com and other industry places, I'm making 55-70% of what I should be making. The low salary is essentially because I'm doing a job my employer doesn't know a thing about. So my "job/salary band" is lumped in with the best thing they can relate it to, which is a lab tech. And no offense to lab techs out there, but my job does require a little more specialized knowledge, and there is a LOT more responsibility and regulations. But in my employers mind, we are all just "Technicians". so there you go. In a weird twist of fate, I work for a university...the same university I failed grad school at. One of my "big" benefits, is free tuition. Can I ever make use of that? Aside from a couple online classes, no. My hours are too rigid, and I do a lot of overnight travel. The school has a VERY poor online offering, and certainly nothing in the engineering department other than a CAD class and other intro-level stuff. I have been looking and sometimes applying to other tech jobs, but I'm still not thrilled about those. One of the reasons is pretty much all of them require a combination of travel and on-call work, which I am really sick of. I just want a "8-5" type job. The occasional late night or weekend is ok, but almost every week traveling somewhere, even for just a night or two, wears really thin, as does getting a page (yes, I still use a pager) at 8 AM on what should be my day off or a holiday.
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Feb 23, 2013 04:06
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Leave and find a workplace that cares more about your skills than your degree.
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Feb 23, 2013 04:48
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DrBouvenstein posted:I might be...I'll be honest, a good chunk of my ire is from my employers/bosses. They constantly pile on more things for me to do, ask me to "just this once" do a HUGE work-related favor, that sort of thing. And on top of it, I get paid poo poo. Just poking around Salary.com and other industry places, I'm making 55-70% of what I should be making. The low salary is essentially because I'm doing a job my employer doesn't know a thing about. So my "job/salary band" is lumped in with the best thing they can relate it to, which is a lab tech. And no offense to lab techs out there, but my job does require a little more specialized knowledge, and there is a LOT more responsibility and regulations. But in my employers mind, we are all just "Technicians". so there you go. Is your schedule to rigid to go to school full time or you can't even take a single class, because it seems to me that you have a free opportunity to retry for your masters. Just take the math classes that you failed before and if you once again can't get the material then you'll know that you shouldn't go back to school full time for that masters degree and you can then either try for other tech jobs that pay more or switch to another field if needed.
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Feb 23, 2013 04:57
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