|
quote:I've been looking for work for 14 months now out of school. I don't know what the gently caress to do, really. Anyone have suggestions on what companies or geographical areas to look at? I'm a MechE/Environmental engineer type hybrid. Open to relocating anywhere, really. http://www.tetratech.com/careers.html
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2014 01:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 11:18 |
|
|
bjobjoli posted:I've been looking for work for 14 months now out of school. I don't know what the gently caress to do, really. Anyone have suggestions on what companies or geographical areas to look at? I'm a MechE/Environmental engineer type hybrid. Open to relocating anywhere, really. My suggstion, go work as a construction engineer with one of the big companies and be ready to head south, because there is more work there.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2014 02:42
|
|
|
totalnewbie posted:There's always Detroit. If nothing else, suppliers are always looking for application engineers. Columbus Ohio is also booming due to all the Honda work right now, lots of entry level jobs. GE in Cincinnati Ohio area is also hiring often for aircraft which could lead to alternative energy stuff later maybe.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2014 03:51
|
|
|
Apprentice Dick posted:Columbus Ohio is also booming due to all the Honda work right now, lots of entry level jobs. GE in Cincinnati Ohio area is also hiring often for aircraft which could lead to alternative energy stuff later maybe. Can confirm for GE they are looking to use renewable fuels on their engines in the future. At the moment I am not aware of a specific group working on the fuel stuff though.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2014 23:35
|
|
|
OK, another update from me/questions: I went and got a Florida drivers' license and changed my voter registration because my dad lives in Florida. I used his address for that stuff to get the clock ticking on 12 months of residency for tuition purposes plus I'm going to be going back and forth down there a lot to help my dad out with some things and I might move ahead of my husband by a few months once we have an end date for him. I also changed our banking address to my dad's address in case they ask for 12 months of statements to back up my license and the voter registration. I don't want to move there and then wait before continuing with school so I was trying to plan ahead a little bit. I also wanted to register our cars down there but that was going to make our insurance more than double (gently caress south Florida premiums so hard!  ), so we're holding off on that for now. Anyways hopefully all this will be enough for in-state tuition sooner rather than later.Now, for the question part. I had wanted to take precalculus this summer and Calc I in the fall, provided in the fall we haven't moved to FL yet for good. However, I just went on WebAdvisor for my CC and it appears that there are two precalc courses they require prior to Calc I. One is called Precalculus Algebra and the other is Precalc with Trig. I am in college algebra now, which honestly I probably could have tested out of so that's frustrating. I looked at both Precalc courses, and I can't take Precalc w/Trig without Precalculus Algebra and I can't take Calc I without Precalc w/Trig. So are two precalc courses the norm, or is the CC just trying to get as much money out of people as possible? Although, I'm guessing most of you did precalc in high school so you might not know. I was really wanting to do Calc I before we leave the state but that might not be possible now. Plus the fact that they require two courses might gently caress up getting into Calc I once we get to Florida somehow.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2014 19:09
|
|
|
Your calculus situation isn't particularly abnormal. My school requires you to either: Test out of college algebra and take college trig Test out of both algebra and trig Test out of neither and take college algebra then college trig It pretty well screws engineers because we have 3 semesters of calculus, 2 semesters of diffeq/l-algebra, and a few other random math classes that require calc3. You either have to test well, take summer courses, or double up on calc3/diffeq which is not recommended.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2014 19:21
|
|
|
It varies by school/CC but generally they have a strict math sequence up to and including calculus. The level of HS math that people get varies so they usually make you start at the bottom or take tests to prove that you can skip the first few classes.Hip Hoptimus Prime posted:Plus the fact that they require two courses might gently caress up getting into Calc I once we get to Florida somehow. Usually a university or CC will let you test out of their precalculus sequence and place directly into Calculus when you first enroll or any later time. If you think you can test out of the Precalculus/Trig class and you have a chance to take the test I'd recommend doing so. Shear Modulus fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Feb 1, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2014 19:41
|
|
|
Hip Hoptimus Prime posted:Now, for the question part. I had wanted to take precalculus this summer and Calc I in the fall, provided in the fall we haven't moved to FL yet for good. However, I just went on WebAdvisor for my CC and it appears that there are two precalc courses they require prior to Calc I. One is called Precalculus Algebra and the other is Precalc with Trig. I am in college algebra now, which honestly I probably could have tested out of so that's frustrating. I looked at both Precalc courses, and I can't take Precalc w/Trig without Precalculus Algebra and I can't take Calc I without Precalc w/Trig. This doesn't sound right to me, unless they are naming the courses funny. In my experience, there are typically two pre-calc courses but they are meant for different majors. The pre-calc algebra would be for things like poli sci/philosophy/etc., while the pre-calc with trig would lead to further math courses for engineering/physics/etc.. I don't see why one pre-calc class would be a prereq for another. You'd cover the same material twice and it still wouldn't introduce you to the trig you need or learn in the second class. I'd double check the course descriptions, ask an adviser, and ask a professor who teaches it. And I do mean that I would do all three (not just pick one), because I've seen more than one person take extra classes or almost have to delay graduation due to poor advice from the advisers.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2014 19:46
|
|
|
RogueLemming posted:This doesn't sound right to me, unless they are naming the courses funny. In my experience, there are typically two pre-calc courses but they are meant for different majors. The pre-calc algebra would be for things like poli sci/philosophy/etc., while the pre-calc with trig would lead to further math courses for engineering/physics/etc.. I don't see why one pre-calc class would be a prereq for another. You'd cover the same material twice and it still wouldn't introduce you to the trig you need or learn in the second class. I'm not sure about Florida, but in California, the advisors at community college don't know jack poo poo about how the transfer system works for engineering majors. If I had followed their advice instead of looking at the target schools myself and planning ahead, I would have been delayed quite a bit and possibly required to retake classes.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2014 19:49
|
|
|
One thing to consider is that you use a hell of a lot of math in engineering so taking a remedial class might NOT be a bad thing. I shruggled like hell in my calculus 1 class because I skipped straight to it. edit, the word 'NOT' changes that a bit KetTarma fucked around with this message at 20:23 on Feb 1, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2014 20:18
|
|
|
RogueLemming posted:I'd double check the course descriptions, ask an adviser, and ask a professor who teaches it. And I do mean that I would do all three (not just pick one), because I've seen more than one person take extra classes or almost have to delay graduation due to poor advice from the advisers. OK, cool. That's what I figured. It definitely does say that I need one to take the other, and that I'd need both to take Calc I. I mean, I just don't want to be in the same class twice, wasting a whole semester while I'm at it. But if they really are two separate classes which build on each other, that's a different story. I'd rather have too much and not struggle, than not enough and fail when I get to Calc I.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2014 20:38
|
|
|
When I first started, I used Paul's Math Notes to learn most of the material covered in Calc I, II, and Diff EQ before I even took the class. He's also got notes for Algebra, and I used those to test into pre-calc. His notes are great for self study - before your classes start, try to get through like 3-4 of his lessons a week, or at least one lesson per day when you don't work. Try to do all his example problems before he explains how to do them. I didn't take a single look at his Calc III notes before or a while taking Calc III, and that was the only class out of the calculus and differential equations sequence that I had a hard time with. Also, if you're not really solid and comfortable with trig, a pre-calc class that offers trig is probably worth taking. That poo poo shows up everywhere.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2014 21:02
|
|
|
So my new position has me in the core of our company and I am occasionally introduced into the upper management drama. The politics & posturing in upper management is so disgusting. Lots of them are as dumb as a sack of bricks, which to me is the cherry on top. Everyone involved on the engineering side (from engineering managers (technical management) to program chief engineers is fine though. Its the management execs and some VPs/etc that are just... unbelievable. Their maturity level is around elementary school level. I had a ExDir tell someone that he "wasnt trying to break [his] balls" in a meeting. So loving unprofessional. I would imagine other companies are the same? Any ridiculous stories anyone can share from past companies?
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2014 01:49
|
|
|
mitztronic posted:I had a ExDir tell someone that he "wasnt trying to break [his] balls" in a meeting. So loving unprofessional. This is really typical dialog IMO, on its own not a thing to call out management on, but I'm sure coupled with other stuff your management could be fairly typical upper-level stuff with politicking / playing games with projects and such. Just the way things are 
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2014 02:33
|
|
|
mitztronic posted:So my new position has me in the core of our company and I am occasionally introduced into the upper management drama. The politics & posturing in upper management is so disgusting. Lots of them are as dumb as a sack of bricks, which to me is the cherry on top. Everyone involved on the engineering side (from engineering managers (technical management) to program chief engineers is fine though. Its the management execs and some VPs/etc that are just... unbelievable. Their maturity level is around elementary school level. I had a ExDir tell someone that he "wasnt trying to break [his] balls" in a meeting. So loving unprofessional. read the TPS thread to see how bad things can get.
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2014 02:39
|
|
|
Yeah that sounds pretty normal...
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2014 02:52
|
|
|
mitztronic posted:So my new position has me in the core of our company and I am occasionally introduced into the upper management drama. The politics & posturing in upper management is so disgusting. Lots of them are as dumb as a sack of bricks, which to me is the cherry on top. Everyone involved on the engineering side (from engineering managers (technical management) to program chief engineers is fine though. Its the management execs and some VPs/etc that are just... unbelievable. Their maturity level is around elementary school level. I had a ExDir tell someone that he "wasnt trying to break [his] balls" in a meeting. So loving unprofessional. I wouldn't use expressions like that at work, but if that's the worst thing you can think of... Maybe you're being a little too sensitive?
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2014 05:12
|
|
|
There's definitely a lot of "locker room talk" at my workplace whenever there aren't any women around. It's kinda gross but I would think it's common in a workplace that's predominately male.
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2014 06:49
|
|
|
mitztronic posted:I had a ExDir tell someone that he "wasnt trying to break [his] balls" in a meeting. So loving unprofessional. That's quite a common phrase, honestly. God help you if you ever work in actual manufacturing/ops where you deal with trade staff on the floor. I was in a workshop crib room eating lunch and the cricket was on. There's about 4 of us in there and we're sitting there in silence watching it and eating. This old fitter who must be in his late 50s or 60s and looks like he's almost fossilised, who is just staring at his sandwich on the table, suddenly jerks his head up to stare at the screen then pipes up with "The gently caress's that guy wearing on his head? Looks like an oversized condom." before staring back down at his food. He was referring to this guy. So yeh, you're being a bit sensitive and if you ever actually get your hands dirty in the field you're going to be hearing a lot worse than that. Nam Taf fucked around with this message at 14:11 on Feb 6, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2014 14:09
|
|
|
mitztronic posted:So my new position has me in the core of our company and I am occasionally introduced into the upper management drama. The politics & posturing in upper management is so disgusting. Lots of them are as dumb as a sack of bricks, which to me is the cherry on top. Everyone involved on the engineering side (from engineering managers (technical management) to program chief engineers is fine though. Its the management execs and some VPs/etc that are just... unbelievable. Their maturity level is around elementary school level. I had a ExDir tell someone that he "wasnt trying to break [his] balls" in a meeting. So loving unprofessional. I gotta agree with Nam Taf here. If you can't handle something like "Quit busting my balls" or "Shove it up your rear end!" or a "gently caress you!" in a meeting, you're probably working in the wrong place. The worst I've had to deal with so far... 1. We were sitting in a connex on break, talking about people having kids and one of the fitters in the crew I support mentioned something about wanting no N***** babies or mixing the races. 2. Talking behind closed doors about how they wanted to sexually assault a co-worker of mine. These were'nt old guys either. However it just varies widely on where the people grew up, what kind of schools they went to, and who they hung out with. The guys I'm working with right now don't have that problem from what I've seen so far. So yeah something along the lines of "Quit busting my balls!" is pretty tame to some other stuff you're gonna hear. Unless someone says something directly to you, regarding you, there's not much you can do about it other than guide the conversation to something else. Senor P. fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Feb 7, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2014 01:32
|
|
|
You do not want to ever be in a power plant control room on the midshift.Ever.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2014 02:01
|
|
|
Note: I'm not agreeing with or justifying this behaviour. I'd prefer I didn't have to deal with racist, sexist idiots, but you unfortunately have to expect it from trade staff who not uncommonly come from lower socio-economic backgrounds / more regional locations where that behaviour is normalised.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2014 04:20
|
|
|
Nam Taf posted:Note: I'm not agreeing with or justifying this behaviour. I'd prefer I didn't have to deal with racist, sexist idiots, but you unfortunately have to expect it from trade staff who not uncommonly come from lower socio-economic backgrounds / more regional locations where that behaviour is normalised. I had to join the safety supervision team for the floor once for some inter-dept learning activity, and holy poo poo trying to get those guys to wear PPE or follow protocol is a giant nightmare. They act like giant goddamn babies all the time (one guy started throwing poo poo because the janitorial staff that never entered the floor proper didn't have to wear steel toe like he had to), and most of the safety supes were women so some of the comments were downright atrocious. I usually had to go chill out somewhere for a while afterwards so I didn't return to the design office all agitated and stressed. I'm really really glad I never have to do that ever again. That and the upper-management 'safety champions' who are so two-faced it makes ya wanna scream.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2014 07:02
|
|
|
It is my experience that safety people are the least safe.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2014 13:56
|
|
|
.
Thoguh fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Aug 10, 2023 |
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2014 15:30
|
|
|
Uncle Jam posted:
I've known people to go home and tend their injury quietly because every single reportable was to be reviewed by some VP who made sure "everyone is safe on my watch!"
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2014 23:29
|
|
|
So I could use some advice, I'm not sure this pertains directly to engineering but I'll post it here anyways. This is my first job out of college as a embedded firmware engineer. I started at my current company January of 2013 on a temporary 3 month contract with potential extension from a contract hiring firm. They liked me at the end of that time and extended my contract out for another year. I'm up for evaluation in May(ish) where they will finally decide if they want to offer me a permanent position (though it could just be another extension). I got a lot of positive feedback last summer and during the fall. I had my performance review in I believe November where I scored pretty well on everything (5/5 on quality of work, 3/5 on quantity. Though I was told this was a preferred position as quality > quantity). My only notable critique was how I used some of my vacation hours to round off 40 hour work weeks instead of using them in whole day chunks. Anyways so I'm at my department bosses birthday party this weekend and he pulls me aside. He tells me how our head of engineering boss, the guy who has the final say in hiring doesn't think I'm working hard enough. This came as a big surprise, I'm honestly at a loss. I got what I thought was a pretty good review from him personally, and my department boss really likes me and my work. He told me he specifically is advocating for them to offer me a permanent position. I have no idea what "not working hard enough" even means, because the head of engineering doesn't even really see what I'm working on day to day and my direct department boss has way more visibility and knowledge on my day to day and he tells me he likes me and my work and wants to keep me on. So this all comes as they have recently given me a pretty big project, I feel pretty confident in what I'll be doing and getting it done. But now my department boss tells me this is essentially a test, if I do well and bust my rear end for the next month or two I should be in the clear. But to be honest it's pretty demoralizing, I've had this whole "temp" thing hanging over my head for over a year and despite thinking I was in a solid posiiton and doing good work I get this dropped on me. I already was considering heading out of the city I'm in even if they offered me a position and this is just adding to that desire. I guess my questions is, is this a normal response? Are they just looking for an excuse to not hire me? Is it common for employers to say that? I've never been told I wasn't working hard enough at any job, I've always felt like I was pretty motivated. I'll admit I've had down days or times where there just wasn't much critical work to be done, but when someone asks me to do something specifically I jump all over it. I search out work myself when I run out of things to do. I'm more upset that they didn't give me a heads up that they weren't satisfied I was under the impression I was doing well. If my department boss wouldn't have stuck his neck out for me and let me know I wouldn't even of had a clue.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 05:08
|
|
|
How many hours a week do you typically work? It's a really sad reality of the engineering world, but if you aren't working more than 50 middle management types are pretty much going to write you off as a slacker.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 05:22
|
|
|
It sounds like the typical "sink or swim" corporate culture, and being a temp just makes it worse because they have nothing invested in you. Having been in a similar situation with respect to the ultimatum, I would dust off your resume and actively seek out something else just in case.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 06:03
|
|
|
Noctone posted:How many hours a week do you typically work? It's a really sad reality of the engineering world, but if you aren't working more than 50 middle management types are pretty much going to write you off as a slacker. I work 40, haven't really done much over that. I think you're hitting on something there. A lot of the other younger engineers that they have kept on tend to spend a lot of extra time in the office, even on weekends. I have no problem putting in extra time, but to be honest I haven't felt the need too. I get my work done in a timely fashion and when we have slower weeks there really isn't much point in me putting in more time. I noticed our head of engineering specifically looks at my hours time sheets so I'm guessing this is him seeing me only putting in 40 hours and thinking I'm not motivated. That's a bit depressing because I love engineering and I like what I do, I think i'm pretty good at it. But working extra time just for the sake of working extra is detrimental to my quality and work enjoyment. When I leave work I check out, I try not to think about it so that I can come back refocused. It's my time to be more than just an engineer/computer guy. If I have something pressing that needs to be done at work, like I said I'll work the extra time. But since I've started our department (it's really only 3-4 of us at any given time) we have been clearing outstanding issues and keeping up with customer support tickets. Which brings me to another gripe about the company, they hire a crap ton of "associates" which are essentially just college coops/interns who work for 9 months. Our company is about ~150 people, of that number ~50-80 are interns who are often cycling in and out. I think it breeds a degree of competitiveness, but it's like the company is in a constant state of training new people. My boss spends a huge chunk of his day fielding questions from other people, he comes in on weekends just to have alone time to get work done. SeaBass posted:It sounds like the typical "sink or swim" corporate culture, and being a temp just makes it worse because they have nothing invested in you. Yeah I've already started looking around, luckily firmware engineers are in pretty high demand so I'm not too worried about landing a job. The company I'm at now is based in a small city with a big and pretty highly ranked university. They benefit from a huge workforce of smart students. This gives them a lot of internal competitiveness which as I stated above I think hurts the company in the long run. Since I've started there I haven't really felt like I've been apart of the company. I've always felt like I'm just a temporary holdover who could be replaced on a year by year basis. Popete fucked around with this message at 06:10 on Feb 10, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 06:06
|
|
|
Popete posted:I work 40, haven't really done much over that. I think you're hitting on something there. A lot of the other younger engineers that they have kept on tend to spend a lot of extra time in the office, even on weekends. I have no problem putting in extra time, but to be honest I haven't felt the need too. I get my work done in a timely fashion and when we have slower weeks there really isn't much point in me putting in more time. I noticed our head of engineering specifically looks at my hours time sheets so I'm guessing this is him seeing me only putting in 40 hours and thinking I'm not motivated. If you like the work, coworkers and company, I would just tell them exactly this. If you're looking for a new job anyway, what do you have to lose? Plus I've always thought that how a manager responds to an open and honest conversation tells you a lot about whether you want to work for that person. It kinda sounds like maybe you want to leave anyway, though. In that case, just don't burn the bridge on your way out.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 06:18
|
|
|
Can anyone tell me about anything about average salaries for mechanical engineers with two years experience? Specifically, my wife is at a big defense firm on the east coast, and has been there for almost 2 years. Her original starting salary was pretty good - mid 60's - but she hasn't gotten a raise and the review period is coming. I'm not sure where exactly to look to get a sense of this.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 16:05
|
|
|
Have you looked on glassdoor?
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 17:13
|
|
|
salary.com is a good source of info as well
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 17:14
|
|
|
Yeah I was able to find numbers for mechanical engineers and in general, and also what is called "mechanical engineer II," which seems like a vague catagory which mostly includes people who have 2-5 years of experience. Is that about right? I wasn't able the find any numbers at all for people with 2 years experience specifically.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 17:24
|
|
|
Doghouse posted:Can anyone tell me about anything about average salaries for mechanical engineers with two years experience? Specifically, my wife is at a big defense firm on the east coast, and has been there for almost 2 years. Her original starting salary was pretty good - mid 60's - but she hasn't gotten a raise and the review period is coming. I'm not sure where exactly to look to get a sense of this. Anecdotal, but if it's a "big defense firm" on the east coast, I think she could be doing better than that salary-wise. Might not be west coast salary, but it's not like the east coast is that far behind in terms of cost of living.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 17:32
|
|
|
Yeah - it's Baltimore-DC area, so cost of living can be insane towards DC and much more reasonable towards Baltimore. Thanks for the feedback. I agree about the being able to do better thing, hopefully something will come of this review period. She claims that it is sort of a known thing around the company that they are fairly stingy with salary and raises, especially towards the beginning of a career. They have great benefits, but still.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 17:40
|
|
|
Popete posted:I work 40, haven't really done much over that. I think you're hitting on something there. A lot of the other younger engineers that they have kept on tend to spend a lot of extra time in the office, even on weekends. I have no problem putting in extra time, but to be honest I haven't felt the need too. I get my work done in a timely fashion and when we have slower weeks there really isn't much point in me putting in more time. I noticed our head of engineering specifically looks at my hours time sheets so I'm guessing this is him seeing me only putting in 40 hours and thinking I'm not motivated. If you're an hourly contractor, don't work over 40 hours unless you're being paid to do so. I was an hourly contractor at a place for a year and a half where my manager really wanted to hire me permanently but corporate never let him, it was a constant "well maybe next month" so I found a new job. I'm way happier at my new job, don't put up with a company dicking you around.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 20:20
|
|
|
.
Thoguh fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Aug 10, 2023 |
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2014 23:53
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 11:18 |
|
|
Thoguh posted:spent weeks working 24/7 at remote sites
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2014 01:45
|
|
