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Thoguh fucked around with this message at 16:05 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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Feb 26, 2012 05:40
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mmiller1127 posted:skip... I would personally make the same choice. But, as a word of advice - I see now a big deficit of HSE (#2) and Quality and Lean Six Sigma (a bit similar to #1) specialists on the market. Its a bit boring to my taste, which may be one of the reasons. Also, if you would like to become a manager at some point, then System Engineering (#7) is a right way to go. It will give you a chance to test if you have systematic approach and "that vision thing". In many companies PMs first go through System Architect role.
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Feb 26, 2012 07:51
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Large Hardon Collider posted: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. Your situation was pretty similar to mine. I'd taught myself web development and database stuff throughout high school and college, which got me an internship between my junior and senior year (where I was called an engineer but was just doing programming stuff) and probably helped get me my current job. My current job was actually engineering from the beginning, but because of my web background they also used me to toss together quick websites for office events, and ended up putting me in charge of a bunch of areas of their SharePoint site as well (since, you know, using SharePoint web parts is just like developing my own site  ).The more senior I got, the more I could pull myself into engineering projects and push away web projects.
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Feb 26, 2012 15:23
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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? No overtime Good week - 50 hours minimum Bad weeks (seem to come more frequently lately) 75-80 hours Salary is pretty good for my experience level though.
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Feb 26, 2012 15:59
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Right now I'm working a 5 week contract for Target. Doing about 20 hours a week.  I'm still trying desperately to find a real job with medical devices, but apparently that's a tough field to break into and my MS did a poo poo job of preparing me for it.
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Feb 26, 2012 17:27
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Sutureself posted:Right now I'm working a 5 week contract for Target. Doing about 20 hours a week. Software or hardware? I might be the youngest developer in my company by like 8 or 10 years. Medical device companies are really averse to hiring young people at least in my experience.
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Feb 26, 2012 17:31
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Sutureself posted:Right now I'm working a 5 week contract for Target. Doing about 20 hours a week. There's a lot of luck involved in any hiring process, but if you are looking to get in a specific field, network like a son of a bitch, join an engineering society and get yourself out there. Once you have around a year of experience in a field, it gets MUCH easier.
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Feb 26, 2012 18:11
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Alright. I'm really 27 years old and considering a local University's Mineral Engineering program. The fun part- I already have an undergraduate degree and I'm already a working professional (I manage high-net worth client investment portfolios at a bank). The money's... ok. So is the work. But I'm really starting to feel like I'm putting far more hours into work than I'm getting back in pay. I've been very interested in looking at this field and it'd be especially helpful since I live in Canada, where our economy leans heavily on natural resources. Am I nuts for thinking that a second degree in Mineral Engineering and switching fields completely would be a good idea? My wife will probably staple my nuts to the wall if I go ahead with it (we'd have to put off a few things, eg. a up-sizing our home, family planning, etc.), so I need to determine if it's worthwhile.
melon cat fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Feb 27, 2012 |
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Feb 27, 2012 01:11
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If its something you're interested and you think you'd be more happy in that field, its definitely worth looking into. I have my degree in Mining & Minerals Engineering and love my job out of school. In the US, and I'm sure in Canada, there's a real dearth of talent and great possibility to move up in the ranks. If that's a concern at your current job, that could be a very $$$ plus.
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Feb 27, 2012 01:19
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mmiller1127 posted:Sophomore ChemE student here. I'm going to be working for GE Energy this summer as an engineering intern. We just were given 7 choices for assignments and I wanted to post them here and get any comments from more experienced engineers as to what would be the most interesting as I'm currently still learning all the theory and haven't really done any real engineering before. Unless you have an "in" at the company and can somehow get an idea of the temperament/corporate attitude in each group (which is pretty hard unless you already work there...), I'd just pick what you are interested in. FWIW, 4 and 7 sound like they'd be pretty "hands-on", with 4 sounding MATLAB/Simulink heavy.
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Feb 27, 2012 06:05
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Dead Pressed posted:If its something you're interested and you think you'd be more happy in that field, its definitely worth looking into. I have my degree in Mining & Minerals Engineering and love my job out of school. In the US, and I'm sure in Canada, there's a real dearth of talent and great possibility to move up in the ranks. If that's a concern at your current job, that could be a very $$$ plus. melon cat fucked around with this message at 05:06 on Feb 29, 2012 |
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Feb 29, 2012 05:03
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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 mechanical engineer working for a mechanical contractor who does plumbing and HVAC. Currently branching off the engineering department into a stand alone engineering firm. Taking my PE test this April. Typically I work 45-50 hours a week, extra time is just expected whether we're busy or not. Bonuses are good when the company is doing well, no bonuses when we're not. I don't agree with the extra time when we're not busy. I'll put in extra time when needed, but if it's slow let me go home to my family as a trade off for the long days. Pay is okay, I don't really have much for comparison. Online salaries seem way too low, I don't think I'm on the upper end at 4 years out of school.
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Mar 5, 2012 23:24
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I received an BS in Materials Science & Engineering in 2009; 2.8 GPA overall. Having spent the past couple years working 'crappy' jobs (thanks to myself for loving around in undergrad), I'm pretty over working too hard for too little. I've been thinking about entering grad school next fall. I'm not super worried about the GRE process. My undergrad GPA did upswing for the last couple years, but there's at least on F/retake in there and at least two C's. I tended to dominate in classes I was interested in (I think A- is the lowest grade I received in a glass science class), but being a young dumbass I phoned it in for some classes. The program I'm looking at it primarily concerned with the GPA for the last 60 credit hours towards a degree, so I really need to find/request a new transcript. Am I really boned, kinda boned, or salvageable? Can anyone talk more about letters of reference/recommendation? I got promoted @ my current job to shift leader in ~7 months. I should probably try to contact my undergrad thesis adviser to make sure he's still kicking...
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Mar 8, 2012 16:36
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denereal visease posted:I'm not super worried about the GRE process. My undergrad GPA did upswing for the last couple years, but there's at least on F/retake in there and at least two C's. I tended to dominate in classes I was interested in (I think A- is the lowest grade I received in a glass science class), but being a young dumbass I phoned it in for some classes. The program I'm looking at it primarily concerned with the GPA for the last 60 credit hours towards a degree, so I really need to find/request a new transcript. Am I really boned, kinda boned, or salvageable? From what I've been told (and seen), for grad school, some good research experience and a good LOR (good meaning written by someone who knows you, and not a boilerplate) gets you invited for a visit. If they like you, you are pretty much set at that point. Obviously you can't have completely lovely grades, but a good LOR (plus the chance that the school may know of your prof, it is a small world) can do wonders for you. I was lucky in that all my classes were taught by full profs, and I still see them monthly when we meet up for beers and such.
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Mar 8, 2012 19:26
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If I'm interested in going to grad school for medical physics, what kind of minor would look good on my resume? I'm already almost done with a BME degree, but I'm looking to get an extra edge for being accepted into some good schools. Anyone here know about it?
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Mar 9, 2012 22:02
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Does anybody have any personal experience or any thoughts about getting an MS in Engineering Management as opposed to getting an MBA? I'm looking at this program specifically (I'm not married to it, but it's just one I know about): http://gordon.tufts.edu/engMgmt/index.asp I really want to take advantage of the master's degree tuition reimbursement my employer offers, but haven't settled on which degree I want to get. I'm wondering about the perception my choice will have when I finally go to my manager to get approval for reimbursement. I may end up leaving the company soon after I get the degree. I'm in a software company but my master's degree probably won't be applicable to what I'm doing; they have told me previously that 'anything technical will probably get approved. I'm worried that choosing a management degree of some kind will either lead to a impression that 'I'm going after your job' or 'there's no need for more management here in this department, so he'll leave when he's done and we won't get any benefit'. I won't let this stop me but I don't want to know how to approach this if this is the route I end up taking in the future.
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Mar 11, 2012 14:47
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Pollyanna posted:If I'm interested in going to grad school for medical physics, what kind of minor would look good on my resume? I'm already almost done with a BME degree, but I'm looking to get an extra edge for being accepted into some good schools. Anyone here know about it? Physics or math, maybe? Though I think spending the time researching/networking/etc would be a better usage of your time and yield more concrete results than an extra line of text on your transcript saying you minored in something. (at least at my school, the only way to see a minor was two lines tucked away in a corner of the transcript).
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Mar 11, 2012 16:33
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I'm thinking about taking masters in EE this coming year and wanted to learn a bit more about it to check it's something I definitely want to do. Could anyone recommend any books or resources I could read through? I have a maths degree and I'm quite competent maths wise. I know one book or website is not going to give me that much information but if I could just get a flavour of what I'd be studying/working at I'd really appreciate it.
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Mar 12, 2012 02:22
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Thoguh fucked around with this message at 16:05 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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Mar 12, 2012 04:39
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Edit: missed the part about this being a masters.
grover fucked around with this message at 13:07 on Mar 12, 2012 |
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Mar 12, 2012 13:04
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Poppycoke posted:I'm thinking about taking masters in EE this coming year and wanted to learn a bit more about it to check it's something I definitely want to do. Could anyone recommend any books or resources I could read through? I have a maths degree and I'm quite competent maths wise. I know one book or website is not going to give me that much information but if I could just get a flavour of what I'd be studying/working at I'd really appreciate it. Recently I decided to improve my knowledge of electronics as a hobby and bought Arduino and few books. I really liked Electronic Principles, very good book for learning. Also check out the electronics megathread. And consider buying Arduino or Arduino clone with proto shield and a bunch of wires and see if it excites you. There are TONS of Arduino tutorials available for free.
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Mar 12, 2012 16:26
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Thoguh posted:Spend some time with MIT's Opencourseware on their EE classes. That'll give you a pretty good idea of what kind of stuff you'd be studying and hopefully help you figure out what area of EE interests you. Tovarisch posted:Recently I decided to improve my knowledge of electronics as a hobby and bought Arduino and few books. I really liked Electronic Principles, very good book for learning. Also check out the electronics megathread. These are both great suggestions thanks so much.
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Mar 12, 2012 23:59
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When I first started off to college I was torn between studying Psychology and Mechanical Engineering, and there wasn't a very time/cost effective manner to double major. So I chose Mechanical Engineering out of better job prospects and pay. I recently found out about Engineering Psychology being a graduate program at a few universities UIUC, Georgia Tech, etc. Is this a good idea if you are equally interested in both fields in terms of job prospects, admissions, etc. etc.? Thanks for any and all advice.
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Mar 14, 2012 22:00
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So its that time of year at my university where all freshie engineers declare major and im conflicted. I was originally planning to go into electrical cause my schools engineering major requirements i can double major in computer and electrical and get out with 2 B.S. In a year. But recent job stats say those industries arent going to grow, and ide be better off becoming a biological engineer or an industrial and systems engineer. So, which should i choose? I want a job after college, but im not sure of my prospects as an ece/ce.
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Mar 19, 2012 04:12
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Hey guys, I was wondering if there was anyone in this thread who could critique my resume (and cover letter)? I graduated half a year ago in Mechanical Engineering, and have had absolutely no luck finding a full-time engineering position. I did a lot of co-op while I was an undergrad, and have been writing different cover letters for each company. But even with that, I'm not getting any interviews or responses from the applications I've been sending out. I can't say my undergrad's been stellar (had to repeat my first and second year, and my last year I had a really bad injury and was out half a year, meaning my degree took me 7.5 years when it only should've taken 5). My GPA's also completely in the gutter, so I haven't been including it in applications, instead trying to focus on my work experience. Is there something critical I'm missing here? https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8eqP2LdaTBQR1dsSzFPaWFReWFhaWdXcmZmUkV6QQ
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Mar 19, 2012 04:39
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Globofglob posted:So its that time of year at my university where all freshie engineers declare major and im conflicted. I was originally planning to go into electrical cause my schools engineering major requirements i can double major in computer and electrical and get out with 2 B.S. In a year. But recent job stats say those industries arent going to grow, and ide be better off becoming a biological engineer or an industrial and systems engineer. So, which should i choose? I want a job after college, but im not sure of my prospects as an ece/ce. What are you actually interested in? With good grades and some experience (internships, research, etc.), you shouldn't have much trouble finding a good job with a degree in EE or CE. You'll be a lot happier studying something you actually like (and your grades will probably reflect that), not to mention you'll be a lot happier in your job after college. Also, what's biological engineering? We have biomedical engineering at my uni, and if it's pretty much the same thing as your biological program, you're pretty much gonna need to go to grad school. But I'm a junior in ME, so maybe take this with a grain of salt.
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Mar 19, 2012 05:25
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Globofglob posted:So its that time of year at my university where all freshie engineers declare major and im conflicted. I was originally planning to go into electrical cause my schools engineering major requirements i can double major in computer and electrical and get out with 2 B.S. In a year. But recent job stats say those industries arent going to grow, and ide be better off becoming a biological engineer or an industrial and systems engineer. So, which should i choose? I want a job after college, but im not sure of my prospects as an ece/ce. You're going to be working in the field you choose for a long time. (Hopefully). Studying anything other than what you are really into is a recipe for burning yourself out.
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Mar 19, 2012 12:36
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Shark Tower posted:Hey guys, I was wondering if there was anyone in this thread who could critique my resume (and cover letter)? I graduated half a year ago in Mechanical Engineering, and have had absolutely no luck finding a full-time engineering position. I did a lot of co-op while I was an undergrad, and have been writing different cover letters for each company. But even with that, I'm not getting any interviews or responses from the applications I've been sending out. I can't say my undergrad's been stellar (had to repeat my first and second year, and my last year I had a really bad injury and was out half a year, meaning my degree took me 7.5 years when it only should've taken 5). My GPA's also completely in the gutter, so I haven't been including it in applications, instead trying to focus on my work experience. Is there something critical I'm missing here? Try the resume thread
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Mar 19, 2012 13:17
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Shark Tower posted:Hey guys, I was wondering if there was anyone in this thread who could critique my resume (and cover letter)? I graduated half a year ago in Mechanical Engineering, and have had absolutely no luck finding a full-time engineering position. I did a lot of co-op while I was an undergrad, and have been writing different cover letters for each company. But even with that, I'm not getting any interviews or responses from the applications I've been sending out. I can't say my undergrad's been stellar (had to repeat my first and second year, and my last year I had a really bad injury and was out half a year, meaning my degree took me 7.5 years when it only should've taken 5). My GPA's also completely in the gutter, so I haven't been including it in applications, instead trying to focus on my work experience. Is there something critical I'm missing here? I hope that your cover letters are a lot less generic than the one you posted there - ideally, writing a targeted cover letter for each job is best. Also, I've always thought you should list your work experience from most recent to least recent. If you can get your resume to 1 page, that always helps - especially for entry level positions, where they don't expect a tonne of work experience. I'd say your title block (name/address/etc info) on your resume could be a lot smaller, but the resume thread is probably a better bet.
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Mar 19, 2012 23:57
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Shark Tower posted:Hey guys, I was wondering if there was anyone in this thread who could critique my resume (and cover letter)? I graduated half a year ago in Mechanical Engineering, and have had absolutely no luck finding a full-time engineering position. I did a lot of co-op while I was an undergrad, and have been writing different cover letters for each company. But even with that, I'm not getting any interviews or responses from the applications I've been sending out. I can't say my undergrad's been stellar (had to repeat my first and second year, and my last year I had a really bad injury and was out half a year, meaning my degree took me 7.5 years when it only should've taken 5). My GPA's also completely in the gutter, so I haven't been including it in applications, instead trying to focus on my work experience. Is there something critical I'm missing here? Here is a tip I think will serve all engineers well: If you work in a team, list what you specifically contributed. The difference between: "Worked on a team to build a better implant" and "Analyzed data and created mathematical models reflected natural geometry" is pretty huge. I don't have an idea what you would have contributed in the first example, whereas in the second I have a clear idea of what you did, and could talk to you about it. It can be really hard to separate what you did specifically sometimes, especially if you're a generalist, but being able to point to specific accomplishments that you are proud of this very, very helpful, both for showcasing what you can do, and in giving up a talking point you can be confident about. Also ditch the interests, I think.
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Mar 20, 2012 00:06
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Globofglob posted:So its that time of year at my university where all freshie engineers declare major and im conflicted. I was originally planning to go into electrical cause my schools engineering major requirements i can double major in computer and electrical and get out with 2 B.S. In a year. But recent job stats say those industries arent going to grow, and ide be better off becoming a biological engineer or an industrial and systems engineer. So, which should i choose? I want a job after college, but im not sure of my prospects as an ece/ce.
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Mar 20, 2012 03:54
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Any tips for transitioning from technician work to real engineering? I graduated last May from a top public university with a degree in chemical engineering, but sadly I didn't take it too seriously and ended up with a mediocre GPA and no real internship/research experience. I got hired last November as a contractor production technician at a small branch of a large company (we supply semiconductor precursors to companies in Asia and the USA). Essentially I am just a pair of hands to do things that I am told to do. I am not actually doing anything cool that I learned in school like process design and such. I'm a little disappointed with the type of work I am doing, to say the least. I am really worried because I feel like I'm not building any useful experience and I also feel that I don't really have a future at the company I am with right now. I have been sending out resumes to other open positions, but nobody called back except for other staffing agencies who needed more contract technicians. I've briefly entertained changing careers to business or computer science (both of which I'd have to go back to school for), but I feel like I shouldn't really be making this decision now since I don't really have first hand experience with what engineering can offer. I'd like some advice if anyone can help me out here. Thanks 
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Mar 20, 2012 04:32
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I hear ya man, but the fact is a lot of companies simply need those hands, and there are a lot of people with 4 year degrees who need jobs. I know its depressing and frustrating and it feels like your intelligence is fading away. I'm in the same position. I graduated with a Physics degree and tried to get into "real" science or optical engineering. Right now I work as a quality engineer on r&d medical devices. I could've done this as a summer intern, I use nothing more complex than the graph function in Excel, and honestly the most important skill to have is to do paperwork correctly. I would say keep your head up, and keep on applying. I thought going back to school might've been the answer, but the reality is you will likely limit yourself even more. If you do try to jump fields, find ways to make your current and past experience relevant in whatever way possible and hope someone take a chance.
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Mar 20, 2012 13:22
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canoshiz posted:I got hired last November as a contractor production technician at a small branch of a large company (we supply semiconductor precursors to companies in Asia and the USA). Essentially I am just a pair of hands to do things that I am told to do. I am not actually doing anything cool that I learned in school like process design and such. I'm a little disappointed with the type of work I am doing, to say the least. If you were to find a job working on design of new plants, it's still going to be a bit disappointing, as you're just a small piece of a large team effort with a lot of other engineers, and even then, you'll likely only see a tiny piece of it. Especially as a junior engineer. It's not until you get many years of experience and start taking supervisory roles that you get to do "big picture" stuff, but even that is bittersweet as you won't actually have time to do any "real" engineering in those jobs and end up as more of a manger.
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Mar 20, 2012 13:43
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Yeah I realize that, I think I worded that a little poorly. I'm not so naive as to believe that everything I learned in school is applicable to work. At the same time though (and I know this is really petty), it's frustrating to see that I'm literally doing the same level of work as a group of people with high school educations while the people with degrees who've been around longer are all in administration. Basically I want to advance my career and move on from being a technician but it seems like I'm not developing the appropriate skills for me to do so. I don't see any room for advancement within the company I am at, nor do I see any other company seeing my current work as valuable experience. I appreciate the words, though. I think I just want to move on to something a little more relevant to my skillset rather than just being hands for manual labor. Are internships and co-ops generally out of the question since I am no longer a student?
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Mar 20, 2012 15:26
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Better jobs are out there. Keep looking, and don't get discouraged! And don't forget that what you're doing now is still real experience, and will give you a leg up in the job hunt, even it it doesn't match your expectations.
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Mar 20, 2012 15:39
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Globofglob posted:But recent job stats say those industries arent going to grow, and ide be better off becoming a biological engineer or an industrial and systems engineer I am a biological engineer working in the pharmaceutical industry. First off: do not trust any hype around careers in bioengineering. Just don't. Second, if you try to be a bioengineer, you will be going back for a minimum of a master's degree. Resign yourself to that right now before you do it. If you don't, (if you even find a job w/ a B.S) you will be relegating yourself to less than lab-peon status forever, basically. You will be the normal lab peon's peon. Maybe, if you stay at a company long enough (HA!), you will be promoted to normal peon. Odds are you won't find a job worth a drat, though. I have worked with several hundred people across my various companies now. Literally two had only a B.S, and both of them were the first ones laid off.What about biological engineering is it that you like? Most positions that will hire a bioengineer will also hire chemical engineers. You'll have a lot more leeway with a ChemE if you're suited for it! (Oh for the love of god, I'm begging you here! Don't do a biological engineering degree!)
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Mar 20, 2012 16:01
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Globofglob posted:So its that time of year at my university where all freshie engineers declare major and im conflicted. I was originally planning to go into electrical cause my schools engineering major requirements i can double major in computer and electrical and get out with 2 B.S. In a year. But recent job stats say those industries arent going to grow, and ide be better off becoming a biological engineer or an industrial and systems engineer. So, which should i choose? I want a job after college, but im not sure of my prospects as an ece/ce. There are a poo poo-ton of EE and CE jobs out there all the time for good/experienced graduates. Look on Craigslist, Monster, or Linked In and compare the opportunities of each field. Is post graduation location important to you? One thing to consider is that a degree in CE or EE with programming experience will enable you to live literally anywhere and give you flexibility to work from home or while traveling.
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Mar 20, 2012 16:33
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canoshiz posted:Yeah I realize that, I think I worded that a little poorly. I'm not so naive as to believe that everything I learned in school is applicable to work. At the same time though (and I know this is really petty), it's frustrating to see that I'm literally doing the same level of work as a group of people with high school educations while the people with degrees who've been around longer are all in administration. Basically I want to advance my career and move on from being a technician but it seems like I'm not developing the appropriate skills for me to do so. I don't see any room for advancement within the company I am at, nor do I see any other company seeing my current work as valuable experience. You are in a tough position. Transition from technician to engineer is always difficult. I can definitely say that you won't grow in your current company and you probably understand it yourself. Look for the same position in another place, but which will give you the right experience, with a goal to switch company one more time after that but to engineering role. Another approach, or in parallel, will be to increase your educational level (MSc, P.E., etc).
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Mar 20, 2012 17:59
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So how possible would it be to switch to an engineering field via master's degree if I have an bachelor's in math and CS? Not really interested right, just wondering if it would be a possibility for something like bioengineering, where you need the master's anyway.
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Mar 20, 2012 19:20
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