hey out there this is way off topic but this is my fte home so just curious if there was any mechanical engineers out there. i am a senior in high school and been trying figure out wat to do with my life and have been considering going into engineering and was wonderin if i could get some real life engineers view points on the work, job description, working conditions, and just wat its really like. thanks for helping a young guy out

 

I am a mechanical engineer. ME is a very diverse field, so it would be good for you to hear from many engineers - all of the stories will be different. PM me and I would be happy give you my impressions.

 

Matt, I got my engineering degree late in life while in the military. Mechanical Engineering, as stated above, has many applications. I worked in the AeroSpace industry for about 12 years and then in the construction industry for about 10 years. Understand, that an engineer is a highly educated technician in most jobs and I learned early on that while an engineering degree will open doors for you the real money is in management. I stayed with Engineering Management and Construction Project Management because it kept me in the area of my education and allowed me to get out of the office and into the field where I felt more at home. I would recommend a career in engineering as it has treated me well. You will not get rich but can make a nice living and it is a lot of fun. There is a lot of satisfaction in seeing something you designed work as you expected it to. The "fun" part is what I liked the best. If your job is not fun, it will be a looooong career.
An engineering degree teaches you how to "think" and where to go to look up the answers to your questions. Good luck & keep us posted.

Gil

 

I'm not an engineer, but I work with them daily. All I can say is, if you like to think hard and create, then mechanical engineer is probably the way to go. If you like to think a bit less, and still create, then falling back to a CNC machinist/programmer may be the way to go. If you like to think, create, and not get paid diddly for it, become an autobody technician, lol. Just doing production work without thinking gets really boring, and will make you think why you didn't pursue an engineering degree. My .02

 

If you want to get rich, become a Plumber!

 

hey thanks for the replies guys

 

The answers so far have been very interesting to me, and cover a lot of territory.

I think engineers get a bad rap as nerdy thinkers who just solve problems. But, like others have said, it does teach you how to use your mind logically to solve both mechanical and real life issues.

The hot ticket when I was in school was to get a BSME and an MBA degree. That would open the doors wide and put you into management with a minor in engineering speak so you understand the what the geeks are saying. That combo has proved very financially rewarding for many engineers that I know. However, almost to a man, they complain about being out of the real fun of the work. Management has big rewards in pay grade, but big penalties in people problems, politics and ulcers.

Most of the engineers I work with in aerospace came out of school with the sheepskin, the formulas and the know-it-all attitudes, got trained in CAD and get good pay to model up things nobody can build. They have no "practical" experience. Or, as I like to say, they have never had "chips on their shoes". They cost more than they are worth and won't listen to any sage advice form their elders. Whatever they send to the floor typically has to be redesigned in order to be manufactured. (I'm not kidding here!)

I have worked as an engineer off and on for 35 years. I did other stuff from time to time and, in fact, have had numerous careers. But I always came back to engineering design because it was the most personally rewarding work for me. I have my name on numerous patents, all owned by the companies that paid me well for my inventiveness. But most importantly, as many career pundits say, choose the work that you love and you'll do well, no matter what it is.

I used to routinely miss break times because I was so involved in my work. I worked lots of unpaid overtime because I was on the brink of an elegant solution to a design problem. Everything I designed was with the understanding of who would build it, with what and how, and then how it would be used. The cost of materials and labor to produce it were always of paramount importance. Ultimately, that practical understanding and application it is what made my work so valuable to my employer, interesting to me and unique. It is the best work I know. I do not regret selecting it.

I do not have a degree. But I began my career with two years of engineering, then a lot of grunt work in fab shops. I have worked in machine shops (before CNC), composites, sheet metal shops and junk yards. I got my hands dirty. I made stuff. I know how to use the available tools to solve problems and repair things. I have practical mechanical experience.

Eventually, I got a job as a drafter at an aerospace company in their tool design department. I thought surely enough hammers had already been invented as I had no idea what tools were in manufacturing. I had some wonderful mentors who saw I was into the work and helped me along. The most valuable comment I ever received was "you don't have to know everything - you just need to know whom to ask". For my tool designs, that meant go talk to the tool maker on the shop floor and start there. That basic understanding of who my customer was has served me extremely well.

Most of the gearheads on FTE would make fine engineers because they appreciate the mechanical and want to know how/why things work. That is the key ingredient required. People who open the hood of their car and just look under there will never be engineers.

Everything I have had to do to build my truck was for the first time. I had to learn welding, bodywork, sheet metal repair, custom mods, electrical work, etc on the go. BUT, I had worked around those things and the people who were good at it, so I had an intellectual understanding of it. I knew what was strong enough and what was mickey mouse. Building my truck seems a natural outgrowth of my engineering career with the greater benefit of doing it all with my mind, then my own hands. My greatest reward was always seeing the final product on the bench that had been just an idea a while before.

So, my one suggestion to be a really GOOD engineer, is to get the education and also work with your hands in the trades that you will design things for.

Good luck. If you fit the profile, and find a good place to work (probably a smaller company where you need to wear a lot of different hats), you'll love it. And when you get your paycheck, you will know you earned it and feel great about it. When people ask you what you do for a living, you answer "I am an engineer" with a big smile on your face.

 

Randy, If more "engineers" thought like you do, the techs who have to fix some of these screwed up designs would have things a lot easier. More "engineers" should get their hands dirty before picking up a pencil or sitting down at a computer.

 

LOL, there are no doubt some lousy engineers out there, but I can sympathize. Managers breathing down their necks, do it faster-cheaper, do-more-with-less, blah blah blah. Engineers are under the same or worse pressure as all American workers. There are people in Asia that can spend a week on a design for what it costs to have an American engineer look at it for a day.

I am also an ME, and to expand on what RJ said, one of the problems is that there is no respect for a tradesman here, or specifically Designers (non-degreed) are not recognized by the educational system. All our competitor countries have strong apprenticeship programs in everything from piping design, HVAC design, to circuit board design. It is to develop a different skillset from an engineer. Engineers (usually) just can't get anything done without designers. Engineers analyze, designers make it happen. These are the skills that will go overseas if we don't nurture them.

You should decide which type of work you are stronger in.

 

Whew!.....I wanted to be an electrical engineer..... (I did it too......well, I got the degree)

But I ended up flying Jets in the USAF for 24 years. (and now I fly the friendly skies)


There's a lot of things you can do. If I were to get another engineering degree I think it would be Civil Engr. With a CE degree you can work for any city or county or just about anywhere......


Just stay in school keep the goal in mind!



Cheers,


Rick

 

Got rust?

My wife is a Corrosion Engineer (PE) and Ameron International's director of their Engineering Experimental Center.

 

I also chose the Mechanical Engineering field. I was always interested in how things work and liked to work with my hands. As indicated above, the field is very broad. The key is to approach problems logically as Randy said. I am now retired but spent 37 years in the electical power business predominently nuclear. I spent time in both operations and engineering. I enjoyed both the hands on engineering side of the business and the engineering management side.
I have a retired friend in the car hobby with an engineering background. I visited his shop recently. He explained his current days this way. "I get up early have breakfast and stop for coffee at the local coffee shop and visit with the guys. I pick up a newspaper and head to my desk in my shop. I read the paper, check up things that I follow on the computer until about 9 am when it is time to get greasy"
I had a good career and never regretted getting the ME degree. My youngest son turns wrenches on high end european cars and now with a home and 2 kids (my grandkids!), he regrets not going to get an engineering degree. I encouraged him every way that I could including the $ but it was not to be.
If you like things mechanical go and get that BSME. You will never regret it.

 

I have been an engineer for 21 years and my son is currently attending university for mechanical engineering now. Everything Randy wrote is bang on. I had the benefit of working with my father and my older brothers building houses and running a farm. That hands on experience has proven to be the most valuable to me.

Many engineers are comfortable working with and communicating with management but stink at working with the blue collar folks (the ones who actually do the work). Some engineers are very good at working with the blue collar folks but really stink at communicating with management. However the successful engineers have the ability and comfort to work equally with both, and these are the ones that are the successful ones.

Engineers are problem solvers. You absolutely have to be able to collect the ideas of the workers to develop the solution. (Most of the time they know what is wrong, but don't have the ability or endorsement from management to fix it) Once you have the solution you have to be able to sell the ideas to management. If you involve the people that the problem is impacting and the solution will benefit, they will help you make it work. The opposite is also true, you can have a great idea that they don't like because you didn't involve them and they can and sometimes do make sure it doesn't work.

Because of my upbringing I have been able to build very good relationships with both and that as benefited me very well. This is also one of the main reasons I wanted my son to know how to weld, know how to rebuild engines, know how to do carpentry (we worked on many habitat for humanity houses so he learned some of those skills). It is much easier to understand things you have done. For example, if you have never changed the spark plugs in a car, you are much more likely to forget to design the engine compartment with enough room to actually take them out.

I am fond of engineering, I enjoy solving problems and working with people from all walks of life. My career has taken me all around the world and I have certainly enjoyed it. I have worked with many more bad engineers that good ones and since you are on this site, you certainly have the potential to be a good one, so I hope you chose to become one.

I hoped this helped at least a little.

 

Geez!, I'm surrounded by so many engineers!!

 

I finally fessed up.

I prefer to be incognito but the young man asked a good question and I wanted to help.