Any Engineers on Here

[hikenhunt]

2. The amount of shit people expect you to know is ridiculous. As an engineer everyone expects you to know everything and never be wrong.

As a mechanical engineer PE, this is spot on!

 

[Dos Perros]

2. The amount of shit people expect you to know is ridiculous. As an engineer everyone expects you to know everything and never be wrong.

My business is way different. Our engineers would never assert something without having evidence or data to support their assertion. So if you ask them something and they don't have the data, they'll respond with "I don't know," and ask for money to do some experiments or testing. It then becomes in their best interest not to know anything because it is followed by funding and work.

 

[Seth]

I’m a mining engineer with 20 years in the industry. Lots of opportunities in both rural and urban settings. These are growing as there is an increasing focus on critical minerals, and we aren’t graduating enough mining engineers to replace the retirees. Across the industry, there is need for skilled trades, mechanics and electricians especially. Pay and benefits are generally excellent. The variety of projects I’ve worked on has kept me engaged and it’s always nice to see your work turn into something. A PE isn’t necessary, but opens a lot of doors.

 

[IdahoBeav]

4. ME or EE you are prob going to have to live in a populated area. CE you can get a job a lot of places. CE are also the lowest paid.

The money in Civil isn't in the actual engineering. It's in selling and managing the engineering, which is difficult to do if you are not an engineer yourself.

 

[Trackerbacker]

I've been on both sides, and you're certainly right about a significant percentage of engineers, but there are also many contractors that can't read

fixed it for you

 

[IdahoBeav]

fixed it for you

Well, they know how to write emails and copy everyone even remotely involved with the project, and they know how to type up and send RFIs in ProCore.

 

[S.Clancy]

My business is way different. Our engineers would never assert something without having evidence or data to support their assertion. So if you ask them something and they don't have the data, they'll respond with "I don't know," and ask for money to do some experiments or testing. It then becomes in their best interest not to know anything because it is followed by funding and work.

Oh, we don't assert that we know everything, in fact I tell people I don't know basically daily. It's just that everyone not an engineer assumes we are omniscient.

 

[Trackerbacker]

Well, they know how to write emails and copy everyone even remotely involved with the project, and they know how to type up and send RFIs in ProCore.

hey, talk to text is a thing these days!

plus, thats what the office coordinators job is for!

I also cant tell you how many get the project info and pdfs from me...bid them...i review them...they do the job per spec and bid...invoice arrives 2,3,4, 9k different in price...call em up "whats this about?", "well i didnt see x on the print and x meant doing y"

"DID YOU READ THE PRINT, PROJECT, PROPOSALS, CONTRACTS THAT YOU SIGNED/SENT IN BASED OFF OF?"

(fastforward a few weeks and someone on the jobs says) "yea, so-so is all mad at you, ran into him on a different job....."--"being illiterate has its disadvantages"

 

[Cedarsavage]

How many of those individuals own their own businesses? I'd wager the majority. Utilizing the labor of others is key to wealth.

Everywhere I've worked I've heard how "underpaid we are" I'm starting to think it's just normal when you compare benefits packages. Outside of owners like you say

 

[UtahJimmy]

I'm a ME but I went the R&D/design route in my career. I started with a mining firm, went to a SW company, then hit my stride with design engineering. Landed a gig with a tech company making consumer electronics and worked my way into project management. I still get to have days of "hands on" engineering but no longer spin CAD.

It's super easy to get to six figures with an engineering degree. Sounds like you don't wanna do EE (I don't blame you!), but know that ME is no walk in the park either. Working and going to school full time is brutal but very doable. I worked 2 jobs while graduating in 4 years with an aerospace degree, but clearly never went into aero.

It really just depends on what you want out if it. You mention money is a partial motivator, and wanting to advance your career; but are you a people person? Do you like to lead or are you happy being a contributor? Do you think you'll be be satisfied sitting at a computer or do you have to be using your hands to feel like your accomplishing tasks?

I'm happy to answer any questions or jump on a phone call with you.

 

[southLA]

The money in Civil isn't in the actual engineering. It's in selling and managing the engineering, which is difficult to do if you are not an engineer yourself.

Bingo. I dare say even more so on the inspection/construction management side of projects,, too.

 

[Pony Soldier]

When I was teaching I used to tell my students that an engineering degree would make it difficult for them to talk to nonengineers. The basic engineering programs teach you to think in three dimensions, linear thought patterns and connected actions. By the time you get to your senior year you should be able to function very well in 5 dimensions. These include heigth, width, thickness, time and money. I should also include probability and risk.

In mining nearly everything operates in a range of answers because of the variability of the components. Nothing is constant but many things can be reasonably predictable. The mining side requires a slightly differant type of personality.

 

[Dkhunter12]

I will chime in here as well. I am a Civil/Structural (Bridges).

College shows the community you can learn and meet a standard.

Most practical engineering is on-the job training and experience over time after college.

Need to be a critical thinker.

If you think you want to be a licensed professional, you will need to make sure your engineering program is ABET accredited.

 

[roadrunner]

If I could do it all over again I would look into robotics and/or refrigeration

If I could do it all over again, I'd pursue economics and finance and let others make money for me.

Wealth is measured in assets, not cash in hand. The one thing for sure an engineering degree will do for you is to make you work for your paycheck instead of letting your assets earn it for you...

 

[hobbes]

Take this for what it is worth but all the really big boats at the boat marina are owned by construction guys, plumbers, hvac, electricians, linemen, etc. Less doctors, lawyers, and the like than you'd think.
They may just be more willing to accept debt, but doesn't look that way.

You're correct, but they are owned by the company owners in most cases. There's a hell of a lot of each of those fields that are still working pay check to paycheck for the guys that own those boats, same as a hell of a lot of engineers. I don't own one of those boats or cars or houses, but I'm okay with that. I'm okay with not having to take the risk that a lot of those folks took at one point or another. It's the choice that I made and consequences that I'm okay with. However, it's still a good point that wealth often has every little to do with formal education and there sure as heck is nothing wrong with the trades.


The earlier post about engineers needing field time was spot on in that respect. It sounds like you already have that so would likely be a great engineer. I've spent very little time in design, but a lot of time on project sites. I wish more of our folks were required to do that but it often doesn't work that way. Those that do are often better engineers but not always. Some folks are just better at communicating and listening. Those that bury themselves in a cube by choice often aren't.

I've been in meetings between field staff and design staff that I facilitated and actually served as the person between the two that understood construction more than Design staff and understood design more than Construction staff. Either side could have a shithead in the mix, but it was more likely for one of the design folks to piss off the construction folks than the other way around. It'd drive me crazy, that the design person was so damn intelligent but unable to recognize how rude and arrogant they sounded. It would shut Construction folks down immediately and the conversation between the two would nearly end and everything afterwards would go to hell. However, I've seen it work in reverse too with the occasional coworker that has been terrible at recognizing when they sound like an ass. I may have unintentionally been guilty of it on occasions that I'm not aware of. And...on occasion some folks are just too damn sensitive and take everything personal.

A side story:
I worked with a guy early in my career that apparently didn't like me. I was never anything but nice to the guy, but when I wasn't around he liked calling me the golden child and ranting about whatever I did. He just wasn't very smart about who he did it in front of and thought I didn't recognize some of his smart ass comments. My main fault.......I had an engineering degree and the owners had put a lot of faith in me eventually moving up through the ranks. Apparently that rubbed him wrong but he was quite frankly one of the most dishonest guys I've worked with in my entire career. I ignored him for the most part and just worried about my job and never once confronted him. At my age now, I would likely approach it differently.

For the most part, learn as much as you can that is actual field work. Even if you go straight to design, listen to the guys in the field. They are often a hell of a lot smarter than you think, degree or not. You'll learn to recognize bullshit or folks that just want to bitch and can let that in one ear and out the other. Learn to listen and communicate in a way that doesn't make you sound like an ass but still gets the work done in a way that meets specs, achieves intended purpose, etc. On occasion there's no way around giving up on being nice and just being the person in charge but hopefully those aren't the norm. It's probably the engineer personality, but I can struggle with "stupid" (it's a subjective term) and will squirm like heck if I have to put up with too much before eventually saying the hell with it, throwing up my hands and saying I'm done with this and demanding something different. That's not always the best way to do things as an engineer so something that I could improve on and have significantly through the years.

I could probably talk this stuff for too long but I need to cut the lunch break off (had a long break due to doc visit) and dive into a meeting that seems pointless with too many folks involved to discuss a subject that I'm really not interested in. Welcome to engineering.

 

[SWOHTR]

Not an engineer, but wanted to be. The calculus was brutal so I transferred to Technical Systems Management. Loved it. I use some aspect of it every day in my career.

But I learned the most from my dad. Not a day goes by where I don’t use something he taught me. That was the practical education I really needed and didn’t know it at the time. It’s also the education that was free. He was a welder and two-time business owner who installed furniture and then ran a marina.

I can only hope to teach my kids half as much as my dad taught me.

 

[ReaptheHeat]

Im a consulting engineer in mining. If you have mining in your area, depending on the type, can offer you a lot. Even potential for travel or relocation at some point. A mining specific degree will set you up to be in the front office rather than turning wrenches. Geologic engineer (mix of geology and geotechnical) is in high demand as well. PM me and I can offer what I know.

I can also help - geological engineer in mining.

 

[Trackerbacker]

I can only hope to teach my kids half as much as my dad taught me

Tangent to the point..

The one thing we can do as parents is instill good character, feed/bathe/clothe when in need (later years), and give them every opportunity to learn from our networks and skills we've developed, as well as voluntell them they'll be helping with "x".

I guarantee we all forgot what problem a coworker/owner/etc helped on, but we all remember the first time "helping" and "holding the flashlight"...

 

[Q child]

Electrical is the best.

 

[UtahJimmy]

If I could do it all over again, I'd pursue economics and finance and let others make money for me.

Wealth is measured in assets, not cash in hand. The one thing for sure an engineering degree will do for you is to make you work for your paycheck instead of letting your assets earn it for you...

I've got family and friends in finance and when I look at their lives I'm VERY glad I don't do what they do. The hours and suits don't interest me in the least.

Wealth is measured in assets minus liabilities. Cash IS wealth.... the more you have the more wealth you have. Assets only help you build wealth if they make you money. Having a boat doesn't make me wealthy if I have a loan on it and it's costing me cash every month.

Engineering will teach you to be risk adverse and allow you to turn your paycheck into an asset generating machine that will help you build wealth. You'll be able to take advantage of opportunities that may not have been available to you on your current trajectory.