Any Engineers on Here

[Billinsd]

I’m a mechanical and do practically no engineering like most engineers I went to school with. The degree opens doors and combined with leadership abilities and practical experience will likely put you in a manager position. I would strongly recommend it if you are truly motivated to follow through. I’ve had several employees pursue and complete an engineering degree mid career while also working a FT. Not easy but possible with some temporary sacrifices.

The average age of engineers in college is much higher than the fluff degrees. Most I knew had been in the military, gotten fluff degrees, been laborers and then realized they wanted a Be Set (BS) in engineering. Rank and file engineers are set, few are wealthy. I Started out in geology emphasis in geophysics, got a degree geology with emphasis in hydrogeology. I'm a registered civil with Masters in civil, was in chi epsilon and tau beta phi honor societies in college. I truly love civil engineering work. The Civil Engineering profession has become sullied by blinding corruption, waste, fraud, and incompetence by the government/consulting complex. The mechanical guys in college were beasts when it came to being smart and resourceful in college. I identify as a mechanical engineer and a Texan!! I had a lot of mechanical friends in college as I do now. You are 35, how long do you want work? Is money and wealth most important? What is? You don't want to take on much or any debt. Good luck Bill

 

[schmalzy]

So I've decided to continue my education...I'm currently a Building Mechanic, formerly a Welder with an Associate's in Welding and some HVAC training. I'm stagnant where I am and anything else I've found in the area is a lateral move where I give up benefits for more pay. I want to go up and do more. I have free tuition through my job and I'm registered for classes starting in the summer. Right now I'm declared for an Industrial Technologies Degree that is geared at management in Industrial settings, but I'm considering Electrical or Mechanical Engineering as well. There's a good amount of classes that are required for all 3 so I don't have to decided today, but... Electrical and Mech Engineering would be longer and harder but I wanna set myself for good options in a rural isolated area. Big industries around here are construction, mills, mines etc, with some limited manufacturing. I've always felt like someone with Trade's experience and an Engineering degree would be pretty useful? Seems like Mech engineering might eventually allow for some remote options? I know my grandpa did alot of engineering consulting in retirement, which would be a good option to look forward to in the future. I'm interested in input and experience from anyone in these fields. I'm 35 with no kids and I'll be working full-time if that makes a difference.

Your background might lend well to becoming a Fire sprinkler designer. Bachelors not required. Probably take a pay cut getting started but limitless options once you get going. Industry is woefully short on them at the moment. Once you get some experience and proficiency you can sit for NICET certifications and without too much trouble and heartache be in the low 6 figures range.


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[Jermh]

I kind of went the other way. I got my ME degree, worked in an entry level project management role for a large construction company for a few months and absolutely hated it. I'm now a union carpenter employed at that same company. Doubled my income after 2 years and still have good benefits. Figure I've always got the degree in my back pocket if I ever want to move up into a managerial role or just bounce into something different entirely. In my mind it takes the right kind of person to work a desk job, and that's just not where I'm at. Be ready to go REAL heavy into math.

 

[Bluefish]

As a pretty much retired ME, here is my take. Engineers start at a good pay, but quickly top out if staying in engineering. Really have to move to management to make more $$. Sucks, but the way it is. similar to trades.
a good degree, but not sure I would pursue it in my mid 30’s. Would be 40 by the time you are done. Figure after 55 if you are let go, you’re done. Probably better to add business courses to your skill set and see if you can move up in the company you already work for.

 

[Cedarsavage]

Your background might lend well to becoming a Fire sprinkler designer. Bachelors not required. Probably take a pay cut getting started but limitless options once you get going. Industry is woefully short on them at the moment. Once you get some experience and proficiency you can sit for NICET certifications and without too much trouble and heartache be in the low 6 figures range.


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Can you give me some more info on that or point me in a direction to find out more? I'm assuming work for a fire suppression company?

 

[southLA]

Rank and file engineers are set, few are wealthy.

Good way of putting it.

 

[KurtR]

 

[Cedarsavage]

Good way of putting it.

They don't make rediculous money but they're one of the most common occupations for net worth millionaires.

 

[allstajacket]

At 30 I am getting ready to return to school to get an engineering degree..

I was lucky enough a year ago to land an engineering role in the automotive industry (my title is technically “technician” and I love it. Going to return to school to get the degree for the title change, as well as higher pay and more opportunities.

Living in metro Detroit, the options for engineers are endless, though it’s similar everywhere, we just have the Auto industry.

My wife has a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Engineering Management. Watching her go through her undergrad was rough. She often spent the entire evening 6 days a week on homework.

Definitely pays off in the end if you can fight your way through it though. I’m hoping I can do it, and I’ll try to start with a class or two in the fall.


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[schmalzy]

Can you give me some more info on that or point me in a direction to find out more? I'm assuming work for a fire suppression company?

Definitely. PM me your phone number; a little easier to chat about it. But ultimately, yes, find a fire sprinkler contractor. Taking some community college drafting/Autocad classes may help you get your foot in the door.


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[rtkbowhunter]

With all due respect, that's a technology degree and not an engineering degree. If you want to go this route you're better off with an EE BS. You'll be qualified for any job requiring this degree. However, vice versa, you won't be considered for every job requiring an EE degree. If you really want to specialize in this field you'll be better off with an EE BS and a Masters in this field.

Actually, no. Most EE programs offer only a cursory class or two regarding vission and such. I work with controls engineers. Every. Day. The ones that are successful and in demand are the ones with a background in vision, automation, and robotics. 0-3 years, $120K. Having an BSEE does not mean your qualified to develop vision high speed automation, integrating a dozen or so robots into a qualified, validated hi-speed system.

I do this, hands on, every day. Best controls engineer I've ever worked with stated his BSEE was pretty much irrelavent to designing and implementing a robust controls system for $5-$10M capex projects.

Used to have a sr. director in our company that wanted zero to do with BSMET's. She was more impressed with theory. I grabbed every one I could because they were more hands-on. Worked for several that had their masters in mechanical engineering...Book smart. No clue as how to automation works.

 

[tcpip95]

I'm an EE, better be good in math.

Honestly, way more opportunities with BS computer science....if you like programming

We can't hire enough

I work for one of the largest computer companies in the world. The IT programming world is all handled offshore - mostly India. You will not be able to compete with them on price. Very few companies in the US are hiring American programmers. It's much cheaper to offshore it to India, Hungary, etc.

I've been a telecommunications engineer for 50 years. I've come up through the ranks of wire monkey, programmer (at the chip level), RF engineering, and project management. I've gone through 3 layoffs in the industry.

If I were 35 and single, I would most definitely be looking at a trade job. Construction, drywall, plumbing, HVAC, etc. You will never be without a job. As you progress quickly in your trade you will quickly become a site/project manager so the bone/joint grinding work will quickly be behind you.

Remember.... rectal thermometers have degrees too. It's not the degree... it's what you DO with the degree that counts.

 

[Crusader]

I work for one of the largest computer companies in the world. The IT programming world is all handled offshore - mostly India. You will not be able to compete with them on price. Very few companies in the US are hiring American programmers. It's much cheaper to offshore it to India, Hungary, etc.

I've been a telecommunications engineer for 50 years. I've come up through the ranks of wire monkey, programmer (at the chip level), RF engineering, and project management. I've gone through 3 layoffs in the industry.

If I were 35 and single, I would most definitely be looking at a trade job. Construction, drywall, plumbing, HVAC, etc. You will never be without a job. As you progress quickly in your trade you will quickly become a site/project manager so the bone/joint grinding work will quickly be behind you.

Remember.... rectal thermometers have degrees too. It's not the degree... it's what you DO with the degree that counts.

I'm ignorant regarding the IT field.... what's the difference between a progammer and a coder? A 30-ish y/o daughter of some friends of ours a couple years ago took a handful of courses through a "bootcamp" and got out and got a coding job right away and she is making very good money.

 

[Q child]

I'm an electrical. I make good money and do rewarding work. There are a lot of remote options that are available to me. It's been a good career for me so far.
I am by no means a math wiz. I have always been better at math than average, but far from having real talent. I do like math though, which goes a long way.
My school intentionally made my degree a ton of work to get. My sophomore EE class (the first EE specific class at my school) had roughly 30 people in it, and I was one of eight who ended up graduating on time a couple years later. They seemed to make the workload intentionally unreasonable to create attrition. Nobody cared about the work either. By senior year I would get back lab reports (which were the result of three hours of lab time and a couple hours of writing time) with an A+ grade and no markups, like the grader didn't even read it, just a quick scan through to verify I did all the work and then A+.
I relied on my friends heavily. We would hang out together day in day out just slogging through.

 

[BigE]

I'm ignorant regarding the IT field.... what's the difference between a progammer and a coder? A 30-ish y/o daughter of some friends of ours a couple years ago took a handful of courses through a "bootcamp" and got out and got a coding job right away and she is making very good money.

Coder and programmer are the same or close enough to ignore the nuance.

30+ years in this field for me, and while I agree that there are cost advantages with offshore labor like any field that can be outsourced, there are also some major challenges to the success of entirely offshoring development shops which creates it's own opportunities for onshore tech leadership and management.

In my experience, the CIO role turns over every 3-5 years and with that the insource/outsource model flips one way or the other. Lots of opportunities in tech fields with competitive salaries, and speaking from my experience we are constantly hiring US based developers.

 

[TheGDog]

Very few companies in the US are hiring American programmers. It's much cheaper to offshore it to India, Hungary, etc.

Yeah... and then... I get to to debug all their POS code.

Out-sourcing... IMHO... can be a so-so way to hurry-up and get all the groundwork of the coding for your system initially laid-out, as long as they are given a strong definition of what is wanted and what tech you want it to be done with. But ya ALWAYS end up having to fix their stuff.

 

[TheGDog]

I'm ignorant regarding the IT field.... what's the difference between a progammer and a coder?

Nothing.. programmer or coder are interchangeable terms. The word "programmer" came first. Then "coder" came along later, once people started learning more about how computers work.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

My wife and I were both EEs. You can make a heck of a lot of money in the field. And you don't need to get into management. When I retired, my pay grade was higher than a 3rd level manager. My wife too. Very rewarding careers for the both uf us.

 

[Blackstorm]

I went back to grad school in 1995 and finished in 2008 with it all done at night and summers. Added three masters one is Electrical Engineering and a couple MBA's, Retired at 59 from my 30 yr job (they pd all tuition), taught at university for a year then consulted since then, never been busier but happier in my work life. I know the need for Engineers are thru the roof for large companies they have and will continue to offer hiring bonuses for years to come for engineers. Income grew to a level I never imagined and my consulting fees if done on an hourly basis exceed partner rates at law firms. As other said the math is real difficult and it is needed for some white sheet projects.

 

[Valsport]

Train engineer....