Any Engineers on Here

[Foldem]

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.

Sounds like we went to the same school, except the A+ part on the labs

 

[CodeMonkey]

See username.

I really like solving technical problems, but my job involves less and less of that with each year of experience.

As a heads up, the first few years of undergrad you get bashed over the head with math and physics. I'm someone who learns from doing or seeing a practical example, so I struggled. It only clicked for me once I got to a final lab in a sophomore level class where I realized why I needed to know all this math to design something.

 

[vince_n]

I work for govt too. The only reason is I get 4-6 weeks off per year. Hard to match that anywhere else but working for yourself.

What agency do you work for? USDA here

Mind sharing a little bit about being a CE for USDA? I'm a CE at a consulting firm and I sit at a desk 99% of the time. Been looking into CE careers at USACE and USDA

 

[S.Clancy]

Mind sharing a little bit about being a CE for USDA? I'm a CE at a consulting firm and I sit at a desk 99% of the time. Been looking into CE careers at USACE and USDA

It depends what agency you work for, but you are in the field a decent amount. I worked for NRCS doing mostly irrigation design. Forest Service you would be basically working on roads or recreation sites.

 

[Pony Soldier]

Engineering is a discipline that rearranges how you think and look at things. More linear thought patterns. Cause and effect. I am a mining engineer. I worked for the Bureau of mines ( Interior); worked with BLM and Park Service and finished my employed career at a University assisting companies, citizens and teaching students.

It's a field that bridges geology, zoology, economics, metallurgy and a number of other fields. It kept me thinking and working well through my retirement years.

It's a field that seems to draw people somewhat intolerant of stupid managers.

 

[Weldor]

Ever Think about being a CWI ? Pay is usually pretty good. I'm a retired Aerospace welder, The defense contractor I worked for paid the new engineers around 60-65,000. As a welder in our shop $80-100,000 with overtime. We had quite afew new ME's get their CWI and move on for better pay. Best of luck which ever way you go. I got my AA in welding at Kirkland comm. college way back in the 70's

 

[Kimber7man]

Mind sharing a little bit about being a CE for USDA? I'm a CE at a consulting firm and I sit at a desk 99% of the time. Been looking into CE careers at USACE and USDA

If you want to get out in the field on water/wastewater projects and Indiana or Ohio doesn't sound bad to you, shoot me a PM..... Consulting engineering here but none of our engineers sit behind a desk all the time.

 

[Swamp Fox]

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.

OMG ... No.

Unless you care not for your soul.

 

[vince_n]

If you want to get out in the field on water/wastewater projects and Indiana or Ohio doesn't sound bad to you, shoot me a PM..... Consulting engineering here but none of our engineers sit behind a desk all the time.

Just seeing this now. Really appreciate the offer. Don't think I'll consider leaving the northwest for a long while.

 

[desertdwellerdyl]

25 Y.O. Mech E here. BSME, did a short contract with a small electronic warfare company, went back to get Master’s. Got hired on full-time at a company a couple months ago.

 

[S.Clancy]

Engineering is a discipline that rearranges how you think and look at things. More linear thought patterns. Cause and effect. I am a mining engineer. I worked for the Bureau of mines ( Interior); worked with BLM and Park Service and finished my employed career at a University assisting companies, citizens and teaching students.

It's a field that bridges geology, zoology, economics, metallurgy and a number of other fields. It kept me thinking and working well through my retirement years.

It's a field that seems to draw people somewhat intolerant of stupid managers.

This x1000. I'm at the point where I feel like I need to get into management to fight back against the legions of mouth breathers

 

[nodakian]

This x1000. I'm at the point where I feel like I need to get into management to fight back against the legions of mouth breathers

I'm a land surveyor with a degree in Construction Engineering, and for 22 years I worked with civil engineers. Most of the regular ones were decent to work with, but the weasely, back stabbing, unaccomplished, arrogant ones who moved into management finally drove me into self employment.

 

[S.Clancy]

I'm a land surveyor with a degree in Construction Engineering, and for 22 years I worked with civil engineers. Most of the regular ones were decent to work with, but the weasely, back stabbing, unaccomplished, arrogant ones who moved into management finally drove me into self employment.

No way to put it better than that.

 

[CJohnson]

I worked in engineering then, PM, then went to the field to work tools. Starting to feel like I miss the engineering side of things.

If anyone’s hiring in/around the upstate of SC or remote for an electrical engineer - let me know.

 

[RS_Non-Res]

Buddy's resume starts with "Electrician with a Stamp" ... is up to his ears in job offers all the time.

 

[BrBa]

CE going on 30 years in the consulting industry, mostly roadway/freeway design. I've been busier than ever the past few years and now work from home or the office, totally at my discretion. It doesn't really matter, since most of my projects are in Washington state and I live in Nevada. It's been years since I answered calls or messages from any recruiters but they still hound me as if they're a blood bank and I have O negative.