Mechanical and Civil Engineering

[roadrunner]

Not all engineering jobs fall into this category. I interned in the petroleum industry and they paid extremely well, but when they flew the blower engineer home from vacation because his part of the plant went down, I decided to look into other industries...

Agree, that's why I tell younguns looking at engineering to avoid petroleum. Too cyclical, up and down, executives making decisions like leaves blowing in the wind.

I have had my [hunting] vacation plans canceled or postponed by someone else many a time because..."we got a problem"...

 

[mooretitan]

I tired to stir him towards something in medicine but really likes math and thinks engineering is the path. I am guessing he will head that direction and end up in the sales and management area of engineering.
Super Slam is just a dream but heck might as well have something that motivates you to get things done.
Thanks again

 

[mtntppr]

Thanks for the input. I did tell him more than likely after a few years in he would be moving up into management or sales. I really think that is where he will be best at. He is a people person by nature but also has a good work ethic and responsibility. The degree will just be the starting point that will open up more opportunities.
He talked about getting a summer job this year and working through his senior year to save money. Unless he gets some good scholarships he will be starting out at a JC and then transferring out. He said he plans to work through JC. If he does this he should have minimum debt when he graduates.
Also by doing two years at a JC it should give him more opportunities to really look into each field before taking the final push to a university and fully committing to a field.
Idaho is probably the front runner on where he wants to go.

I feel like that is a really good plan of action. There is nothing wrong with taking the JC route.

When I started out, I visited UofM, and absolutely loved it. One of the top engineering schools, beautiful campus, they have everything. A lot of the buildings on their engineering campus are connected (so students don't have to walk outside when it's cold and nasty out), indoor earthquake simulator, sine (wave) field. I had never seen anything like it. But It was so expensive out-of-state and I didn't have very much guidance re grants and scholarships.

So, I ended up at the in-state school, and took some classes at a local technical college. In hindsight, it was a really good deal. The professors enjoyed teaching. They just didn't want to have to deal with research, publishing papers, supervising PhD students, etc like they would at a university. One of the classes I took at State, 300-400 students, it was extremely difficult to ever meet with the prof because he was working on a research project, and the TA barely spoke any English.

Anyone in this thread will tell you, most of what you get in undergrad is basic stuff. It seems difficult at first because it's all new/fresh. It's absolutely imperative to understand the concepts, but most of these disciplines are so broad, you really don't "specialize" in anything (which places extra emphasis on things like internships and co-ops). I feel like most potential employers looking to make an entry level hire want to see that you understand the concepts, you can start something and finish it, if they need to send you out-of-town, you can dress yourself properly and get on a plane, etc.

I've always wondered why more students don't take advantage of JC classes, especially during those first couple years. Just make sure everything ends up being ABET-accredited.

 

[fuzzymarindave]

Wondering if any of you guys are in the mechanical or civil engineering fields and live in Wyoming, Idaho, Montana or Colorado. My son has been researching these fields and wanted to talk to someone who is currently in the field or has gone through it. His main things that we talked about today
1. Job availability in these states
2. Pay
3. Time off for hunting and fishing
4. Quality of life
5. Job growth opportunities

I am glad he is starting to think about these things. He is starting his Jr year and has been looking up colleges and cost ect.
He is a strong student. 4.5gpa and is already taking some jr college classes.
He is not an over the top high needs kid. He just wants to make enough money and have more than enough time off to hunt and fish. Other than that he is pretty basic.
Thanks

I’m a civil but no knowledge of those states. The civil profession has lots of specialty areas and many of those jobs will get you out of the office and to jobsites periodically if that is important.

For your #5. Having very strong communication skills is immensely valuable. Develop strong writing skills toward a variety of audiences (eg technical and nontechnical).

 

[Bigbuckbandit]

I’m a Civil with a Federal Agency and don’t know how a job could be much better. I put in my time as a consultant for a handful of years after college and eventually transitioned into a role with the feds.

Civil is an amazing degree to have that can take you to some great places. Transportation, structures, water resources, stream restoration, take your pick. I went Civil because I knew I wanted to spend time outdoors.

Seeing friends from high school get some bullshit degree and have to go back later on makes me so relieved to have grinded it out when I was young. I’m able to make a great wage and earn solid benefits while having the opportunity to take weeks off at a time to hit the woods come hunting season.

 

[Hydra6]

Is this typical in the states? I don't know what I'd do if I only had 2-3 weeks of leave a year. Can you take unpaid leave on top typically?

Welcome to America. We do not get to take months off at a time on "holiday".

 

[Stocky]

Welcome to America. We do not get to take months off at a time on "holiday".

No one taking months off is getting paid. Atleast no one I know. If you mean taking months of to do something else then anyone can do it if they wanted to it just comes at the cost of other things.

 

[Hydra6]

No one taking months off is getting paid. Atleast no one I know. If you mean taking months of to do something else then anyone can do it if they wanted to it just comes at the cost of other things.

I built a plant in middle GA that makes soft drink cartons. German printing presses. German engineers, techs, etc. took off 6+ weeks at a time on "holiday" regularly.

 

[schmalzy]

Not an engineer, but the few licensed Fire Protection Engineers I work with have no shortage of work and can be pretty choosy on quality of life/money made.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Stocky]

I built a plant in middle GA that makes soft drink cartons. German printing presses. German engineers, techs, etc. took off 6+ weeks at a time on "holiday" regularly.

Epic! I'm sure they pay for it some way. It's all about judging the pros and cons to each and picking what suits you.

 

[Flatlander3]

Wondering if any of you guys are in the mechanical or civil engineering fields and live in Wyoming, Idaho, Montana or Colorado. My son has been researching these fields and wanted to talk to someone who is currently in the field or has gone through it. His main things that we talked about today
1. Job availability in these states
2. Pay
3. Time off for hunting and fishing
4. Quality of life
5. Job growth opportunities

I am glad he is starting to think about these things. He is starting his Jr year and has been looking up colleges and cost ect.
He is a strong student. 4.5gpa and is already taking some jr college classes.
He is not an over the top high needs kid. He just wants to make enough money and have more than enough time off to hunt and fish. Other than that he is pretty basic.
Thanks

Steer him to Land Surveying. The engineering fields are saturated (you can still find a job though). Land Surveying pays as well if not better in some cases and tough to find people. The career lives in the shadows of the engineering umbrella and with good work ethic, you can make a great living. If he likes to work outside, it's an extremely great field, but you can find an office job too.

 

[Seth]

There’s some great suggestions here. If leaning towards Civil, consider Mining Engineering. It’s a great field in high demand, lots of internship and scholarship opportunities, and many jobs in the western US. I’ve worked in mine planning, environmental permitting, major projects, operations support, international projects, and now run my own operations. Montana Tach and Colorado School of Mines have great programs, as does University of Utah.

After 4.5 years of nonresident tuition, I owed less than I paid for my first pickup, had a great paying job with solid benefits, 2 weeks of time off plus holidays and sick pay, and nothing but opportunity to advance. As I’ve told many engineers who started working for me, a degree shows you can learn and get your foot in the door, the rest is what you make it.

 

[roadrunner]

I tired to stir him towards something in medicine but really likes math and thinks engineering is the path. I am guessing he will head that direction and end up in the sales and management area of engineering.
Super Slam is just a dream but heck might as well have something that motivates you to get things done.
Thanks again

Maybe biomedical or biomechanical engineering? But that may be a graduate program...

 

[Sunshine40]

I work for one of the biggest civil construction companies in the country and we need good engineers like a fish needs water. My advice is do an internship. Our company hires 95% of the interns after graduation no matter how bad they are.

 

[Flatlander3]

The most important advice I have is work ethic and how he carries himself. Be confident, and don't be one of the common gamer slouchers. Firm hand shake and a smile goes along way. People don't want to work anymore and when we find someone who does, we try and hold o to them at all cost.

 

[WesternDawg]

Wondering if any of you guys are in the mechanical or civil engineering fields and live in Wyoming, Idaho, Montana or Colorado. My son has been researching these fields and wanted to talk to someone who is currently in the field or has gone through it. His main things that we talked about today
1. Job availability in these states
2. Pay
3. Time off for hunting and fishing
4. Quality of life
5. Job growth opportunities

I am glad he is starting to think about these things. He is starting his Jr year and has been looking up colleges and cost ect.
He is a strong student. 4.5gpa and is already taking some jr college classes.
He is not an over the top high needs kid. He just wants to make enough money and have more than enough time off to hunt and fish. Other than that he is pretty basic.
Thanks

Environmental engineer (subset of Civil) living in CO. I’d stay away from civil and focus on either Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering. Tons of jobs and opportunity within both of those fields with flexibility depending on role. I believe civil engineers are the worst paid out of the engineering disciplines as well. I myself have transitioned myself into more of a mechanical role but am now in technical sales.

 

[hikenhunt]

Also, I would highly recommend pursuing scholarships and financial aid. It was a while ago for me, but I wound up getting scholarships from all sorts of places, not just the school.

 

[Typhon_0595]

I work for FHWA Eastern Federal Lands and do a lot of CE work in support of NPS, so get to see a lot of NPS (talk about scenery for a work space)! The Western and Central Lands offices also get to support more sites in BLM, USAF, ITG). I’d say we get plenty of time (annual leave, compensatory time) to go hunting.
Also recommend ROTC to help pay for schooling and then get paid while ‘owing’ time back to US govt after graduation. Getting school paid for and the military experience is great for getting life experiences and maturity growth (need an engineering degree anyway for the scholarship).
Heck, getting a CE degree and then serving in the military, one might get enough weapons systems hands-on time to work for a role in a DoD Program Office to work with Mech Engrs (systems engineering, test and evaluation, etc) when desiring a change from deployments/work-ups to settle down for a family.

 

[Crowmangler]

The most important advice I have is work ethic and how he carries himself. Be confident, and don't be one of the common gamer slouchers. Firm hand shake and a smile goes along way.

This right here. There is nothing worse than a dead fish handshake. I've not hired someone before just for that. And look them in the eye! The next worse thing is to mumble when you talk.

 

[Crow Hunter TN]

I'm a mechanical (in the SE US) and work in R&D testing for a manufacturing company. I have also worked as a Manufacturing Engineer/Manager in automotive.

If I were starting over again right now, I would be focusing on power generation/distribution and not automotive manufacturing (my starting job).

I think Power Gen will be a really big growth opportunity in the US. I think it will need CE/ME/EE disciplines to make it work. The power needs in the US are getting ready to seriously spike with AI//Data centers/EVs springing up everywhere which will require massive investment in generation and distribution to meet the demand. All of that will require tons of engineers to design/develop/implement.

I hope he enjoys it.