Any Engineers In The House?

[theoriginator]

I made up my mind that I'm going for an engineering degree. I'm almost 23 years old and I'm barley making $45,000 a year painting cars working like an animal. I can't believe I've spent 5 years of my life working in and around body shops, what a joke. "You can make $100,000 a year or better if you get the right helpler!" That's what they told me, conveniently not mentioning it's like trying to line up the planets, it might happen once every few decades. Paint fumes, sanding off your fingerprints, inconsistent work, thousands of $ in tools, managers that don't have a clue, body shops on every corner, what was I thinking? I just would like some advice and information on what's the best field on engineering, the ups and downs? I would like to design and invent things on my own as well, I looked at mechanical, chemical, and materials. Leaning towards mechanical, but materials and chemical looks like they're going to be big in the future. What do yall think?

[BlindSideCustoms]

its a good profession certainly, ive been trying to figure out what to go to school for for a fallback for if or when i decide i dont want to run my own shop anymore.

[Kiddi]

Hello I'am in almost the same situation as you... I'am taking few math classes before I sign up...

I'm considering Mechatronics Engineering!

It would be great to get opinions from some that have done it..

KR

[brn agn]

I have a degree in Mechanical Engineer. The good thing about mechanical is that it can apply to a wide range of jobs; design, manufacturing, application, quality, etc...

What are you interested in? Buildings, bridges, hydraulics, electronics, mechanical devices, chemical reactions, etc...? Once you figure out what interests you the most, deciding on the type of engineering degree should be relatively easy.

Personally, I have no regrets with getting a degree in Mechanical Engineering. When I was in high school, I was interested in taking motorcycles apart, seeing how a 2 stroke engine works, building go-karts, fixing tractors, etc... My Dad is a mechanic and he warned me about following in his footsteps due to the toll it takes on your body. So, I decided to pursue an Engineering degree. I had aspirations to become a Design Engineer, but I ended up in manufacturing.

Hope that helps.

[Rolling_Thunder]

I am currently double majoring for Electrical and Mechanical Engineering degrees... alot of work but I think it would be a good career to get into. --- Good luck with all your choices

[LateNight72]

I'm attending UCF for Mechanical Engineering...

[jpdeuce]

I've worked in a chemical plant for almost 11 years. Most of the engineers like their job but almost all of them we have relocated to this area from somewhere else. I would suggest thinking about where you want to live when making this decision. Mechanical engineers definetly have more options for the type of job they wil be doing. Chemical engineers mainly have chemical plants.

So if you don't want to relocate and there are no chemical plants in your immediate area then you would have to weigh that in.

[qwik1320]

What do you like to do? What would your ideal job be?

[LateNight72]

I'll add in my $0.02.

Mechanical Engineers will always be needed. They are the BFH of engineers, they can work on a broad spectrum of problems, so demand will always be there. Most other types are fairly specific, if their specialty dries up, you'll have to relearn how to do something else.

Also keep in mind the mean salary for an Engineer is right around what you are making now. I've got a friend who is a Senior Project Engineer for NASA, but he is only making $45k/year.

[Happyfunballs]

I graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree 10 years ago and started at $47,500 as a base. Mechanicals are the most diverse, but do tend to be paid only average. I considered being a nuke engineer for a semester, but that narrowed the job opportunities and locations. Good luck.

[DLinson]

I too am a Mechanical Engineer. They do have the most options as far as employment but do get paid less than many other engineers. I believe petroleum and chemical engeers make more. I have a sister-in-law who is a mechanical engineer but is a line supervisor at Kraft food and her husband is a Mining engineer working for a quarry. He mentioned that mining engineers are actually one of the higher paid engineers, that's one reason why he went into that field.

As a mechanical engineer I do many things. At our company engineers are in charge of a product from conception through its design, implementation into production, on going factory and field support for the life of a product.

I design a lot of equipment including machined parts, castings, plastic injection molded parts, sheetmetal parts, etc. I also have to design factory fixtures required to manufacture the parts. Right now I have four different projects I am working on keeping me busy and its fun.

I also get to do a special side project for the owner of the company, I designed a fuel injection intake manifold and system for a Rolls Royce Meteor 27 liter tank engine. Another engineer and I are also designing a car from scratch to put the engine in. It will be a 30's era style grand prix car.

Many of the engineers at our work do end up being managers as well. Our Executive VP is a EE, our VP of Engineering Research is an EE, our VP of Purchasing is an EE, about 10 other engineers have other managment duties. I have 7 guys reporting to me since I manage our prototype machine shop.

A friend that I went to school with, also an ME, came to work for us as a Facility manager in charge of all building projects, building maintinence, etc.

Another Mechanical Engineer I went to school with ended up starting his own company making Camaro perfoamance part, that would be Kyle Tucker from Detroit Speed. His wife is also a Mechanical Engineer.

We went to the University of Missouri at Rolla. It was a good school and didn't cost much for in-state students. Math is important. If you have a community college near you that will transfere the math and some other class credits to your engineering school of choice, I'd suggest that. The class sizes tend to be smaller and the teachers are not too high brow. I would aslo take some of your liturature classes and other under graduate classes that don't matter, from the community college. Who needs that silly stuff. Spelling, sentence structure, BAH!! Who needs it. Plus you don't have to spend the big university dollars on those classes. Also do more than just school if you do this. Join a school club like the Formula SAE or ASME or something else like that. And try to do a coop engineering term if possible. When I enterviewed for a job, they asked me about the Formula SAE and coop experience first. Everyone takes basically the same classes. If you keep up a decent GPA it is the extras that they want to see. When we higher coops at our work, this is what we look for. We don't hire engineers right out of school often, I was one of only three ever to be hired right out of college. Two of us were coops. Kyle cooped with GM three times and then he hired on full time there after school.

Good Luck.

Dennis

[theoriginator]

I would like to design different parts for cars and or patent various items, to have them mass produced, so I can sell them over the internet and get rich quick.

[DLinson]

Good luck with that. Patents are not easy to get. I have one patent and it took about two years to issue. I aslo applied for another one about four years ago and this past fall it was not allowed due to some prior art that really didn't have any thing in common with our product.

You will need to study up on patent law or get a patent lawyer to help you out.

If you do get a patent, you still have to produce a product. If it is a casting or a plastic injection molded part, it is anywhere from a 6 week to 18 week lead time from the time you give them a drawing and model to the time you get first run parts. Aluminum die casting molds for a part the size of a brake caliper could cost about $70,000. A plastic part the same size would cost about $25,000 or higher and take 12 weeks. You could try to get China to make the parts cheaper but that will cost you in other ways.

You will also have to worry about the marketing, sales, logistics, etc. Just like in the body shop world, you need to have good employees to help you out. Big companies can absorb a few slackers, small companies can't.

I have several friends in the Autobody field and the hard working shops are doing great and the slackers are just barely making it or pissing away thier profit instead of investing it back into the business. One friend's dad owns a shop and she is the shop office manager. Another friend is the shop foreman. That shop is growing and expanding. They have had to be tough and can a few slackers but the shop is still growing. Another old friend owns his own shop and can't keep and employee and has a terrible reputation.

You would probably be better off getting the degree and working for a larger company learning as much from them as possible and then start something on the side.

Dennis

[CarlC]

Dennis, you hit the nail on the head about writing skills. I was fortunate enough to have a senior design class that included mandatory writing classes and evaluations. These writing skills have paid for themselves many times over.

People skills also pay off. There is nothing that turns off managers and customers faster than a person without the ability to both listen and have a great non-technical conversation. Rule of thumb: 10% of your work difficulties are technical, 90% people.

I too joined clubs, and eventually led the schools ASCE chapter and concrete canoe construction. It helps immensely to have these timeless bonds to the people that you will interview with and work for. It is nostalgic for many of them as well, and it never hurts to pluck those strings.

Choose a major that fits your goals, but don't be surprised if you end up in a totally different field. My major was CE with an emphasis on dam design. I ended up in the mechanical field, but fortunately engineering basics are the same for most every field (mechanical, civil, manufacturing, etc.)

[dipren443]

I'm attending UCF for Mechanical Engineering...

I am an alum of the same program. Where are you at in your degree?

Nick

[bigvegan]

As somebody who got a law degree hoping for the big bucks, and then found himself not only disliking the practice of law, but also not making all that much money, I'd have to encourage you to do what you love, and get good at it.

The top people in any field make a fair amount of money, and even if you don't, getting to do what you love every day is something most people would envy.

My little brother has wanted to build robots since he was a kid. Got his degree in ME, and now he's doing exactly that, and spending his spare time helping a high-school team build robots. He's happy as a clam and making a decent income.

If you want to invent things, an ME degree would be HUGELY helpful. If you want to design things, then a degree in industrial design would be the way to go.

The other thing I can tell you is that trying to get rich quick is the surest ticket to a life of misery you can find (well, short of an addiction to heroin or crystal meth).

Figure out what you want to spend your days doing (that isn't being a race car driver or having sex with supermodels), and get the skills or education that will allow you to do that. Then buy a lotto ticket once a week if you can't get past the urge to get rich quick.

Or just go do it and get the help you need as you need it. For instance, if you want to get rich making parts and selling them over the internet, how about working on a non-Corvette based Independent Rear Suspension system that installs fairly easily into '67-'69 Camaros. Think BMW/Lexus/Lincoln LS, etc., only built for performance and made in America. As pro-touring continues to get into the mainstream, people are going to want more IRS options, and at $5k a pop, that adds up quick.

[LateNight72]

I am an alum of the same program. Where are you at in your degree?

Nick

Pretty cool...

I'm only in my 2nd Semester. (Still a Freshman)

[LateNight72]

dup

[dhutton]

As an electrical engineer I have these comments:

You need good to excellent math skills to study engineering or you will struggle and hate every minute. There is no way around it.

Electrical engineering jobs are being exported to China and India at an alarming rate. My employer now has all of their software written in India by another company. R&D sites are being opened and expanded in India and China. I'm not sure if this applies to mechanical engineering or not. The only electrical engineering jobs that I think will be totally exempt from this are jobs in the defense industry. I'm not trying to initiate a political discussion here, I just want you to be aware that there is pressure on some engineering career opportunities in this country.

That being said engineering is a great career that I have enjoyed for the past 28 years and would not do much, if anything, anything different if I was starting out again.

Don

[theoriginator]

Which field of engineering pulls the most weight? I've heard of the PE license, is that like the ASE certified of engineering? Do civil engineers make big money working on construction projects and stuff like that? What about medical engineering? My main goal is to get paid, I want a minimum $100,000 a year after a few years. I like painting cars no doubt, but when you drive to work everyday and spend more on gas than your check is worth, it becomes depressing real quick. My biggest fear is investing my time and energy working towards something that won't work out, I don't want to be one of those that wears a suit and tie to work and goes to Starbucks, but only makes $40,000 a year with a four year degree.