Engineers?

[DiscoveryXD]

thanks haha. Yep goin next year. I do almost all of the work. I'm just now learning to weld so i fabricate everything and tack it together and then pay someone to weld it up for me.

sweet, i wish i had a pipe bender a few years ago! I've done all my fab with a grinder, and lincoln 225 arc welder. i spend money on my truck, not the tools!

 

[wdmcdonald]

yea i decided i didnt want to pay people to do what i could probably do myself. plus i just mooch off other people for their tools hahaha

 

[UK 4X4]

"For sure you didn't do that in the US of A. Blighty I would wager."

Yep originally, then 9 years back packing and windsurfing then blundered into the oilfield and never looked back.....

exept when the suns out the winds up and I'm a 1000 miles from the nearest beach...

Engineering is such a broad field that most people with any aptitude can find themselves a niche.

I enjoy the designing of systems and even just instrumentation cabinets, every project become's my baby.

But give me a 9-5 in a factory discussing load factors on beam 3mm larger than the one you did last week


and you can hang me in 3 months..............


My work right now is about thirds...1 third selling 1 third designing systems to support the first part and then 1 third either in the field
watching, doing or repairing the final job/installation.

I'm hands on and enjoy it all.......

Most of my ex aprenticeship dudes now work in the dismantling of Nulear establishements rather than make new ones.

during my aprenticeship time there were 57 experimantal reactors on our site......most with odd project names lots of trilby hats and old leather brief cases....

I think there's still 1 reactor working/ 1 in moth balls, a bunch with containment only and still a huge active handling building which serves both the site and aldermaston...


It really depends on what you want to get out of life..........

building a better widget/ designing widget 2 or dispencing with widgets altogether and building dodat 1

I for one like to work in the realm of dodats........and have patents to prove it.....more if the dam company would pay for the dam lawyer..

any way...start, work hard and somewhere along the line, if your lucky you'll find a direction to go in that feeds both your mind and your tummy.....

In my present postion, I moved in August and still have'nt met my boss.........

Just the way I like it.....

i won't however probably get any higher in my present company....because I don't play the corperate games....

But I'm happy with my salary and autonomy...

 

[OddBall...wolf...wolf]

thanks haha. Yep goin next year. I do almost all of the work. I'm just now learning to weld so i fabricate everything and tack it together and then pay someone to weld it up for me.

I started arc welding when I was 14. At 16 I started oxy/accet welding and cutting. Senior year of high school I was building a dune buggy and wanted a beer keg gas tank. But why pay for someone to put it together when I could do it myself. So I bought a tig machine and tought myself how to tig weld. For the past 2 years at comunity college I worked for an awning company fabricating awnings. I would get a concept or a sketch and turn it into a finished frame. I have since also gotten a mig machine with spool gun. So like has been stated if you can do the hands on the degree will move you up. Also when you walk into a shop as an engineer and you are able to follow them in a conversation that gets you a lot of respect quick.

 

[p m]

I excelled students who initially displayed greater aptitude for the fundamental math/science courses - it often seemed easy for them - after applying myself and working my ass off. I've done well enough as an engineer in practical terms since then as well.

Maybe I just didn't "get it" like they did until later, and maybe i was born with some aptitude, but I can tell you... it wasn't as easy for me as it often seemed for many of my colleagues. Coasting didn't work; hard work did, and well.

I disagree a bit about how few people create... I think it's human nature to create. Some of us are better prepared, equipped, and suited to it.

Emerson,
I don't mean to sound disrespectful or anything, but there is a fundamental difference between "doing well" as an engineer and being a brilliant engineer. An engineer who makes $120K/year designing a headlight for a car is doing well. Ferdinand Porsche was a brilliant engineer. See the difference?

It may be a human nature to create, but, somehow, all too many choose pursuit of degrees in political science (or art history, or law - I exclude medicine from that list).

 

[RonL]

I am a Manufacturing Engineer by degree but spent the last ten years as a "new product" engineer. New Product Design is fun, but there is a lot of time in front of a computer and not much "hands on".

With a Mech degree you can do a lot of different engineering jobs. That is a great good anywhere degree.

Money will never be great compare to business field. But a job to me is not about the money as much as liking what you are doing.

 

[Emerson00]

Emerson,
I don't mean to sound disrespectful or anything, but there is a fundamental difference between "doing well" as an engineer and being a brilliant engineer. An engineer who makes $120K/year designing a headlight for a car is doing well. Ferdinand Porsche was a brilliant engineer. See the difference?

It may be a human nature to create, but, somehow, all too many choose pursuit of degrees in political science (or art history, or law - I exclude medicine from that list).

Hmmm... you sound somewhat like an academic. Or are you a Porsche? In my career I create solutions to problems on a regular basis. I'm not in a field in which brilliance on any level will get your name out, but I'm happy with my ability to be creative and solve problems, and the results it's achieved for our clients... (ever hear of floating concrete with higher than average strength (6kpsi)? of course not.. but it stood me well when we needed it in school... those academics had no clue how to create a new answer, forget their fears of getting dirty).

Are you confusing creativity with problem solving?

This is quite interesting. Many of my college pals who seemed so brilliant were horrible at creativity. Few of them could be called brilliant on a creative level, regardless of their academic abilities (DiffEq doesn equal creativity). I worked hard to learn the concepts and theories the profs were pushing, and was naturally creative... the combination of technical education and natural creativity is, IMHO, what makes me a good engineer.

Studying, say, materials or structural properties in school can yield a nice "aha" lightbulb moment; quite similar to an "aha" lightbulb" moment when you realize you've just solved a problem with a creative solution no one else has used yet.

And to the fellow in Britain... is it true engineers generally do not need a license in Britain? I've been looking at a few positions over there, and only see reference to being "chartered"... is that the equivalent? It seemed, on a quick, late night Google search, that being chartered is akin to a membership/registration/affiliation with a national group. (maybe a PM is better for this question)

 

[ptschram]

This is quite interesting. Many of my college pals who seemed so brilliant were horrible at creativity. Few of them could be called brilliant on a creative level, regardless of their academic abilities (DiffEq doesn equal creativity). I worked hard to learn the concepts and theories the profs were pushing, and was naturally creative... the combination of technical education and natural creativity is, IMHO, what makes me a good engineer.

I agree. I went to school with many students who appeared to be gifted scientists-until they were allowed in the lab where they started fires and caused injuries. Frighteningly, many of them are now physicians!

I went to school with a fellow who was a genius yet could not tie his shoes (wore velcro and sweat pants). He graduated with degrees in comp sci, mathematics and physics-failed to complete a required lab for his chemistry degree). This gentleman was not allowed in the labs without adult supervision. Last I heard, he was one of the head engineers at Oak Ridge, but was not allowed anywhere near the controls.

Having the theory may allow you to understand what you are observing, but without the talent and observation skills, you'll never be a brilliant engineer.

Chartering in England is essentially the same as being a PE in the US (the wife of my UK agent is a chartered engineer over there and a PE here).

 

[SGaynor]

what would be the best field to get into right now? just wondering

I know that petroleum or chemical engineering is hot. There is stiff competition (nearly a labor shortage) on the Gulf coast for chemical engineers. My company is paying ChemEs a 10% bonus every quarter.

Last year we had a husband/wife come through and interview for R&D positions. They told us they were getting offers of $75K/yr plus $20K signing bonuses to work in the oil industry. Now these were two people from your normal run of the mill state school with a good engineering program, just coming out of school with a BS getting paid nearly as much as we pay our entry level PhDs.

 

[p m]

Are you confusing creativity with problem solving?

Absolutely not.
What I am talking about is the level of creativity in problem solving.

The difference between the good and brilliant engineer (or scientist) is that latter sees much wider scope of the problem.

This is the difference between strategic and tactical decisions and solutions. Military guys can certainly relate these.

 

[HunterAK]

I know that petroleum or chemical engineering is hot. There is stiff competition (nearly a labor shortage) on the Gulf coast for chemical engineers. My company is paying ChemEs a 10% bonus every quarter.

Last year we had a husband/wife come through and interview for R&D positions. They told us they were getting offers of $75K/yr plus $20K signing bonuses to work in the oil industry. Now these were two people from your normal run of the mill state school with a good engineering program, just coming out of school with a BS getting paid nearly as much as we pay our entry level PhDs.

That's the deal up here too with company's like BP and Conoco Phillip's... Straight out of college, University of Alaska at Anchorage too which is a good school, but not necessarily the Colorado School of Mines or anything and which offers ONE (1) petroleum class, $70K+ with 10K signing bonus and some other kind of incentive for being an Alaska resident. Can't remember. This is for civil engineer majors too. The only school in AK offering petroleum classes is University of Alaska at Fairbanks.

We just hired a first year law student at my office who is getting paid about that much, but she had to go to law school and pass the bar!!

Granted, the pay is good now, but the industry is as cyclical as it gets. Not sure what's in store for the future, but I guess with a civil eng. background, you have other options....

 

[MarkP]

. . . . This is quite interesting. Many of my college pals who seemed so brilliant were horrible at creativity. Few of them could be called brilliant on a creative level, regardless of their academic abilities (DiffEq doesn equal creativity). I worked hard to learn the concepts and theories the profs were pushing, and was naturally creative... the combination of technical education and natural creativity is, IMHO, what makes me a good engineer. . . .

x2

I have known some 4.0 students that didn't know their ass from a hole in the ground. Very smart at details they specialized in but missed the big picture. Throw a twist into the mix and sometimes they didn't recover very well or arrived at wrong conclusions. Just look at the global warming mess. How many scientist have taken someone else's data and driven off the cliff, never once sitting back and using some common sense.

One of the under rated abilities is agility, how does one react when confronted with chaos? Conflicting data? Brilliance does not equal agility or problem solving.

In the end we are all individuals with unique skills. Sometimes team work is good, sometimes bad. Group think can be bad.

 

[p m]

Mark,

you and Emerson seem to confuse academic excellence with brilliance in engineering.
I have never mentioned academic achievements as a gauge of future professional skills.

 

[MarkP]

Mark,

you and Emerson seem to confuse academic excellence with brilliance in engineering.
I have never mentioned academic achievements as a gauge of future professional skills.

Peter - stand corrected. Terminology hell . . . . I guess we should all start threads with a definition section?

Your right and I concurr, GPA does not always indicate brilliance. Thomas Edison would be a prime example with only three months of formal education. GPA? What GPA!

 

[Emerson00]

I think we have miscommunicated somewhere.

(ahem... <- engineer!! What a great excuse).

You took issue with me saying that hard work can replace born with genius (referring to academic genius, perhaps unclearly). I was saying that although other students found the academics easier than me, I did better than them in real-world situations and projects. I'm trying to say that academic genius doesn't equal brilliance in engineering, and studying hard - to learn the tech concepts/theories - can replace born-with academic genius... the creativity and situational fluidity is a separate issue; the ability to see the problem, and understand the restrictions, requirements, possibilities, and solutions = not related to calculus, chemistry, physics classes.

 

[cyoc62]

I think we have miscommunicated somewhere.

(ahem... <- engineer!! What a great excuse).

Maybe you should have used Powerpoint...

 

[p m]

studying hard - to learn the tech concepts/theories - can replace born-with academic genius...

No, it cannot.
Once again, a feature of a genius (not simply a talented person) is to find solutions that no one could think of, often to a problem most people didn't know existed.
This cannot be achieved just by "hard work" - you may be born with it or not. You may never know if you are born with this capability or not, too.
Formal education is quintessential for a "genius" - otherwise he/she would be "reinventing the wheel" at best.

Edit: I felt like I need to clear one point - I am nowhere close to the "genius" category; however, I had a fortune to work with a few people not too far from it. I was always blown away by their ability to relate things that seemed completely unconnected, and make very important decisions quickly and correctly.

 

[MarkP]

Formal education is quintessential for a "genius" - otherwise he/she would be "reinventing the wheel" at best.

. . . I was always blown away by their ability to relate things that seemed completely unconnected, and make very important decisions quickly and correctly.

Mmmm - I have actually seen the opposite. Formal education can reduce ones ability to think outside the box. The rigors of formal education build mental walls that sometimes a person is unaware of. Take for example Thomas Edison. He had 3 months of formal education. What was his strength? Curiosity, a desire the learn and explore. Now you have genius, a person with no formal education who has made significant contributions to many fields.

For most people a formal education lites the mental fires that then carry them for a lifetime. For a select few it can be to their detriment.

 

[p m]

Okay, you got me, Mark.

What exactly did Thomas Edison invent?
Among other things he worked on, he spent countless hours fiddling with the thickness of the filament of a light bulb needed to achieve a balance between brightness and lifetime. Something a second-year physics student (of HIS time!) should be able to calculate in a couple of hours, and he wouldn't even have to be a very good student at that.

What "significant" contributions to what "many" fields did he make?

Two years I've lived in Detroit afforded me many trips to Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. There were things that still amaze me, but not Edison's lab.
It's just a bad example.

 

[AU_88]

Im a ME student here at Auburn... Learn to study and learn to love beer. Well, learn to love beer, then learn to love studying.