mechanical engineering here! Graduate last year!
- How did you obtain your experience and qualifications?
Well, at the univervisty you must do at least one training course in a company, if you want you can do a second training. You also have a project to do in order to graduate. In some university they also have some project who put some good thing on your C.V like for me the Formula SAE.
- What is the best way to enter this career?
When you graduated they are so much job for the engineer you can almost choose were you want to go. Me I choose to work at the same place that I have done my training course at Hydro-Quebec.
- What does a typical day look like for you?
I go take a cooffee a soon as I arrive to the work and after I usually have a project to work on. I start at 8h am and i'm back at home at like 5pm. We work only 35h a week where I'm so it's not to hard.
- Is volunteer or intership work important in this field?
In my case I don't do any volunteer work but when I was at school I was very implicated. If you want to be hire somewhere it's always a must when you have a lot of thing on your resume.
- How would you recommend someone break into this field?
If you go to a good university you'll have all the needed thing to break properly into this field don't worry.
- What do you find most satisfying about your work?
Pay check
kidding (it's came with the job but that not why I choose to be an engineer) The most satisfying is that I works on something I like! You always have some new project so it's not like if you are doing always the same thing day after day!
Most frustrating?
Not having anything to work on for like 2-3week, it's boring to surf on the net cause the boss don't have anything for you! At least we get pay even when we do nothing.
- Is Calculus 3 level math used daily, or to what level do you find yourself working at?
Math is the base of engineering, if you don't like math find another job cause you'll not like that. Calculus 3 is the base in some speciality. You soon learn in school that you can't do anything without a good math knowledge.
- What skills and qualities are needed to be successful?
You must have a good planification.
You must love challenge
You don't have the right to do mistake (mistake can kill people in engineering)
- In general, what kind of people do you find working in engineering?
Other engineer of course, here I have a draughtsman, a secretary and some technicien when I need to. My boss is my father so I don't have any problem here with that lol.
- From your point of view, will engineering remain a popular field in the next few decades?
Unlike some field engineering cannot desapeer, even if the computer are more present it's only a tool, a computer cannot know what the boss need! I don't think that a engineer have probem finding a job anywhere soon.
- Are you happy with your choice of becoming an engineer?
DAmn if I'm happy! it's the best choice of my life! a lot of work to graduate but well worth it! Within a year I was able to buy my dream car (corvette Z06) and I coudn't be more happy with my job! We have nice conditions, a lot of advantage, and it's fun! They even pay for my english course lol suck to be french somethime, oh well I try to learn!reading and listening is easy but writing is another thing lol. Well, what could I ask more!
- What other advice can you give me?
If you are very interested look in university if they have a one day student program, maybe after a day you'll know!