drawerfixer

Howdy,

Although this post isn't directly related to Tilted Motors, I think I will get a much better response here and it won't much up conversation with the large 'masses'. Mods, if this is inappropriate or in the wrong area, accept my apologies and feel free to move this or talk to me.

Anyway, I'm a freshman in college. As an undeclared student, my parents forced to take a 'career pathways' class. It was basically personality tests and things of that sort, but our semester project involves interviewing someone in our field of study. I really have no idea what I plan to major in, but engineering is one of my interests.

Basically, I'm hoping there is an engineer who visits this board that I could have a quick email or posting interview with. They are very basic questions and you could pick and choose which queries were comfortable. I will post the questions below. Feel free to take a look and hopefully answer.

- How did you obtain your experience and qualifications?
- What is the best way to enter this career?
- What does a typical day look like for you?
- Is volunteer or intership work important in this field?
- How would you recommend someone break into this field?
- What do you find most satisfying about your work? Most frustrating?
- Is Calculus 3 level math used daily, or to what level do you find yourself working at?
- What skills and qualities are needed to be successful?
- In general, what kind of people do you find working in engineering?
- From your point of view, will engineering remain a popular field in the next few decades?
- Are you happy with your choice of becoming an engineer?
- What other advice can you give me?


Hopefully someone will feel comfortable enough to respond. Unfortunately, the project requires the name of your organization, address, and telephone number. This would obviously be addressed over email or PMs, but you do not have to give me this if you are not comfortable. This is for a very small class at an informal setting, and the project will likely be tossed by the teacher at semester break. Although I cannot give a 100% guarantee, I cannot imagine a way for any personal information to be released in a harmful or neutral setting.

Feel free to PM for more information or comments. Thanks.

__________________
They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin

goddfather40

I PM'd you some of my info.

__________________
My name is goddfather40 and I approved this message.

I got ho's and I got bitches,
In C++ I branch with switches
-MC Plus+

BigTruck1956

Yo, Im a freshman engineering student as well...mechanical of course. Welcome to the grind!

__________________
so much to do, so little time.....at least i aint bored.

junglistic

mechanical engineering, 2nd year here as well.

my advice: you have to be very interested in engineering to succeed, you cant fake it.

manias

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!

WarWagon

Freshman ME here, but in an honors/accelerated curriculum, and its kicking my ass right now. The level of physics I'm currently in is absurd, but the math is no biggie and I find the engineering courses easy, and am now straying away from ME. I will likely be changing my major to Welding Engineering, as I will be building drag/dirt car chassis for a living, and my school is currently the only one in north america in which you'll be a certified welder upon graduation.

Engineering does sound enticing at first, but if I didn't feel it necessary to have a degree as a backup plan, I would have been much happier going to trade school, or pursuing work directly after high school.

JusticeForPhat

Im a senior mechanical engineering student and I can echo most of the stuf manias says. I have come up with a few mantras / techniques that are helpful. I have spent 2 years in the aerospace industry as an intern so I kinda know my ass from a hole in the ground.

1.) Math is your friend. Always remember that. Even if you suck at it you can still be very successful, just need the perseverance to work through it.

2.) Getting your degree is 85% hard work and 15% talent the way I work at it. Succeeding at a job is more 50-50 though and be prepared to encounter shit you have never even imagined. Your undergrad serves only to give you the basis of how things work, generally in very simple conditions. That differs big time from how things actually work which leads me to my next point . . .

3.) Never do the bare minimum. Any chump-o can go to class and get ok grades, but in an interview this generally means nothing. My employer didn't even ask for my transcripts. He went straight to asking me what I have designed and what experience I had, which is something you dont get in a classroom. Myself, manias and warwagon have all worked in Formula SAE and this is a big plus. Any extra project is good, SAE sponsors the coolest ones like FSAE, Mini Baja, Walking Machine, Clean Snowmobile Challenge, and a slew of others. Take advantage of these programs, they will teach you volumes more than you learn in the classroom.

4.) Never ever give up on shit. Unless of course you got into Engineering for the cash. Then get the hell out, the only good engineers I know are the ones who love there job. I deal with these kinds of idiots every day, one being on my Senior Design Team.

Other than that be prepared to work your but off. I didnt really answer all of your questions but these are the things i feel are important

stingc

I'm a physicist, but have always been interested in engineering (and have friends in it), so I think I can give some perspective.

As others have said, hands-on experience is very important. Engineering is a massive field, and changes constantly. Your courses will only cover the basics, and much of what they tell you won't be relevant for long (depending on your specialization). Employers want to see that you can be creative outside of coursework.

Calculus and physics are very important for most types of engineering. The point of engineering is to apply physics, so doing something innovative usually requires you to understand it well (and therefore math too). Physics will also make most of your courses a lot simpler. Engineering texts tend to annoyingly separate out things that are really the same idea looked at a little differently.

Engineering will always be needed, so jobs will always be there if you can adapt. By that I mean that things can change very quickly, and your knowledge could become outdated within a year or two. This is especially a concern for certain parts of electrical engineering. Semiconductors probably won't be the only game in town 15 years from now. I suppose similar statements can go for materials engineers too.

BooRadley

I too am a mechanical engineering student. I've been taking WAY too many classes as I am borrowing 100% of my housing and tuition expenses, and am trying to graduate without tens of thousands of dolars in debt. I am in Formula SAE , which employers LOVE to hear about . It is hard work. If your school doesn't have a formula SAE team, START one or start a baja team. It should be the number two priority of anyone in mechanical engineering other than passing classes.