Engineering

[Huggybone]

Considering a career change. I'm pretty sure mechanical engineering is where I would like to go.

Engineers out there-
How do you feel about the field?
What trends have you noticed in the last five years?
What advice do you have for someone interested in the field?

[KD]

you getting out of teaching kids? how come? my lil bro is an engineer the money is really good and i think he likes it a lot. he does a lot of jobbing with other engineers for industry.

[haas]

Aren't you a music teacher? That's a big change. Way to go

[hearn]

As a civil engineer in a design firm, I like being an engineer. The pay is good, the hours aren't usually bad. It's a good life, though i've only been doing it for a year now. The biggest thing i've noticed since 2000, is the Computer Science Engineering guys having much more trouble getting jobs. In 2000 colleges told the incoming students that CSE degrees had no trouble finding jobs making 50-60 a year. I have a friend who graduated 6 months ago with a 3.2 GPA making $8.75 and hour as a cashier.
Within Civil Engineering, job security is good. A large highway bill just got passed, and ODOT's 15 year budget is still looking good as far a construction and highway design go. Civil Engineering's job outlook seems to me remaining nice and steady. As long as i stay in Ohio and produce good work, i'm not worried about running out of work.

oh yeah, cubicals will wear you out more than you could ever imagine. They suck the engergy right out of you.

[fatandweak]

I'm a junior at UK studying ME. The classes are demanding and time consuming. However, I'm pretty certain that there will always be jobs for Mechanical Engineers (maybe not the ME job you want, but an ME job nonetheless) because it is such a broad discipline, regardless of small economic recessions, etc. I'm very encouraged by where ME might take me.

I'm not mensa material, but I'm not stupid either. Mechanical Engineering is alot of work.

Greg Rueff

[dhoyne]

Considering a career change. I'm pretty sure mechanical engineering is where I would like to go.

Engineers out there-
How do you feel about the field?
What trends have you noticed in the last five years?
What advice do you have for someone interested in the field?

I'm a materials engineer. Picture what an ME does on paper, but a bit more hands on. I like my job and it's a good field. Engineering won't make you rich but it will make you comfortable. As stated, the tech jobs are gone, but industry jobs are still going strong. As for advice, start networking. Most jobs nowadays are gotten via word of mouth rather than want ads. Monster.com and the like are like playing darts in the dark with a moving board -- you never know the person you're going to get.

[Huggybone]

Kevin-
Yes, I am wanting to get out of teaching kids. It was my lifelong dream since I was 13, but it's sucking the life out of me. I still bust my butt for the sake of the kids (and my co-workers), but I realize that I will not be able to continue after this year. I'm going to stay on until school is out for the summer, primarily because I refuse to let my kids down, and two of my co-workers that depend on me to run their band and orchestra programs.

So, it will be a big change.


One I am looking forward to.

[SikMonkey]

ME is a great field as you get to work with some interesting companies. As a Civil Engineer, I ran into a pretty unique field in Forensic Engineering. The firm I work with now does damage and failure analysis and its REALLY interesting. You never have the problem of getting into a rut because you never know where the next project will take you or what it will be like. Engineering has been good to me overall too. I worked with the KYTC for 5 years and that was ok until the politics got REAL bad.

Mj

[KD]

huggy - are you certified in another area of education that you could persue and maybe get recharged? i get down on teaching every once-in-awhile - sometimes it sucks - ya know? but ya gotta admit we dont do this for tha bucks its a higher call or somethin'. hang in there buddy. i know good openings in ky in my district and usually have some influence if you wanna think of changing settings.

[kato]

Jobs that require an ME cover a pretty broad range. What about it do you like? Most "engineering positions" are really just technicians, analysts, or they just keep paperwork up to date. If you are really into something like machine design, it's tough to find. But not impossible.