Any engineers here?

[wintergirl]

I decided to go back to school for my bachelor's degree and I've been seriously thinking about pursuing a career in engineering. I have already registered for some of the general prep. classes such as Chemistry, Math, etc for the upcoming spring semester but I want to make sure I'm not working towards a career that I'll ultimately hate. That said - I have a few questions...

*What kind of degree do you have? (Bachelor's, Masters, etc.)
*What type of engineer are you and what do you actually DO?
*What is your 'typical' workday/workweek like?
*How many hrs a week do you work on avg?
*Do you actually like your job?
*Was it difficult for you to find a job right after college?
*Any tips/pros/cons?

Thanks in advance to anyone who has any comments/answers for me! :)

[mishi]

*What kind of degree do you have? (Bachelor's, Masters, etc.)

I have a BSEE (Electrical Engineering)

*What type of engineer are you and what do you actually DO?
My current title in Design Engineer, but my job is more like an applications engineer. I take off the shelf components and put together transmission systems for the telephone company.

*What is your 'typical' workday/workweek like?
My job goes in cycles. There are weeks where I'm just working on the paperwork side of things, correcting documentation, checking records, and making minor revisions for projects. Other weeks are really busy. I might have 15 projects that have to be done in a 3 day period and the phone never seems to stop ringing.

*How many hrs a week do you work on avg?
about 40. More on the busy weeks, but not too often.

*Do you actually like your job?
Yes, some of the burocracy (sp?) gets on my nerves, but in general I have a really nice job and work with some good people.

*Was it difficult for you to find a job right after college?
Nope, but at the time there was a boom for engineers so I had a few options open to be.

*Any tips/pros/cons?
Really research the enviornment when you're looking at a company. I wish I'd have looked more at the age range here before I started. Most of the people I work with are 50 year old men. So there isn't much in the way of social stuff here. At least beyond golf and beer. :rolleyes:

If I were single it'd be really bad. I was lucky that my DH (FH at the time) lived here already so I had someone to spend my time with.

Also check out the management structure. I don't think I could have worked very closely with my boss when I started. It worked out in that I was a remote employee so I didn't have too much direct contact.

Good luck!

[wintergirl]

Hey thanks for they reply! :)

[squintz22]

I am (was) an engineer. I will answer your questions as best as I can. However - I'll have to answer them for my previous job, since now I'm a SAHM.

*What kind of degree do you have? (Bachelor's, Masters, etc.)
I have a BSME (Mechanical Engineer) with an automotive specialty and a management minor.

*What type of engineer are you and what do you actually DO?
The job I had was actually a Manufacturing engineer. I was ultimately responsible for 4 alignment machines and a caster/cam machine. I worked for the GM truck plant a few minutes from my house, and had to answer for every truck that was built. If it didn't drive straight, it was my problem, because my machines aligned every truck. But - mostly I sat in front of a computer all day, because I had the software to 'see' what all the machines were doing from my desk. Unless there was a problem, I sat at my desk and did computer work. Once a week, I ran a meeting with the plant management, and once a month I ran a meeting with company management.

*What is your 'typical' workday/workweek like?
A typical workday was 7am until 3pm, Monday through Friday. But I worked a split shift, 10am to 6:30pm every other Wednesday. I was also on call from 6am until 3am. That was when the machines were running, so that was when the superintendants could (and would) call. Usually they wouldn't call past about 9 or 10pm, unless it was an emergency though.

*How many hrs a week do you work on avg?
I usually ended up actually working between 40 and 50 hours a week. But most of it I had to comp, rather than actually being paid for it. I didn't mind too much, because if the machines were running, I liked being able to leave and not lose any money.

*Do you actually like your job?
I hated it. I knew about 6 months before I graduated that I did not want to be an engineer. But I also knew I would be out of my mind to quit 6 months before I graduated, especially since I still had student loans to pay back. I figured I would get a job to pay for my student loans, and look for something I enjoyed after that. However - looking back - I had it really good. I was paid an obscene amount for what I did. My bosses were actually really flexible about when I came and went, as long as what I needed to do got done.

*Was it difficult for you to find a job right after college?
It wasn't too bad. I graduated in December 2000, right before the economy got really crappy though. That job fell into my lap though because I had co-oped at GM, and had a LOT of contacts. BUT - I have been looking very unsuccessfully for the last 15 months. However - that is due more to the area I think than a lack of jobs overall in the engineering field. If I was able to move, I know that I would have many more options now.

*Any tips/pros/cons?
If you get into it and you hate it, get out before you owe lots and lots of money!!! :) One pro is that telling people you're an engineer, they automatically think you're smart and rich. (Well, maybe that's not a pro?!) It was a big change telling people that now I'm a SAHM. Con - well, I was the only female in my department. i was also the only person under 45. Pro - The money was fantastic. DH and I were planning on selling my truck and buying a Corvette the month we found out I was pregnant with Darcy. (We call her my little red corvette since I got her instead!!!) Con - It can get kind of boring depending on what kind of job you get.

It's still hard for me to believe that I am an engineer. Especially since there are days I feel like my brain is turning to mush from watching the Wiggles. Quitting was easy, telling people that now I'm 'just' a SAHM was the difficult part. Though I have to tell you, I had more sleep and a whole lot less stress when I was working!!!

[SarahK]

My husband is an engineer, so I'm answering this for him...hope it helps!

*What kind of degree do you have? (Bachelor's, Masters, etc.)
He has a bachelors degree in aeronautical engineering and is working on his thesis in mechanical engineering.

*What type of engineer are you and what do you actually DO?
Currently he is working primarily as a mechanical engineer for a major Defense Department contractor. He's working on converting the weapons capabilities of some of our nuclear attack submarines.

*What is your 'typical' workday/workweek like?
He recently transferred within the company to a position with lots of overtime (an excellent career move) and works up to 60 hours a week...although with our new baby at home, he's working more like 40-50 hours a week right now. His work day starts at about 7am and involves computer work as well as crawling around submarines to make sure what he designs on the computer actually works in real life. Prior to this position though, his job was MUCH more of a desk job.

*How many hrs a week do you work on avg?
Answered above.

*Do you actually like your job?
He has had three positions within the same company since graduating from college and has enjoyed the last two positions. He liked the work with the first position but his boss wasn't too great.

*Was it difficult for you to find a job right after college?
Nope! He dropped off his resume in a resume box at a job fair in college and that was it...the company called him in for an interview a few months later and he was hired at the end of the summer following his college graduation. He's never even had to write a cover letter. I can say, though, that his cousin now is trying to find jobs in engineering and has had a more difficult time--things have changed since Brian graduated in 1997.

*Any tips/pros/cons?
This is one area I can't answer for him! Good luck!
Thanks in advance to anyone who has any comments/answers for me! :)[/QUOTE]

[wintergirl]

Thank you so much for the replies ladies! I must say - your jobs sound so fascinating! (I suppose when it's YOUR job though it probably isn't always as fascinating as it sounds...:lol: ) I can sort of relate to the "people think you're so smart when you say you're an engineer" thing a bit already. My current job title is Inventory Analyst and people say "Oh WOW" when I say it. Honestly it's just a flashy title that my company gave to a really simple job...I stare at a computer all day and make sure all of our inventory/sales numbers jive. ;)

[Lette]

*What kind of degree do you have? (Bachelor's, Masters, etc.) BS in Plastics Engineering

*What type of engineer are you and what do you actually DO?
I'm a Technical Service Engineer for a Plastics Company ... LNP Engineering Plastics www.lnp.com (http://www.lnp.com/) and we are now owned by GE. I do everything! :lol: I handle technical calls on our products, where I give out information or help customers choose a material ( we have thousands and thousands of engineered thermoplastics.. not just your ordinary everyday plastic resin chair stuff. Our stuff is used in high end applications in the automotive field, business machines, electrical, medical and industrial fields.). I also problem solve part failures or material related issues. So you can kind of say "jack-of-all-trades" here.

I also used to travel quite a bit helping customers mold our stuff and do troubleshooting if they were having problems. I also used to travel to customer meetings and give seminars. (I don't travel much anymore since I've moved more into the investigation side of things here which is good since I now have 2 kids)

*What is your 'typical' workday/workweek like?
I work 7:30 to 4:30. When traveling, I'd be gone maybe twice a month if we were really busy (1997 was a really heavy year!) And then only for 2 nights on average. Now travel is a bit slower for those that do it.

*How many hrs a week do you work on avg?
I do my straight 40 now, but when traveling it was a bit more.

*Do you actually like your job?
I love my job. There are so many neat applications that are done in plastics. It's never boing! Take a look at our website if you want ideas. You don't have to sign in, just click on the menu items.

*Was it difficult for you to find a job right after college?
Nope, I got pretty lucky. I did a summer job with LNP and when I graduated it just so happened that someone was moving to California. I did start out though testing in our labs and moved up since then. It was 1989.

*Any tips/pros/cons?
PRO - I loved the travel while I was single and married with no kids. After a while it can get a bit old. I typically travelled to the Eastern part of the states. But it was fun going on extended trips... like to Florida as I had my hubby fly down and we'd take a little vacation and only had to pay for his ticket. Mostly I used frequent flier miles which gave me several free tickets. Hubby and I flew first class to Hawaii for our 5 year anniversary for FREE!

CON - Now, I would hate to travel so much with 2 young children. I guess I lucked out again in that my current postion doesn't involve hardly any travel.

CON - My company won't allow me to work 3 days per week or part time because it'd be very difficult in this type of position. Once you take a problem, people are looking to have their answers as soon as possible.

PRO - The pay is excellent, especially after you've been around a few years! Thus the reason hubby is making me continue on after 2 kids. :lol: just kidding! It is very hard to leave a good job that you like where the pay is good!

OH and yes, you will probably be a minority in the field. Now for me, that worked as an advantage. When I travelled some of the old timers were shocked that I was a female, but once I started talking and showed them I knew my stuff, they enjoyed having a "fresh face" coming to visit. It also helps if you have good people skills. :)

Give plastics a look. It's much more interesting than the other engineering fields in my eyes.