Any engineers out there?
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,380
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From: Arizona
Manufacturing Engineer - AMSAFE. Aerospace. Make seatbelts/restraints/special shhtufff. Focusing on Process Improvements as well as making special machines and fixtures to increase speed and accuracy.
previously Manufacturing Engineer Goodrich making evacuation slides and rafts for 5 years
2 years with Emerson Process Management making valves
2 years with Altec Industries making Semi-truck chasis mounted Cranes
I actually graduated from ISU with a Industrial Technology Degree with Manufacturing/Lean focus. They no longer have that degree but some schools still do.
Great description here
http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/ecst/tech/itec/
My brother graduated with basically the same degree and is a Quality Engineer now. Many others have gone into Mfg E., Industrial E and Safety E. Great degree if you don't want to waist your college career doing ridiculously hard math and science classes that are only applicable to 5% of the jobs out there. At times I do with I got a Mechanical Engineer Job though so I could be more well equipped/qualified to be a R&D Engineer. If you are young guy, sick of the math but are eager to be the change maker mechanical type person, this is the degree for you.
previously Manufacturing Engineer Goodrich making evacuation slides and rafts for 5 years
2 years with Emerson Process Management making valves
2 years with Altec Industries making Semi-truck chasis mounted Cranes
I actually graduated from ISU with a Industrial Technology Degree with Manufacturing/Lean focus. They no longer have that degree but some schools still do.
Great description here
http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/ecst/tech/itec/
My brother graduated with basically the same degree and is a Quality Engineer now. Many others have gone into Mfg E., Industrial E and Safety E. Great degree if you don't want to waist your college career doing ridiculously hard math and science classes that are only applicable to 5% of the jobs out there. At times I do with I got a Mechanical Engineer Job though so I could be more well equipped/qualified to be a R&D Engineer. If you are young guy, sick of the math but are eager to be the change maker mechanical type person, this is the degree for you.
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 50
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From: Birmingham, AL
Electrical Engineer - I got a software engineering internship while in college and I've been doing software full time ever since.
Women love engineers, they just may not know it until they date one. We can fix just about anything
My wife and I volunteer in Honduras every year. I always get tasked to fix random things down there, while people with no technical skill set get tasked with digging ditches or pouring concrete. It's amazing how useful the engineering mindset and ability to troubleshoot is in every day life.
Women love engineers, they just may not know it until they date one. We can fix just about anything
My wife and I volunteer in Honduras every year. I always get tasked to fix random things down there, while people with no technical skill set get tasked with digging ditches or pouring concrete. It's amazing how useful the engineering mindset and ability to troubleshoot is in every day life.
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 9
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I'm one of the top students in our engineering magnet program at our high school but just can't seem to acquire a taste for it... :/ it is a useful profession but I just can't find benefits over being a doctor... Help persuade me 
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 19,734
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Do your 4-yr engineering degree, then use that undergrad to apply for the medical program. You're pretty much guaranteed to get in as they know that you've learned to put in the hours and get through a tough course load. Or, if you decide you've had enough of school, just stick with being an engineer.
Personally, I looked at doing medicine but the hours and schooling didn't seem to justify the further long hours and relatively low pay for the start of the career, followed by what is often merely adequate pay (for the work) once you're a full MD. It's a LOT of work to either set up a clinic of your own or else develop into a lead doctor at a hospital. If you specialize, the big bucks are a lot easier to find but it's still a lot of work. Personally, I'd probably only have done medicine if I was going to specialize, probably in surgery of some sort.
Bottom line, for me, was that an engineering career would be the better compromise for both myself and my family (better work/life balance, decent pay, good work and lots of demand). I'm living in Alberta, Canada now and engineering demand is quite high so wages are commensurately high as well. I make as much as most GPs but only have to work 8 hours a day in a relatively relaxed environment.
Personally, I looked at doing medicine but the hours and schooling didn't seem to justify the further long hours and relatively low pay for the start of the career, followed by what is often merely adequate pay (for the work) once you're a full MD. It's a LOT of work to either set up a clinic of your own or else develop into a lead doctor at a hospital. If you specialize, the big bucks are a lot easier to find but it's still a lot of work. Personally, I'd probably only have done medicine if I was going to specialize, probably in surgery of some sort.
Bottom line, for me, was that an engineering career would be the better compromise for both myself and my family (better work/life balance, decent pay, good work and lots of demand). I'm living in Alberta, Canada now and engineering demand is quite high so wages are commensurately high as well. I make as much as most GPs but only have to work 8 hours a day in a relatively relaxed environment.
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,097
Likes: 1
Do your 4-yr engineering degree, then use that undergrad to apply for the medical program. You're pretty much guaranteed to get in as they know that you've learned to put in the hours and get through a tough course load. Or, if you decide you've had enough of school, just stick with being an engineer.
Personally, I looked at doing medicine but the hours and schooling didn't seem to justify the further long hours and relatively low pay for the start of the career, followed by what is often merely adequate pay (for the work) once you're a full MD. It's a LOT of work to either set up a clinic of your own or else develop into a lead doctor at a hospital. If you specialize, the big bucks are a lot easier to find but it's still a lot of work. Personally, I'd probably only have done medicine if I was going to specialize, probably in surgery of some sort.
Bottom line, for me, was that an engineering career would be the better compromise for both myself and my family (better work/life balance, decent pay, good work and lots of demand). I'm living in Alberta, Canada now and engineering demand is quite high so wages are commensurately high as well. I make as much as most GPs but only have to work 8 hours a day in a relatively relaxed environment.
Personally, I looked at doing medicine but the hours and schooling didn't seem to justify the further long hours and relatively low pay for the start of the career, followed by what is often merely adequate pay (for the work) once you're a full MD. It's a LOT of work to either set up a clinic of your own or else develop into a lead doctor at a hospital. If you specialize, the big bucks are a lot easier to find but it's still a lot of work. Personally, I'd probably only have done medicine if I was going to specialize, probably in surgery of some sort.
Bottom line, for me, was that an engineering career would be the better compromise for both myself and my family (better work/life balance, decent pay, good work and lots of demand). I'm living in Alberta, Canada now and engineering demand is quite high so wages are commensurately high as well. I make as much as most GPs but only have to work 8 hours a day in a relatively relaxed environment.
What you're going to have to accept is that your 4+ years as an engineering student are going to be very boring and uninteresting (at least for me, and most people), and then you won't use 90% of what you learned. Engineering school is where you go to get 'gears turning' in your head to be a critical thinker.
You should talk with someone who is a motivated and ambitious engineer - aka someone who is out there being productive, likes to fix problems, and lives a life backbone of critical thinking. I'm sure they'll tell you that it's extremely rewarding, like it is for me.
I had a lot of eng. friends that graduated with me (obviously) and they aren't happy in their jobs because they took good paying jobs over good jobs. So lastly, if you make it through an eng program, don't take a desk job (in my opinion). I would have killed myself by now. All of my real eng friends from school (we all had pretty poor grades, relatively speaking) got out and got the "down and dirty, hands on, firefighting" jobs and all of us love it. The rest of our friends are miserable, gaining half or less of the real-world experience we are getting, and frankly will probably work for us one day (if we can stay motivated to learn and better ourselves).
Edit: And honestly, I believe a masters or PhD in engineering is worthless. I can't tell you how many engineers I've worked with outside of my own company (on one of my projects) who thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread... only to completely embarrass themselves on their lack of real-world application knowledge. Their learning curve gets so f***ed up by going that route that they usually end up behind (at least in my experience). But I will say, they do start out higher on the salary curve so I'll give them that. But I'm not in my career for the salary, I'm in it for the enjoyment of the field.
The ONLY masters program I would have considered is in chemistry.