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Engineers and education-where did you go?

BenTerrible

Aluminum
Joined
Sep 21, 2009
Location
San Diego, Ca
I wanted to open a thread up for some insight on engineering education and the paths taken to get to where you want to be. I will be attending Embry Riddle Aeronautical University next year and wanted to ask the fellow engineers here what their experiences have been with education and the work force. Where did you go to school? How the heck did you pay for it?!?! What were your goals while in school (What did you want to do after you graduated?) Where did you end up? Also, any cool senior projects to share???

I have chosen to go for my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at ERAU. I was actually accepted months ago, but needed time to gather funds to afford school. I would like to minor in Flight, but that really drives the cost up!

Hopefully we can hear some great life stories with this thread!

Thanks in advance,

-BT :typing:
 
I wanted to open a thread up for some insight on engineering education and the paths taken to get to where you want to be. I will be attending Embry Riddle Aeronautical University next year and wanted to ask the fellow engineers here what their experiences have been with education and the work force. Where did you go to school? How the heck did you pay for it?!?! What were your goals while in school (What did you want to do after you graduated?) Where did you end up? Also, any cool senior projects to share???

I have chosen to go for my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at ERAU. I was actually accepted months ago, but needed time to gather funds to afford school. I would like to minor in Flight, but that really drives the cost up!

Hopefully we can hear some great life stories with this thread!

Thanks in advance,

-BT :typing:

Better brush up on functioning with 2 hours sleep. Im currently attending right now.

As a former machinist I worked in a a few different fields, aeronautical being on of them. IMHO aeronautical will be dominated by foreign (pick your eastern country) interests and the many immigrating engineers from schools such as china will dominate the industry, again this is just my personal opinion.

A field that is fairly neglected IMHO is pumps and pump design, there is a huge amount of oportunity in this field, plus most of my classmates seem to be ignoring it. They are all gung ho for working for places like Ballard power or the local airplane repair centre, but as it is a specialized field those wanting to get into outweigh the demand (at least in my area).
 
First, I'm not an engineer, I aced my major (manufacturing engineering) but didn't finish a social science paper (I had not clue what the hell I was doing, and an A$$ hole prof) and a philosophy paper(egotistical Jack ass prof).

Went to WPI (worcester polytech) in MA, sameplace those Kipware guys went.
Started as a Computer Science major, decided it sucks balls, looked at ME and decided it was a bunch of dipshits reciting formulas, and went into manufacturing, kind of a smathering of ME, management, a bit of EE, some CS, Industrial Engineering and lots of hands on. I explained it to a lot of people as Mechanical Engineering, but you could actually do something.

How did I pay for it? A few scholarships, small stuff, most schools only charge really rich folks and foreigners full price so that cut off about $58k, my folks ponied up about $30k and I got stuck with about $36k in loans, only $10k left to go, I'll be paying $102 a month until I'm 45, and listening to my old man bitch until he dies, which I hope is way past when I'm done paying off my share.

Cool senior projects, me and my room mate and one other unmentionable(the guy drank all our beer and tequila) did the SAE Micro Baja, not the Mini Baja that everybody wants to do, the Micro Baja, RC sized cars. I spent the majority of the first half of my senior year in the shop building this thing, and a full size test track. We went to the SAE Truck and Bus expo to compete and won 1st in design and presentation (most important to us) and 3rd in performance in our class, and won $250. I still say the two that beat us didn't follow the rules, but thats water under the bridge.

After college, or should I say while trying to complete stupid stuff to finish college, I kept working at the same place I had worked since I was 15. I slopped food in a nursing home, I worked my way up the ranks there. Me and my old man ran a restaurant for a while on the side, I wrenched on the side and did some fab work on the side. In 2001, at 27 when I left I would have made 38k, no OT, 4 weeks vaca, 8 sick days, $12.50 a week for a Cadillac insurance plan that included vision, disability, and life, and a 40hr bonus check on my anniversary.

So, 2001, my past room mate and project partner, who moved to the Land of Entrapment (enchantment), came home and we got together, he had stumbled into running a small machine shop, and asked me if I wanted a job. We talked about for about 8 hours at a titty bar. I wasn't sure. Well at that point, I was sick of what I was doing, the people I worked with were getting crappy, my girlfriend should have been the star in the exorcist. Talked with my folks, talked with my friends and some other older wiser folks I trusted, and they said "get the fuck out of here".

So... I quit, gave myself 3 weeks before I left(after my 2 weeks), did a few repair and fab jobs for my old job, banged down $45 an hour to train my replacement (I had a good boss). Threw as much stuff as I could in my truck and my cat, and headed west.

I had been out here/there before a couple of times to visit, so it wasn't a shock, but the M-F, no weekends, that was nice. Was tossed onto an old Fagor/accuslide, pretty disappointed in myself, I didn't pay for myself first paycheck.

So now here I am, 8 years later, me and my old college room mate, with our own shop, 2400 miles away from where we grew up and went to college. We've got a nice building, a pile of cool machines, we're profitable, doing some really cool work (getting sick of it though), we've got some of our own stuff in the works. Just having a good time in this big giant toy box.

Finally have a really good girlfriend, no kids, and no marriages thank god(me or her). She understands that I'm never going to grow up, the toys have just gotten bigger and better, if I can't buy it(or afford it), I can make it.

My 2 cents on college.....
I went into college to learn stuff, I told my folks that when I went, and they forked over the money, I didn't go to get a job. I kept that attitude all through out, so when I didn't actually graduate and get a degree, I wasn't disappointed, a bit pissed, but that was the situation with the 2 professors I was dealing with, I still wouldn't have gone and sat in an office, degree or not. I wanted to do my own thing, and I sort of did, and then this all just sort of fell on me.

I have no regrets (except for some women).
 
Best wishes for success with your education and career. Love your enthusiasm!

I'm sure many will contribute to your thread. My suggestion is to use the "Search this Thread" tool or Google. There are already a great many stories and experiences directly related to your request archived in the "General" and "General New" catagories. Many are compelling and it's unlikely the OPs will repeat themselves in this thread.

Try some searches such as "engineering school" and go from there. There is a deep, deep mine of exactly what you're seeking already here for the small effort of looking around.
 
Isn’t ERAU a private university? Why not got to a state school for less $$$? Being in California, you have a lot of very excellent schools to choose from.

Got my ME degree back in ’70. My first love was power systems. Interviewed Pratt & Whitney, Ford, etc, etc. Ended up spending my career packaging electronics for the military and government. Back then, everybody wanted to go to P&W and Ford, so the money was a lot better with a government contractor.

Once working in a field, it has been my experience that engineers who specialize in a particular element of engineering (say thermodynamics, structural analysis or materials) get more respect than those who become generalist.

Get your PE license – it is a great fall back plus I know several guys who have PE’s who retired early and do occasional consulting to bring in a few extra bucks.
 
I got my BS in mechanical engineering from Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute), graduating in 2001. About 60% of the students there are ME majors, and they have several specialties, mine is automotive.

During college, I worked as a co-op student for LuK, then Goodyear. The unique thing about GMI is your co-op experience starts your freshman year. You alternate quarters between work and school. This (and some loans) is how I paid for school. I also worked on campus during school terms.

I did Formula SAE while I was there. This is how I got my feet wet in machining and welding, because we had shop access to work on the formula car.

I had no problem finding a job after graduation because I already had work experience from my co-op.

Get used to carrying big course loads, and not sleeping much. Definitely take the EIT exam while you're still at school and the information is fresh. A PE will wait until you have some real experience. I don't have a PE, because what I do for a living (vehicle dynamics and simulation) is not really applicable to any of the PE disciplines.

Good luck!
 
I got my BS in mechanical engineering from Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute), graduating in 2001. About 60% of the students there are ME majors, and they have several specialties, mine is automotive.

During college, I worked as a co-op student for LuK, then Goodyear. The unique thing about GMI is your co-op experience starts your freshman year. You alternate quarters between work and school. This (and some loans) is how I paid for school. I also worked on campus during school terms.

I did Formula SAE while I was there. This is how I got my feet wet in machining and welding, because we had shop access to work on the formula car.

I had no problem finding a job after graduation because I already had work experience from my co-op.

Get used to carrying big course loads, and not sleeping much. Definitely take the EIT exam while you're still at school and the information is fresh. A PE will wait until you have some real experience. I don't have a PE, because what I do for a living (vehicle dynamics and simulation) is not really applicable to any of the PE disciplines.

Good luck!

WOW! Sounds like me. I went to Kettering, graduated Cum Laude in 2006 (seems like forever already). I have my BSME and I work in advanced product development in an industrial design department for a large private company. I have become a general engineer, not really focusing on anything as of yet, but I am still early in my career.

My main piece of advice would be to make sure to take great notes on everything (important classes). To this day, I still break out my dynamics notes occasionally. Also, if you have the opportunity, learn CAD. I was lucky and had a pre-engineering curriculum in high school that introduced me to Inventor 3D modeling and I have been using CAD ever since.

As far as paying for school - co-op if you can. It will help. Obviously, since you chose an expensive school it will not pay for it all, but it will help. I was making $27/hr working for a supplier to GM while in college. That really helped keep some of the loans away.

Good Luck!
 
I got a BSCE and a minor in computer science at North Carolina State. I went to flight school in the Air Force right after college. When I got out, I got an entry level position as an engineer with a German workholding company, which eventually led to where I am today. (business owner)

Take your FE as soon as you can, but don't think that you need a PE to be a successful engineer. FWIW, neither of those apply to anything that I do.

I had a scholarship, plus I sold computers at Sears to fill in the blanks. I also refereed some intramural sports...there are little odd jobs available at most universities for some extra cash.

Good luck!
 
I agree with WG - select a state school and you will save $$. Many good ones in CA. The junior college system in CA is also excellent (or at least was before state budget problems). The JC's are a great way to save money on your first 2 years. Also worth looking into. Someone else made the point that coop programs are good. I have hired many coops - I also think that is an excellent idea.

Whatever you do - good luck!!
 
University of Washington - BSME, paid for school working the docks in Ballard as a mechanic and then commercial fishing and doing mechanic work between openings during the summers. I was a late bloomer and didn't enter the ME program until I was 23, graduated at 25 while working full time as a CO-OP student engineer for the Robbins Company. Took my finals over the fax machine while working on a Tunnelling project in Norway (Svartisen Hydro). I had great professors that were interested in the work I was doing on mining and tunneling equipment.

Get a job during the summers that will give you an opportunity to use what you learned in school rather than just pushing paper.

As for senior projects - there is an extention campus for WSU a few miles from our business - last year we sponsored one of the Senior Design Projects - we provided all the materials to build a Plasma Table and the students designed and built it in our shop. We trained them on the use of the equipment, provided the work stations for them to do design work, participated in design reviews, etc.

The presentation at the end of the quarter was pretty good - they did the typical "show drawings / solidworks models" of what they designed, then they showed a video of it in action and then unveiled a WSU Cougar cut out of steel and mounted as a sign for the ME building. They did a fantastic job and graduated with a hell of a lot more experience than most students.
 
B of ME from Auburn University, back in 1957 when it was still Alabama Polytechnic Institute. I worked wherever I could pick up a few bucks to help with costs. I started out at age 12 delivering newspapers. I got fascinated by an auto repair shop on my paper route and got a job there at age 14. No worry about child labor laws back then. The things I learned from automobile work, machine shop work, and the like were more valuable in my engineering design work that what I learned in college. The college work helped me in organization, how to do research, how to work with and for people I did not like, and other similar things. It did open doors for me that would have remained closed without the degree. I still enjoy machine tools and making things. My 79th birthday is February 3, 2010. Work hard and get the degree.

Jim Williams
 
Snod83 wrote, "My main piece of advice would be to make sure to take great notes on everything (important classes). " That reminded me of something -- in getting my ME degree, what were the most important classes I took that helped me out personally? Not Mechanisms, Thermodyanmics or Structural Analysis. In our Junior and Senior years, we had to take two non-technical electives outside of the College of Engineering. While my classmates were taking "easy A" classes over in the Art Department, I went to the College of Business and took Personal Finance and Investment Theory. I learned about investing, financial dicipline, estate planning, stock market theory, etc., and applying this knowledge, I retired about eight years earlier than my classmates! (BTW -- after taking all those engineering classes, the business classes were so easy, I got "A"s.)
 
I will be attending Embry Riddle Aeronautical University next year and wanted to ask the fellow engineers here what their experiences have been with education and the work force.

I would like to minor in Flight, but that really drives the cost up!

How can you go to Embry Riddle and NOT take some kind of flight education?...
 
Southeast Com College - Milford, NE. AAS in machine tool from the nations first trade school (much different now)

University of Nebraska - AAS & BS in Manufacturing Engineering. Program is no longer there. Went to school full time and carried as much as 22 hours. I picked up 24 hours during one summer. Worked part time doing home remodeling until my senior year and then managed the rebuild shop of a local machinery dealer.

I passed my certification test upon graduation. I have a CMfgE behind my name.

What's it all worth?? Not as much as it used to be. Today, all of the guys running the show have MBA's. They don't know anything, but they've got an MBA.

Just today, one of the big bosses wanted to know why we couldn't give him fixture prices when they don't have part drawings done.???? Duh!

JR

BTW, I'm done for the year. On vacation until January 11th.
 
BT -

I have a BSChE, MSChE and completed all of the coursework, research and dissertation for the PhDChE, but did not apply for the degree. There were no jobs available in 1970-71 for PhD's, since it was purely a research degree and the economy was in a serious recession. MS and BS jobs remained available then, however. I have been a PE since 1977, and taught for one year while looking for a job.

As for cost, I would recommend taking the first two years' courses at a local public junior college. These are mostly the general curriculum, not courses specific to engineering. Try to "advance place" (or whatever they call it now) out of as many credit hours as you can - each one represents money saved!

Also decide where you want to complete your degree, visit that 4-year college/university with the junior college catalog in your hands, and discuss exactly which courses will transfer from the junior college to the college/university, and which ones will not. This discussion should be with the person in the specific department (ie, ME, CE, EE, ChE, etc.) that you will eventually want to major in. Do this BEFORE you ever register at the junior college. (I was "in charge" of accepting or rejecting transfer hours in our department for a couple of years while I was a graduate student. I used to ask a couple of questions - like, what is the integral of 1/x dx, and the like, to determine how proficient the prospective transfer student was in math. The Registrar's Office actually accepted/rejected the student's transfer course credits, but our department made transfer students repeat some courses if they were found lacking in essential math skills.)

While at the junior college, take it seriously! The grades you make there will get you into the 4-year college/university. I made good grades the first year. On this basis, I was able to get a part-time job with the chemistry department mixing chemicals for the labs. This more than paid for tuition and books. Tuition was only $60 per semester!! Those were the days... (sounds like Archie Bunker!)

After you transfer to the 4-year university, repeat the above step! Make good grades the first year, and someone in your department may take notice - then you can ask whether any jobs are available there. I started by grading papers in the next semester for courses I had just taken. This has two benefits - first, they pay you (not much), and second - you get an EXCELLENT review of the material you should have learned in the previous semester! When I took the PhD qualifying exams back in 1968, I had the highest grades on all three exams that anyone had made since they were first given in 1940 - primarily because I had graded papers for all of the test subjects.

As others have said, the most economical education is still the public option! Tuition and books cost about $200 per semester then, but there was the additional cost of living away from home. I always had three roomates (none of them female) and the cost was not bad. You have to realize that college is not forever, and it will not kill you to lay off the women and booze for 4 years, and lead an ascetic lifestyle! Later benefits will be much greater. Women and booze will always be there!

As an aside, from my experiences grading and teaching, the one thing that I saw that students did incorrectly when taking exams was to NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION THEY WERE ASKED! This was even done by some of the better students.

I had "hands on" experience in graduate school, and my lab for four years was across the hall from the machine shop...

I had a roomate for several years who learned to fly. Although his family owned a very large ranch in central Texas, he was TIGHT as a tick on a thin dog! He took expensive lessons and obtained the pilot's license. Then he flew people in their planes whose licenses were not current for medical reasons, etc., getting paid a small amount. After he built up a good number of hours that way, he applied for his instructor's license and started giving lessons at a local airport. There was also a flying club associated with the university, which he joined and ferried planes to other chapters around the area. You might consider this route - if it is still appropriate.

Good luck!

A.T.
 








 
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