College - Worth it?

I'm a machinist studying mechanical engineering at a university. This is my first semester and despite doing alright I'm thinking of quitting once exams are over.

My reason is that I find the things I learn mostly useless. Spending my days off sitting at classes and studying at home just seems like a big waste of time. I've done a quick count, out of the 7 classes there's only 2 that I really care about, Math and Engineering Drawing. Math is interesting, and, while I probably won't ever apply calculus in the real world, I'd happily visit the class even if I didn't attend university. I liked doing my Engineering Drawing homework, making drawings with pencils and rulers that is.

I'm a technical kind of guy, I'll list some examples of things I enjoyed doing:
A 2 axis text engraving generator, takes text, outputs G code.
A computer program that fetches bus schedules from the internet, lets me output and filter them in any format I like.
The ever ongoing process of getting to know my machine's controls inside out, reading manuals.
A few custom workpieces that I designed and manufactured.

No big deals, but still... Also, I had perfect grades in math, physics and computer science in high school. Machining-wise I have everything to learn, but I'm getting there slowly.

My dream job is either to work on a nice milling center doing one-offs, or being a CNC programmer-troubleshooter-debugger wandering the world, or working in a small shop doing tricky stuff every now and then, something like that. Maybe even having a shop of my own one day! I have the feeling that a degree on my resume would be less impressive for these kind of positions than a ton of interesting things I'd be doing. On the other hand, I hear people with a degree in their hands are being taken more seriously when applying to a job. I don't want to do any "sitting in an office" type of engineering, I want to work with machines.

My question is, how much does a degree weigh versus a lot of extra machining and CNC knowledge when looking for a nice place?

The answer I want to hear and what I'm leaning towards is of course "Go work in a shop, no degree needed ever! Life is great!", but I'd also like to hear some objective thoughts on this from you all.

I'm a college grad working outside of my field of study. I learned a lot of crap in college. I was also taught how to think, which is difficult to quantify, but will last me a lifetime. YMMV.

Economics. Engineering. Physics.

All valuable.

If you can do the math, get the Mech Eng. Degree. If your on this site and can actually build the stuff you can design.....you will never be out of a Job.

Tim

Speaking generally, the income upside for a person with a college degree versus without is huge. Quitting after your first semester also says something about your perseverance. If you have a degree, nobody can stop you from working with your hands if you so choose. If you don't have a degree, lots of people will stop you from trying to practice engineering, and they should.

You want to still be cutting metal out in the shop in ten years? Or do you want to be telling a whole shop full of them how to do it? You can probably imagine that the one might be more lucrative than the other.

Struggle through it and get the degree while you have the opportunity. The best engineers I've ever met are the ones who were also machinists, because they don't design unbuildable crap. Some of the worst engineers I've ever met have never built anything more complex than a peanut butter sandwich. There are many people in the world who won't give you the time of day if you don't have a degree, but will think you're the greatest thing since peanut butter if you do have one. Doesn't mean they're right, but if that's the perception of the people authorizing checks, then a degree is just one more tool in your bag of tricks. Besides, when you're 50+ years old and your feet hurt, do you want to have to stand at a machine all day long?

I learned quite a bit in college.. not english, social sciences all that BS.

I'm talking understand how to think, research, excel.. that's I what I learned in college.

I started as basic "cnc machinist" programming, setups etc then moved into engineering modeling parts.. "cad designer" then I quit for another job doing what i do now "manufacturing engineer/ head programmer" because I have college degree now, I got big pay rise.

I will add some more later

Get the ME degree. It opens up a whole new world of opportunities -- afterwards if you still want to be a machinist, you can, but with the degree you have a lot more options. Yes, there are a lot, if not most, classes have no application in hte real world outside of pure research.

An option would be to get an Engineering Technology degree which is more application orientated, though I do not recommend it as a lot of companies do not consider it a "real" degree.

If not an Engineering Degree, get pretty much any degree (Business would be best) as a lot of companies appreciate it that you have the dicipline to stick it through all the hoops you have to jump through. (Where I worked we had a MS Math guy who was an engineering director.)

Whether you learn anything or not is secondary. It used to be the world judged you on whether or not you graduated from High School. Now they judge you based on whether you graduated from college.

JMO.......... but its almost sad to read someone that has the oportunity to go to school thinking of dropping out. Your college opportunity is not as easy for others and impossible for many. Finish what you started, change majors if need be, but finish and get the degree. It will carry you further, faster, and with better benefits, than if you don't have it. Even though there is an exception to every rule and many are successful with out degrees or schooling, most that did it without, would change things if they could go back and do it over. I would change things in a heartbeat if the good lord would reverse time. I made myself pretty successful and even though I am retired at 52yrs. I would heve enjoyed life better and made more of myself had I finished school, and the biggest thing is I sure wouldn't have had to work physically as hard as I did. I'm paying for the hard work now with pain in my joints and will spend my retirement having surgeries to repair the damage. An intellegent person works smarter not harder. Advice is free, but lifes decisions can cost you a lot.......................Rick

Yes, a degree in engineering is worthwhile. LGBT/Race/Class Grievance studies not so much.

The best engineers are always those who can do (or accurately direct others to do) the tasks of manufacturing, assembly, and repair.

The theory/math is half the equation. The mechanical eye/hand skill and sense of touch and feel is the other half.

Many people have one or the other. A person who is very good at both is one in 1000.

I know electrical engineers who can not remove a lawn mower blade without serious personal injury.

I know mechanical engineers incapable of fixing a small engine.

A few people are Artists. Capable of both the theory and the practice. Artists practice humility and maintain awareness that others have valuable technical skills worth learning. Find very skilled people. These may be old and grumpy, have various quirks. No matter. This is not a shopping spree for a in-law. Be polite. Acknowledge and honestly praise the skill of the person. Ask for instruction in the skill. The reward and knowledge transfer can be enormous.

A person who becomes an Artist knows both what they are doing, and the theory behind why they are doing it. A very satisfying state of being.

The best part of a under grad degree doesn't happen until the third and fourth year. But ...to get to that point...you have to learn the "lanquage" of Engineering...you start to do that in the first 2 years...which regardless of discipline...is about the same for ALL Engineers. The fact that I can be practical as well as analytical has stood me in very good standings for nearly 30 years....I'd grow a pair and think about the long term....not just the semester...just saying.

Engineers who can do both are worth money....

Dave

You will never practice engineering at a professional level without a degree.

"What do I need to know this stuff for?"

Is the wrong question.

Go visit any engineering office and ask what the requirements are for employment.

The first couple of years are designed to get rid of folks who don't want the degree.
There is a long line of guys ready to take your place who do want it.

I see you are in Germany. I wrote this before noticing your location. This is my take as it applies to the USA.

Engineers can always become machinists. Engineers may supervise lots of machinists. It doesn't work the other way.

In this world of ever increasing demands for credentials and certifications for even the most mundane of tasks you have the opportunity to obtain a highly valuable degree that few are capable of obtaining. If you are without the demands of family there will never be a less stressful time for you to excel in your studies. If you are bored and under challenged, take more hours, look at a dual degree, or get a part time job.

I know you are young and impatient. You will get lots of advice from those you may regard as "old farts". But you must remember while you have never been old, we have all been young.

If you aren't the lead dog, the view is always the same. Care to make a guess about the ratio of engineer to machinist lead dogs?

College will help you get the job you want but IT will not keep it for you---it's up to you and your skill level. I have seen lots of non college graduates (far superior to their college graduated bosses) not get a promotion becase they didin't have the higher level piece of paper. We all get trapped in a certain economic lifestyle and think we have to maintain it---not so.

Well, as I sit here in my office, on what amounts to my break... I think about where I'm at. 25 years old, ME degree, managing the construction of an entire plant, electrical to air to control systems on a heat treat furnace. I made $30/hr right out of the gate, with 20% bonuses on top of that. (Hourly guys get the same bonus, so that's not a HUGE differentiation between a degree and no degree, but none the less.)

Then, I think about the guys I know who don't have a degree. There's 15 working for me right now, assembling hoses onto air grinders for our rework cell. Not exactly stimulating work. They work five times as hard as I do (physically) yet they don't earn half what I do. Granted that a machinist will do better than $15 since it is skilled, but it takes longer to get there.

And guess what? If I WANT to, I can come in on the weekends, or stay late, and wet my appitite for physical labor, or machine some parts for a project. I love doing it, when I don't have enough work to do on my house/hotrod/motorcycle.

All it took was $30K in student loans and 5 years. Worth it.

It is worth it. It helps if you are smart in how to think. Which is invaluable. Nice comments all the way down. If you are in Germany it is definitely a plus as your student loans aren't nearly as onerous and you get to play in your work before you have to command. Have fun and be smart.

Having actual hands-on experience could make you a very successful M.E., compared to those who earn the degree but it is all theoretical knowledge.

I have seen that in Electrical Engineering, most students don't know what a soldering iron is these days.

The rare E.E. candidate that grew up building electronics kits and doing projects is kilometers ahead of his classmates from the first day.

One of my few regrets in life is not getting a degree when had an opportunity.
I've done OK, but I'm doing marketing, not engineering. I don't enjoy it, and I'm quitting Jan 16.

A degree of any kind gives you cred, opens doors.
There are jobs I am imminently qualified for that are not available to me, without a degree. I would estimate the gap at this stage of my life as about $50K/year.
I sit in meetings with national sales managers of big multi-national companies, and I'm thinking "How does this guy keep his job??"

The "other" courses train you in things like best practices, business management, project management, timelines, structured thinking. I work so much better with college grads just because their thinking follows logical lines and proven methodology.
This company is run by self-made man with no college, and we make lots of money, but it's frustrating due to the way decisions are made.

I would suggest you find a school with an engineering program more in tune with your interests.
For example, anumber of schools here in the U.S. have an ME program that includes (optionally) the Formula SAE prgrom, where each class builds a formula car from scratch, and competes with it in an annual competition. They have anice machine shop, manual and CNC. They get their hands dirty and they have a blast doing it. Their grads are sought after by all the car manufacturers.

As a graduate from the school of "hard knocks" so to speak I'd say get that god damn paper no matter the cost. Education of any kind shows you have some drive and ambition, HR managers LOVE to see that shit on a resume.

Going through their mind when they look at your resume Vs say mine in 10 years

You:
"wow this guy has a Bachelors in Mechanical design, hes worked in shops for awhile, really knows his crap. Lets hire this guy

My resume:
"Another deadbeat machinist without a degree, umm put this one on the bottom of the pile please"

GO for that piece of paper, even if you think its worthless! Your perception of it might be worthless, but you aren't hiring yourself now are you! Someone else is hiring you and more then likely their perception of it is "Awesome a schooled machinist" and their perception is the only one that really matters