Are your relatives engineers or scientists

[Pinu7]

My great grandfather worked under both Landau and Hilbert.

 

[turbo]

One of my ancestors on my mom's side (of kelso or calchou) died fighting with william wallace, another was known as "little john" (nayler) in robin hood's band, others included the Clanton family murdered by the Earps at the Ok corral and vilified in film history. On my dad's side, Jesse Tapp, former chairman of Bank of America was my cousin. My dad ran away from home at age 16 and joined the circus, later the railroad, was a rough and tumble fighter, and self taught lawyer. I left a job as a lugger at the south boston meat market to teach math in washington state. Put on notice to get a phd or lose my job, i did both. When I returned to southie for a visit after 5 years, one of my lugging friends saw me and asked predictably: "you look kind of pale, where you been, prison? "

but my brother Charlie is an engineer, (and formerly Bill Monroe's fiddler). But in my dreams I grew up in a scientific family in Europe surrounded by scholars.

Sounds remarkably similar to my family history. What a coincidence. I hate when that happens.

 

[mathwonk]

turbo, we may be related. check out my moms family history online: "kelso kin".

 

[Kevin_Axion]

My great grandfather on my father's side was adopted so it's difficult to trace ancestry on that part of my family. On my Mother's side many of her ancestors were doctors and scientists, also many were great artists (their paintings are in Buckingham Palace).

 

[turbo]

turbo, we may be related. check out my moms family history online: "kelso kin".

If he had waited a century or two, he might have gotten that Northwest passage. It could be a regular feature in another couple of years.

 

[S_Happens]

Other than my grandmother, who received a four year degree in education, I cannot think of anyone i my family with ANY other 4 year degrees. One of my cousin's has an AAS in electrical technology. I have two AAS in process and manufacturing, working on a BS in Mech. Engr.

My sister was working on a MS (jumping a BS entirely through an interesting loophole), but had health issues. They seem to be resolved and I'm sure she'll return to something.

 

[mathwonk]

well i never heard before of the northwest passage kelso. he may be in the book though.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

dad - mechanical engineer, does facilities management
sister - industrial engineer, does patent law

 

[George Jones]

My wife has a Master's degree in engineering, but she doesn't work as an engineer. She did work as an engineering intern at GM's research centre, and she has taught a few engineering lab courses at the local university. She also has bachelor's and master's degrees in physics, and she is currently a full-time education student.

My wife's two brothers both have engineering degrees and work as engineers. My wife's sister has an engineering degree, and she worked as an engineer for a while before becoming a high school physics teacher.

 

[revnaknuma]

my father was a mechanical engineer.
my uncle is a professor of economics.
one of my cousins is a professor of international relations.
I have a BS degree in physics and I am a graduate student of physics.

 

[Reshma]

Mom has a degree in Economics and Dad in commerce. Brother - working towards electronics engineering degree. Three cousins are engineers and one is a doctor.

 

[mathwonk]

my dad had only a high school education but my mom wanted to go to college. here is her account of it in her own words from August 1926:

"I had a burning desire to go to college, although I had heard Papa say, 'College makes fools out of folks'. I disagreed with him and told him that they were fools before they went to college. "

 

[Mentallic]

dad - never went to high school, cleaner.
mum - dropped out half way through high school, take away shop server.

So no, not really

 

[George Jones]

It it common that the student would have a parent who doesn't give a rat about anything scientific or engineering like? Or is this sort of impossible?

my dad had only a high school education but my mom wanted to go to college.

dad - never went to high school, cleaner.
mum - dropped out half way through high school, take away shop server.

Neither of my parents went to high school, although both were good at school. My father wanted to stay home to work on his family's farm. My mother's mother made my mother quit school after grade eight. My grandmother said that her first daughter to finish grade eight had to stay home to help with the large family. My mother's sister was a year older than my mother, but my mother's sister failed a year at school and my mother skipped a year, so my mother finished grade eight a year earlier than her older sister. True to her word, my grandmother made my mother quit school, in effect, punishing my mother for doing well at school.

 

[mathwonk]

i think she just wanted the smartest most persistent one to help her out.

 

[chiro]

My mum only did school up until year 10 and my natural father has done some tertiary studies in drafting, hospitality (qualified chef), and frontline management.

I'm the first to go into a tertiary environment like university.

 

[Cinitiator]

My dad is an artist and an architect.
My uncle (dad's side) is a thermal engineer.
My grandfather (dad's side) is a philosopher.
My great-grandfather (dad's side) was a gold mine owner.

My mom is also an artist and a civil engineer.
My grandmother (mom's side) is a medical worker.

Both of my parents always (literally) had perfect GPA, in the primary school, middle school, high school and university - I've checked their report cards.

 

[turbo]

My mother was the first person in her family to graduate from High School. (first in her class, BTW). She was living with an aunt and uncle, since her mother had died of TB and her father had moved away in pursuit of carpentry work. He spoke only a few words of English - when I was a kid, my mother had to take care of all of his correspondence, pay his bills, etc, and explain what the letters and notices meant.

My father was living with a a family that took him in when he left home as a kid (proprietors of a local grocery store), and gave him room and board in exchange for his work stocking shelves, cleaning up, etc, as long as he would stay in school. He left school to join Airborne and fight in WWII, though he was too young to have joined up legally. He still speaks of them with a love that is certainly not featured in his memories of his biological parents. Many years later, he was given a diploma by his HS.

I was the first person in either of my parents' families to attended college. My younger cousin on my mother's side followed a few years later. He was Lockheed Martin's lead project engineer on the last Hubble upgrade mission.

 

[nocturne-e]

My dad is a EE and I will be too in a couple of years. He's the only one in my close family that is an engineer. My brother with probably go into the medical field but he still has quite a few years to figure that stuff out for himself.

I live in an area where if feels like everyone is a freaking engineer. It's a huge aerospace/petrochem community so I know many people who are going to college for engineering. I know quite a few EE guys but I have yet to meet another girl my age that plans to go into power. Oh well. Less competition for me in the long run I guess. :D

 

[Arbite]

Dad: Software Engineer
Uncle: Electrical Engineer
Aunt: High school science teacher

Think that's it.

 

[Lacy33]

yes. both. not me, I am the white sheep of the family.

 

[Dale]

How typical is it that an engineering or science student also has other relatives in their family who are also engineers or scientists ?

My dad: chem E, my grandpa: mining E, great grandpa: mechanical E, great-great grandpa: civil E. My maternal grandpa was a geologist specializing in hydrology, plus 3 engineery brothers in law.

 

[arildno]

Dad: Biologist
Mom: Actuarian
Brother: Software engineer
Maternal uncles: Engineers
Maternal grandfather: Actuarian
Maternal grandmother: Studied anatomy
Paternal grandfather: Engineer
Great-uncle: Meteorologist

 

[Topher925]

I think I was adopted. Everyone in my family works in business related fields.

 

[mugaliens]

Nope. Dad wanted to be both, but never made it. He's still one hell of an incredible thing dude.

 

[cronanster]

On my mom's side:
GRandfather was a field engineer for Burrows and later Unisys, working on mainframes.
My uncle is a electronic engineer.
His son is a Chemical Engineer for Caterpillar
Second son is in school for Mechanical Engineering
Third is also in school for Electrical Engineering.

On my dad's side:
An uncle was a Civil Engineer, and a cousin that is an Engineering Manager.
Alot of businessmen and nurses.
Grandfather was a police officer, but was a very big tinker. He rebuilt cars, repaired tv's, built all kind of things.

In my immediate family, my mom never went to college, dad never finished.
I am a mechanical engineer and my sister is working on her master's for psychology.

 

[FrancisZ]

I guess it's safe to say: both of my parents were scientifically inclined, to some degree. My dad graduated from Pratt with an Architectural degree; and my mother studied Nursing.

 

[physics girl phd]

My dad (the oldest of eight) and his next closest brother were both electrical engineers at Bell Labs. I don't think there are any scientist/engineering types on my mother's side (also one of eight) except through marriage... though she comes from an agricultural family, which certainly requires some mechanical aptitude, accounting skill, and understanding of nature. A fair number of aunts entered the medical professions (some in the pathology labs of hospitals), and my sister has her MD/PhD and is a pathologist. My mother and father were the first in their respective families to attend college.

I keep wondering what's next on the polls... do you wear glasses or corrective lenses of some sort; does your immediate family? I.e., what's the chances your genes would have made it through if their wasn't either some smart gene or some extra care taken in your background / upbringing... (For the record, I have a great picture of my mother, father, brother, sister and I in the eighties in which all of us have on those big-lensed eighties glasses -- though my mother has rather good vision and only needed slight correction for one eye).

 

[lisab]

My dad (the oldest of eight) and his next closest brother were both electrical engineers at Bell Labs. I don't think there are any scientist/engineering types on my mother's side (also one of eight) except through marriage... though she comes from an agricultural family, which certainly requires some mechanical aptitude, accounting skill, and understanding of nature. A fair number of aunts entered the medical professions (some in the pathology labs of hospitals), and my sister has her MD/PhD and is a pathologist. My mother and father were the first in their respective families to attend college.

I keep wondering what's next on the polls... do you wear glasses or corrective lenses of some sort; does your immediate family? I.e., what's the chances your genes would have made it through if their wasn't either some smart gene or some extra care taken in your background / upbringing... (For the record, I have a great picture of my mother, father, brother, sister and I in the eighties in which all of us have on those big-lensed eighties glasses -- though my mother has rather good vision and only needed slight correction for one eye).

Oooo, great idea for a poll topic: "What will be the next poll topic?"

 

[wild999711]

On my father's side my grandfather has a degree in forestry from UCB, and my Uncle has a Phd in Mech engineering from UCSB. Of the two my Uncle was the one who pushed me to study Physics.

On my mothers side the closest my family came to science or engineering is a muffler shop they own, and construction. My grandfather on my mother's side was great at fixing old cars, bikes, or engines in general. According to the family he could fix anything with "toothpicks and rubberbands".

 

[chiro]

My grandfather on my mother's side was great at fixing old cars, bikes, or engines in general. According to the family he could fix anything with "toothpicks and rubberbands".

Is your uncle by any chance Macgyver? ;)

 

[wild999711]

Is your uncle by any chance Macgyver? ;)

No but they loved that show.

 

[jobyts]

Me and my younger sister are engineers. My older sister is a doctor. All three of us have engineer spouses. All our engineer spouses have all their siblings engineers or doctors. All our engineer spouses' siblings' spouses are engineers or doctors.

This may sound like a funny trivia, but it's true. A total of 11 engineers and 4 doctors.

 

[Norman]

Interesting thread.

On my Mom's side of the family, I was the first person to go to college and graduate. All the men on my Mom's side of the family work in the paper mills around where I grew up.

My Dad has a BS in Ecology, but works for a paper mill as the R&D and Quality Assurance Manager. He says he is fairly bored with his job. Though every 5-10 years he gets to work on a new process for a new product. He was the first person on his side of the family to get a college degree also.

In all my family, I am the only person to get a postgraduate degree. I am the oldest in my generation of the family. Though, out of the 6 in my generation (first cousins) only one other has a Bachelors, my brother has an associates, and my youngest cousin in enrolled in college right now.

My father nudged me towards engineering. Fool that I was, I got a PhD in physics instead. In fact, I turned down a scholarship to play soccer because the school did not have a full physics program. I could have got a chem eng. or mech eng. degree, worked for a paper mill and probably made a lot more money, starting at a younger age. But, I would probably be bored out of my mind too...