What Are the Different Career Paths for Engineers?

In summary, a junior studying Mechanical Engineering discusses their family background and their uncertainty about their future career path. They have done a research internship in the field but found it boring. They wonder if there are any interesting jobs in engineering and if there are more women in the workforce than in college. Another engineer shares their experience and reassures the student that the real practice of engineering is different from what they learn in school and requires a lot of experience. They also mention the importance of taking responsibility for mistakes and not using personal characteristics as an excuse for incompetence in the workplace.
  • #1
Atoweha
21
0
I'm a Junior studying Mechanical engineering. I am the first engineer in my family (my mom is a Physicist, but she's a teacher).
I don't really know what i want to do with my engineering degree. Most of my family is in business or academia.
One of my engineering teachers used to be an engineer, but he was always a project manager and from what he tells us it seems like engineers sit there and turn knobs all day then leave at 4:30.
I did a research internship (NSF funded REU) and it was interesting but kinda boring. I tested race car and high speed train brake samples for 'Grinding' and 'Stick-slip' but i worked in a lab all day from 9AM till 3PM.
Are there any interesting jobs out there?

On a side note: are the more women in the engineering workforce than in college?
 
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  • #2
Being an early on ME student myself, take this for what it's worth. Everything I've read says you're going to need experience before you get put on any exciting projects. Fresh out of school you probably will have boring projects. I can justify the degree because even if it stays boring throughout, I can apply my knowledge and skill set to do exciting things in my free time.
 
  • #3
Atoweha said:
... i worked in a lab all day from 9AM to 3PM...

Um, that's like a half day, right?
 
  • #4
yea that's half a day but it was pretty boring non the less.
any more engineers?
 
  • #5
Like you, I come from a family of academics. An uncle I rarely saw (he lived on the other side of the continent) was also an engineer, but I knew very little about the field. I blazed my own trail.

You are starting in the right place. Studying brakes for a race cars and high speed trains? That's cool stuff. In your case studying brakes may not seem like a big deal, but one day, when someone proposes a brake or clutch that is ill suited for the task, you'll have the background to say "I spent a whole summer studying that, and I have the experience to KNOW this isn't going to work."

Likewise, you may find yourself studying a specific property of various grades of steel. Again, it's not exactly cool stuff, but it can lead to some very interesting design contributions later.

There is a lot of grunt work that you have to put into gather experience before you can get to the real stuff. For example, I spent a summer at Naval Research Lab Electronic Warfare lab writing a report on power combiners. It sounds boring, but it is key for building a robust solid state microwave power amplifier. I know the potential failure modes and design trade-offs, so that I can design better parallel amplifier systems.

These days, I work on water and sewer process engineering. It sounds like a very dull and disgusting job until you learn about what's involved. Where I work it's pretty routine --until something stops working.

I found myself studying ultrasonic flow meters using flumes, weirs, open channels, and the like. It seems boring, but one day I found myself working on a design problem involving the effluent flow meter for a plant. The operational license for this plant depended on that meter --and it wasn't working reliably. There are extensive legal responsibilities, reputations, and significant money at stake. I found and fixed the problem.

I found myself studying failure modes of fiber optic transceivers that weren't reliable. With a bit of experience, you'll find yourself in the middle of acceptance testing and start-ups.

But to get there you need the experience that you simply can't get in school. We spend a year training experienced engineers we hire on everything they need to know to work within our organization. Were you to work where I work, you'd probably spend at least three years getting up to speed on what we do, how we do it, who we deal with, likely failure modes, and so on.

I don't know how else to say this: the education you get in school is nothing but a ticket of admission that indicates you've smelled a bit of theory once upon a time. The practice of engineering is fraught with politics, personalities, habits, responsibilities, old designs, and so on.

Believe it or not, you're on the right path. And one day, if all goes well, you'll wake up and realize that YOU are the engineer in charge --and it won't feel like you're ready, but you won't be able to point at anyone else to do the work.

Eventually, you could find yourself in my shoes: I'm a middle aged engineer who has been doing this for 26 years. I can't exactly say when it happened, but one day I realized that I was looked upon as one of the senior engineers in the group. I'm still somewhat in denial about this, because I sure don't feel like I know everything I ought to. However, I do know who to lean on for more information or experience. I do know how most of the practices got to where they are today. So that's how it happened. It didn't exactly occur overnight, but it doesn't feel like a long slog, either.

As for being ____ (Religious, Female, Disabled, Minority, LGBT, Immigrant, recovering addict --fill in the blank) all I can say is that as long as you don't wear it on your sleeve as an excuse for incompetence, nobody where I work will care very much. We all screw up here and there and the sooner we own up to our mistakes and learn from them, the more our managers and co-workers will feel safe trusting us. What we will not tolerate are the arrogant people who won't admit they've done anything that may have gone poorly, or the responsibility shirkers who won't put their name on the line for anything.

I have read that this isn't always the case, and for those stuck in positions like that, you should know that there are employers out there who do their level best to accommodate a diverse workforce.
 
  • #6
Engineering jobs can be boring sometimes, but what jobs aren't?

Keep in mind that at an internship, you are there temporarily, so you may feel less invested in the workplace and may have a harder time seeing your job as "important" than if you worked there fulltime.

There are less women in engineering than there are in engineering school. Whether that bothers you is something you have to figure out for yourself. The most you can get from forums like this are opinions and personal stories.
 
  • #7
What job do "Engineering Physics" lead to ?
 
  • #8
I could only guess, research based jobs.
 

What is the job outlook for engineers?

The job outlook for engineers is positive, with a projected growth rate of 4% from 2019-2029, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is about as fast as the average for all occupations. The demand for engineers is expected to continue as companies and governments invest in new technologies and infrastructure.

What industries do engineers typically work in?

Engineers can work in a variety of industries such as aerospace, automotive, construction, energy, healthcare, and technology. They can also work in government agencies, consulting firms, and research and development companies. The type of industry an engineer works in will depend on their specific field of expertise.

What skills are important for engineers to have?

Some important skills for engineers include critical thinking, problem-solving, attention to detail, and strong mathematical and analytical abilities. Communication skills are also crucial for collaborating with team members and presenting ideas to clients. Additionally, engineers should have a strong understanding of the latest technologies and be adaptable to new tools and systems.

What is the average salary for engineers?

The average salary for engineers varies depending on the specific field and level of experience. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for engineers in 2020 was $96,970. However, this can range from around $60,000 for entry-level positions to over $150,000 for experienced engineers in specialized fields.

What are the educational requirements for becoming an engineer?

To become an engineer, one typically needs a bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field. Some positions may require a master's degree or a Professional Engineering (PE) license. It is also important for engineers to continue learning and stay updated on the latest developments in their field through ongoing education and training.

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