TalkBass Engineers (and Engineering Students)

[Fontaine]

Hello Engineers!

Personally im still a student (in for Petroleum Engineering Technology), which blows because i have 2 years left after this semester, how did you find schooling to be an engineer?

And of course what is your job actually like?

I know that some of my friends have uncles/cousins/parents...etc...that are engineers and most of them are doing nothing that requires what they learned in college but are still working as an engineer making big bucks.

For example one of my friends uncles is a Petroleum Engineer and all he does is mix cement, but his "label" is actually an Engineer and is making the same amount as the guy doing all the calculations/designing....they just trained him for a completely different job.

Oh and what Engineering field are you in btw?

[Figjam]

I am a Biomedical Engineering student at Boston University. So far it is hard work but I enjoy it.

[KeithBMI]

Mechanical Engineer. 2nd semester of college.

I've got nothing.

[Fontaine]

Originally Posted by KeithBMI

Mechanical Engineer. 2nd semester of college.

I've got nothing.

emmm, im in my 2nd semester too...how many years u got left?

[KeithBMI]

Two at community college and then two more at a better college.

[rollerberg2000]

I'm a mechanical engineer quality control concentration graduate working at a plastic injection molding facility dealing primarily in automotive business.

Many times the things they drill into your skull you'll never use in day to day application. Like any other job, your interpersonal and communication skills are more valuable than instant recall of formula's and theories.

Of course, if you get out of school and are responsible for making sure planes don't fall out of the sky unexpectadly, please bear down and learn all the extraneous crap.

[NKUSigEp]

Electro-Mechanical at Cincy St. - all I can afford right now due to EBGP (excessive bass gear purchases)

[Fontaine]

Originally Posted by rollerberg2000

I'm a mechanical engineer quality control concentration graduate working at a plastic injection molding facility dealing primarily in automotive business.

Many times the things they drill into your skull you'll never use in day to day application. Like any other job, your interpersonal and communication skills are more valuable than instant recall of formula's and theories.

Of course, if you get out of school and are responsible for making sure planes don't fall out of the sky unexpectadly, please bear down and learn all the extraneous crap.

dont worry about it, ill be making sure oil gets processed right....oh good the world's screwed.

[TheDarkReaver]

my brother is studying mechanical engineering, i on the other hand am a lazy arts student bum

[ras1983]

I studied electronics engineering for 2.5 years; and they taught us a bunch of stuff that seemed to be completely irrelevant to what an engineer might do in the industry. But in the end i realised i simply couldn't design or maintain circuits for a living. So i transferred my maths credits and am now doing a maths degree (Double major: Statistics and Finance).

And i couldn't be happier... but i think some of the theory in the maths degree is even less relevant to industry than some of the theory in the engineering degree.

[blizzard]

I'm a studying Mechanical/Mech and Aeronautical engineering atm. (not too sure which I wil chose yet). I'm about to start my 2nd year it should be good.

My brother has just graduated as a Mech and Space Engineer and is about to start at Hatch (doing mainly consultancy in the resource sector).

[beyondhairy]

recently got my associates in liberal arts, and am transferring out of this poop of a school into city college, in the electric engineering department... so pretty soon i will be one of those and electric engineer student.

[A9X]

Originally Posted by Fontaine

how did you find schooling to be an engineer?

Not that hard; I'm a natural nerd.

Originally Posted by Fontaine

And of course what is your job actually like?

Don't work in the field much anymore. I can make more money as a tradesman and prefer working outside and with blue collar people, so that's what I do now.

Originally Posted by Fontaine

Oh and what Engineering field are you in btw?

Electronics.

[beyondhairy]

Originally Posted by A9X

Don't work in the field much anymore. I can make more money as a tradesman and prefer working outside and with blue collar people, so that's what I do now.

can you elaborate on this please?

[A9X]

Originally Posted by beyondhairy

can you elaborate on this please?

I think it's clear. What exactly are you asking?

[lposavad]

I graduated in 1978, in Engineering Physics, with a major in nuclear engineering. Promptly got into fiber optics (it was just being born back then) and spent much of the next 20 years in that field; then, the last 10 years in related (passive telecomm equipment) technologies. Now I sorta support everything that needs to be done at my plant; product costing, ERP system integrity, packaging & labeling information, review documentation, whatever comes down the pipe.

A message to all you students: You will likely not use a large percentage of what you actually study. What you will use are the learning skills and problem solving techniques that you are developing while you study the material. In the end that's what engineering is - problem solving. You'll find yourself applying skills you didn't realize you had to problems you never considered (trust me - been there, done that). And I think it makes you a better musician - you'll have better discipline and analytical skills that come in handy later on.

[ROON]

Originally Posted by Figjam

I am a Biomedical Engineering student at Boston University. So far it is hard work but I enjoy it.

My dad is a biomedical engineer. He seems to like his job (but not the people he has to deal with).
Lots of traveling involved... very easy to get work if you're good at it.

[Deacon_Blues]

I'm an engineer, studied in the plastics field. It's a very interesting field actually, and the studies were not that hard. It could have been harder if I had studied at a technical university for a higher degree, but I went to a school in Finland where I got a Bachelor's degree in engineering (plastic product design) and then to a university in Sweden for a Master's degree in polymer engineering. It was only 1½ years of additional studies to get that and it was really worth it. Especially as studies on all levels are free here, and you get study money from the government to pay for study material, food, rent and normal living expenses. Not so much you survive only on that, but at least it is something.

I received the degrees in 2004 and 2005. The focus in both schools was not on the manufacturing of the plastic raw materials (that would be chemistry), but on the plastic product manufacturing methods, product design the properties of the thermoplastic materials. Since June 2004, I'm working mainly with designing plastic products for a semi-big, international company in the piping industry. That means I design tanks, manholes, pipes and fittings etc, and do other stuff my boss tells me to do... I'm also heavily involved in the production of the products. Production methods and product design are very closely related.

The salary is decent and the job is quite interesting. I also get to travel quite a bit; perhaps 20-30 days a year, mostly within Europe but I've visited Canada and India too. With an engineering degree you can also climb upwards in the company's organisation if you want to and your personal attributes allows for it (i.e. you are a "natural leader" or something like that and companies want to have you in a leading position). Our managing director is, using his own words, "only a simple electrical engineer" and we're doing quite well. Anyway, to get a high position is not my cup of tea. It's enough for me to be respected for my knowledge and what I do, and perhaps become a product / technical manager some day.


This spring I will most likely travel to Italy for the first time. I look forward to that! I love Italian food!

[Jonyak]

I am an electronics engineer. I work in a gov't lab testing consumer and industrial electronics for compliance with national standards.

mostly RF.

[TrooperFarva]

I'm a controls engineer. In my current job, I programmed control systems for load-following generators. I'm leaving that job in about a month. The new job will be programming control systems for large scale UV water filtration equipment. I have no major complaints. I'm leaving my current job because my commute sucks, and I don't like my boss, but the job itself is good.