??? for Engineers

[inigo88]

I agree with the astronaut!

EE is completely nuts, but is an incredibly broad and sought after discipline. Likewise with Chemical Engineering. It's funny that as an aerospace engineering major looking to apply for internships at the various aerospace manufacturers, most of their posted internships on the web aren't even for aero majors! They're for ME, EE, Computer Engineering and the like.

 

[GypsyPilot]

My argument is to balance your interest with career demand. The "Do what you love" advice for college majors creates the same career problems that today's crop of RJ drivers have. To me, EE is so varied that you can focus it to where your interest is while still having a hedge if the aerospace industry falls on its face (like...say...the early 1990s). There were some aspects of EE that I still think are insane, but I got through those. At the same time, the controls classes just aren't that different than the controls classes the MEs and Aeros take. If you know that you'll generically be an engineer, but aren't sure which path to follow, consider EE.

Weird, because I've never met an engineering student that wasn't sure of which path they wanted to take. No doubt there are some out there, but most of us chose a particular engineering discipline due to a particular interest. For me, I was very mechanically inclined and loved working on cars and motorycles. My ME roommate was much the same. My EE roommate loved building computers and coding, thus EE was a natural interest to him. My civil engineering friend loved architecture, so civil was a natural pursuit for him, etc.

You mention career problems for engineering students pursuing the engineering discipline that most interests them, which makes me kind of scratch my head. Once an engineering grad has some some work experience, finding gainful employment isn't exactly difficult unless they are only willing to live in Missoula or something. As far as variation, there is plenty of that with ME. When I was still working as an engineer, I was working in stress analysis for aerospace applications, while my former ME roommate was working in the power generation industry. Another ME friend is at Ford and develops the transmission programs... Much of his day is spent coding and obviously spends a lot of time working with feedback systems. Heck, when I was an intern at a medical device manufacturer, I spent several years coding, testing, machining prototypes, and writing reports. For you to say that an Electrical Engineering degree is the be all end all of engineering degrees is just... Well it really isn't true at all.

Getting back to my earlier comment about doing what you love with engineering - Pursuing an engineering degree is a very difficult undertaking. Unlike a lot of liberal arts degrees, it involves four or more years of busting your ass. Where I went to school (Colorado School of Mines), it also involved a summer of "Field Session". If one did not actually have a passion for and enjoy what they were studying, it would be an absolutely miserable undertaking. Focusing on an engineering discipline that is of interest is absolutely nothing like what the "RJ drivers" of today face. As an over-educated RJ driver, I know this all too well. That being said, if somebody was considering a very specific aerospace engineering degree, I would strongly encourage them to instead pursue a ME degree with a focus on aerospace via electives or a minor.

 

[hook_dupin]

I won't add anymore piss to the match. GypsyPilot - I think you and I are presenting the same message of "diversify from Aero." By no means am I a fortune teller, but I think the Aero careers will get slaughtered in the next few years as the defense budget gets slashed. At the same time, I see opportunities increasing for the other engineering disciplines as the economy starts to grumble back to life. Maybe it's me...I see lots of kids who pick Aero because they love airplanes. The thing is...they may not figure out that the aerospace industry a) is very cyclical and b) generally pays less for the equivalent level of education than other disciplines. In those respects, I find the career prospective and outlook similar to RJ drivers. Thankfully, the salaries involved and debt loads are usually very different than those of the RJ drivers.

 

[drunkenbeagle]

EE is completely nuts, but is an incredibly broad and sought after discipline. Likewise with Chemical Engineering. It's funny that as an aerospace engineering major looking to apply for internships at the various aerospace manufacturers, most of their posted internships on the web aren't even for aero majors! They're for ME, EE, Computer Engineering and the like.

EE's can pretty easily do software work too, which is a huge market. Many don't like doing it, but it is usually an option.

As for aerospace - well, most of the work involved in aircraft is not aerodynamics. It is mostly systems. Which takes a lot of ME's and EE's...

I think gliders are still where most of the exciting aero engineering work is done.

 

[inigo88]

Maybe it's me...I see lots of kids who pick Aero because they love airplanes. The thing is...they may not figure out that the aerospace industry a) is very cyclical and b) generally pays less for the equivalent level of education than other disciplines. In those respects, I find the career prospective and outlook similar to RJ drivers. Thankfully, the salaries involved and debt loads are usually very different than those of the RJ drivers.

This is a very good point, and with how fickle the industry is and how quickly contracts can come and go I think you're pretty spot on. But I basically took an honest assessment of what degree provided a better return on investment, while still being something I'd enjoy coming into work for every day. Aerospace Engineering beat RJ piloting from an ROI point of view (although I'd probably be happier doing the latter). While there's still the threat of being laid off in Aerospace (just as there is the threat of furlough at the regionals), I think the prospect of being fairly compensated with a livable wage and not having to start from the ground up at each new job (i.e. not seniority-based) makes that instability a little more bearable. The fact is, I don't wake up every morning thinking "I would really love to do some Laplace Transforms and Fourier Analysis right now in the complex plane!", which is why I didn't major in EE. I accept the fact that I might not make as much money or have as stable of a job as my peers in EE, and I'm ok with that knowing I'll be doing a job I actually like.

I recognize that I'm the type of person who finds the most motivation from being interested in and passionate about what they do (so I fall into GypsyPilot 's camp). But not all people are motivated the same way. Many are more driven by financial or job stability, being able to do there 9-5 and come home to their families and indifferent to the details of what goes on at work. If you are in the latter camp, I'd say absolutely heed the warnings about ME and Aero.

That being said, if somebody was considering a very specific aerospace engineering degree, I would strongly encourage them to instead pursue a ME degree with a focus on aerospace via electives or a minor.

Again, completely agree. My particular university basically offers the Aero major (through the department of mechanical & aerospace engineering) as the ME curriculum + a bunch of forced technical electives (aerodynamics being one), some aerostructures classes from the SE department, and a different final project. Exactly as you described. When I first came here I was pissed... I wished it was more like engineering at ERAU where every class was applied back to aerospace specific concepts. Now I'm slowly seeing that it may have been a blessing in disguise, because I'm leaving with a broader and more marketable education in mechanical engineering (with the aero piled on top).

 

[///AMG]

I took about 3 weeks of a CFD class during the early part of my senior year in ME (as part of a plan to do aero as a specialty) and walked right out the door. I guess I was just over college by then, and kind of just wanted to chill and just worry about my senior project. No regrets, and I still walked away with a BSME and have thus far done everything I have wanted to professionally. I guess you just have to ask yourself if the juice is worth the squeeze. For me it wasn't, and there were a lot of other things I decided I would rather do with my life. I also got a little tired of engineering students while I was in the program. Half are just clowns who have no work ethic and assume they will have 6 digit salaries post graduation because engineering. Then a good 30% are socially retarded, and will struggle throughout life professionally because they can't talk to anyone or hold conversation. So that leaves (it's been a while since I've done math so bear with me here) 20% who are smart, motivated guys and gals who you would actually want to go to work with. I guess I walked away with the impression that those aren't very good odds. Then again, I went to a state school so maybe your mileage would vary.