No, not for me. I would assume most that go into it are money driven. It's up to you to figure out how you want to apply them. Answers must contain an explanation using engineering logic. I'm currently the same age as you and making ~70% more. Your career, heck the choice of going into the career you did should be based on understanding what you take pleasure in. I thought maybe I would learn to like it, but I don't. "Teach yourself" is faster in most practical ways and less expensive...but you don't get the detail and forced knowledge you get in college. I never said it would be easy, but it opens up more opportunity, and earlier. And that's eating me alive. The only reward it seems, is good pay. Get an ad-free experience with special benefits, and directly support Reddit. Are you in production or something? I HATED the first, the paperwork (FMEA's, Gauge R&R's and capability studies) and I spent a lot more time working on those than designing anything. I've had my supervisor call engineering "the art of modeling materials we don't understand into shapes we can't precisely analyze, so as to withstand forces we can not assess, in such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the full extent of our ignorance. I asked to put on projects that would grant me high in demand experience and I asked to be located site offshore / overseas to improve my salary and CV. to deal with, but I liked it. If you're happy with a cellphone strapped to your head 24/7 on-call (like I was), fine. And this is actually my third job out of school. Fellow engineers, what things in films/tv shows really grind your gears (pun intended)? It seems that almost everyone at work hates being engineer. Why It's so Damned Hard to Get an Engineering Job, These Days! Limit the use of engineering jokes. So what's to be done? I know of a way it's possible and have done that work. Lead-in comments are encouraged to provide context to the readers. Advertisement. If you want a career in which you truly make a difference in people’s lives, being an EMT or paramedic might be for you. During the last few decades, microcontrollers and integrated circuits have been completely standardized. I've worked in the Oil&Gas industry, as a consultant (ie: design). No misleading or sensationalized titles. How much (ballpark) does airtight o-rings or epoxy glue seals degrade over time in moist conditions? The nice thing about engineering is that your skills are highly applicable across a broad range. ", [–]NineCrimesMechanical Engineer - PE[M] 0 points1 point2 points 1 year ago (1 child). High stress. Being an engineer isnt an end state, it's a means to find a career that you are passionate about. Well said sir. Avoid questions that can easily be answered by searching on the internet. So to find my work life balance, I earn less and I "live small". All in all there are many different ways to earn a living beyond the traditional job. [–]Okeano_Mechanical - R&D 10 points11 points12 points 1 year ago (11 children). At the end of the day, it sounds like you just need to weigh your options and evaluate the monetary gain versus other career choices and even lifestyle choices. Now, there should be a general interest to improve your work environment by improving processes, acquiring new information, and doing small projects that improve and ease your work experience. In the long run, doing what you genuinely enjoy will pay off. I'm assuming you're tired of waiting for option #3 and you've decided against doing the skilled manual labor that pays well so option #2 isn't going to be appealing...which leave option #1 or you just having an epiphany and deciding to do whatever you want. If you already can pay your bills on top of a mortgage, put money into retirement, and go on a few nice vacations a year, then what does earning 30% or more get you if it also requires 30% more time at work and 30% more stress? I wanted to make a small point on this. (self.AskEngineers). If you're project oriented, then you only need to put in as much time as the project requires. What type of business, if you don't mind me asking? I was making $169k one year after graduation. So to answer your question: yes you can still be an engineer and stay out of the cubicle farms, you just need to search around a little. Maybe the job is great, the people are great, but the work is incredibly repetitive and boring. What that is? Perhaps, if people are looking for lack of girls as a reason for hating being a mechanical engineer. let me guess, software (not)engineer? [–]ConsistentDivide 0 points1 point2 points 1 year ago (0 children). It's still kind of a crap shoot. Working in central engineering you get 50-80% travel as normal, and I don’t mean on a 5 day week basis but 7 days. If you find something you love, then consider working for a company doing research into that topic, or going into academia. No low-effort one-liner comments, memes, or off-topic replies. A bit. Start doing some homegrown research projects into stuff you like, and try out different topics. That does sound awful to me. If you've ever been tempted to quit IT, his reasons may sound familiar. Binary torsional stiffness compliant mechanism, NASA has some free ebooks available for download on a variety of subjects, MIStructE Senior Structural Engineer London UK. [–]bitflung -1 points0 points1 point 1 year ago (0 children). I would've quit if it didn't pay 3x average salary, but it looks like there's a point where pay is just not worth it. I quite like the technical part of engineering and solving multi-dimensional and under-defined problems. Also, if I want to make decent money in engineering, I'll basically have to become a manager/burocrat. No questions on "how something works" — try r/AskEngineers. Call for Engineers: Tell us about your job! links to credible websites), then reply back to me for review. The number of doctors created each year is also artificially capped, so it's not only harder, but also not available to everyone. It's a rip-off and doesn't pay worth a damn (grad students often get paid when they're engineers because they're still producing things) but remember....YOU are the one here talking about doing something different. And is there anything about engineering that you do enjoy? there are definitely variations in any field, but at least for computer engineers the following are all feasible career paths: - crank out x product in y time for z customers... some people like that, but only if the product/customers are interesting to them. I work as a lab tech for the engineering department at my local university so I can't speak on what "industry" is like but I love my job. My second option was mechanical engineering. Well... unless you're talking about getting creative to reduce cost I guess... [–]mvw2The Wizard of Winging It 1 point2 points3 points 5 years ago (0 children). It doesn't have direct impact on the society I live in, There is little other than 'function' and ' budget' involved in 'efficient' design. Enginnering is no different that any other career - there are plenty of jobs that are awesome and plenty that are awful. Racism, sexism, or any other form of bigotry will not be tolerated. [–]Okeano_Mechanical - R&D 1 point2 points3 points 1 year ago (9 children). What does the difference in salary actually means in real terms? There is no job satisfaction rewards - Yeah, I get to see what I design, being built and being installed, been there done that and what? It almost never happens. [–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points 5 years ago (0 children). I hate my engineering job!! But it hasn't always been like this for me. There are other areas of engineering that are fun - R&D for example. I don't wanna turn out like them in 20 years. It's limited. You too have to find your core reasons for being in the career that you are and how and why you should enjoy it. One thing I really liked was scope. There is greed everywhere. © 2021 reddit inc. All rights reserved. I've been an electrical engineer for 33 years and just left the profession 2 months ago. Interesting post. Racism, sexism, or any other form of bigotry will not be tolerated. Moral of the story is that there is probably something more up your alley somewhere. No low-effort one-liner comments, memes, or off-topic replies. I somewhat regret NOT being a biology major. Too much investment for too little pay. 8 points9 points10 points 5 years ago (2 children), [–]pridelicious[S] 4 points5 points6 points 5 years ago (1 child). I thought it would be a little more like engineering school. It's something I enjoy, so there was a lot of attraction there. I find the work overall, very tiring, very political and for all, very little reward other than pay. Work for a company that doesn't require you to be in an office, or just be freelance consultant. And R&D, where I work, sure has a lot of that. [–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points 1 year ago* (0 children). NOTE: Asking for help on homework will result in an instant ban. Go to a remote site, line your pockets. The great majority of engineering students face rather low and average GPAs. Multiple violations will lead to ban. i worked in a startup for half a decade. Don't think your first job represents what all engineering could be. So you're stuck with doing something different with that engineering degree, ditching and taking lower pay, or finding something you love and not caring how much it pays. But do you actually like electrical stuff? . (basically what everyone wishes their job to be). so. So I think you're a lucky guy in that sense. It wasn't easy work, there were technical challenges along with deadlines, cost issues, etc. You need to deeply understand user pain and aspirations to break through. [–]jerkfacebeaversucks[] 1 point2 points3 points 1 year ago (2 children), Yea but it will still take about 15 years (at minimum, more like 20 from what I’ve seen) post grad to make 150kish. Argentina. You do however get paid well. [–]tokulord[S] -1 points0 points1 point 1 year ago (2 children). r/engineering is a forum for engineering professionals to share information, knowledge, experience related to the principles & practices of all types of engineering: civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, aerospace, chemical, computer, environmental, etc. My satisfaction will always be in the problem solving and not the end result. Now, I just cbf :) I love design and I also love installation, but the industry (maybe O&G) is too far profit and politically and egoistically driven and I can't stand it. I love my job and am actually looking forward to go to work. crazy exciting for anyone who is really interested in that subject. It's 100% you, 24/7/365. Being patient allows you to learn important lessons about yourself and your career. Hell no. Oddly, my career shifted to manufacturing engineering. Bachelor of computer science after master’s degree in mechanical engineering? Mom and Dad protected you and prepared you. - R&D of next gen tech. It's not that being a professor is so bad--there are many good things about the job, including a certain amount of flexibility of schedule and the experience of going to work and learning alongside colleagues and students each day--but the job market is just. I'm working in an administrative job, not related to engineering. Is the pay worth giving up your youth, all the stress and possible mental health issue you might develop? Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Chemical, and Computer are reserved for technical questions only. I think the working world is a nightmarish hellhole where people are forced to be in confined spaces for long periods of time and are in constant fear of losing the money they need to survive. But really the best you can do for yourself is just let go of the insanity that is business. Of course there's effort and risk involved when changing companies. Thank you. Enginnering is no different that any other career - there are plenty of … I studied software packages on the side that were high demand skills with low supply locally. Career path uncertainty / cross-roads (?). There is also a lot about this job I hate, but like someone commented below, once you work grueling back breaking hard labor kind of jobs, you have an appreciation for a more relaxed job! Look into R&D and Design job descriptions and see if they match what you want. Plus they pay me which is pretty sweet. There are lots of options. Rendered by PID 13309 on r2-app-06f002b39f1e9dc10 at 2021-02-14 10:46:08.788661+00:00 running 6289523 country code: NL. And an engineer took the initiative to create that product to solve a problem and make our day-to-day possible. That certainly isn't what all engineering is. [–]tokulord[S] 0 points1 point2 points 1 year ago (1 child). Completed projects, destructive test results, and unique machinery and hardware are all acceptable and encouraged. But I'm sure that's not what you want to hear, since you seem to think that becoming a doctor or lawyer or getting an MBA is a guaranteed easy path to "success", and that you'll be rolling in the dough the moment you get that piece of paper at graduation. Working so far. Well, I've done shit jobs before, heavy manual labor in extreme environments, jobs that wreck the body for life. Crowdfunding: Must be relevant to engineering and submitted as a self-post (not a link). I've considered setting up a lab and doing some research with that biochemistry education I've got, but I'm doing other things right now so eh. Discussion can be used for general questions that apply to multiple disciplines, including some workplace topics. awesome stuff if you'd want to do that in your free time (like me). My whole career has been in medical devices. There are a few rare places that have it figured out and actually hire good bosses and managers. Myself and most of my coworker's really enjoy being engineers. Find what makes you want to come back day after day and what makes your work feel more like play. I literally get to play as my job. Learning how to do the job is incredibly job specific, and is done by the company hiring you. Politics in every job is shit and it exists in most places that pay a reasonable amount. You also get to only learn wtf you want to learn so there's that, but you probably should know that getting a PhD is the beginning, not the end of your education. That way you're doing something you care about, and you get to choose which tasks are most important for the future of you business. it's a matter of I literally have no passion for cranking out x amount of product in y amount of time for z amount of customers. NEVER expect others to provide job satisfaction. However, I feel that what I'm getting financially out of it is quite underwhelming, and not at all proportional to the effort that it required to become an engineer. I mean, that's what we were there to learn, how to do the job? [–]mone1490 1 point2 points3 points 1 year ago* (8 children). Interestingly as a manufacturing engineer, about 80% of my career is pretty much been design engineering/product development. So it was the academia aspect that you enjoyed? Absolutely true. Offshore rig platforms, subsea structures, pipe installations. [–]GregLocock -2 points-1 points0 points 1 year ago (0 children). It takes time to finally find our purpose in life. look into startups doing the stuff you DO find interesting, - prototyping: i've done this for nearly 3 years now. Interestingly, MDA is the only place I know right now that has unionized engineers. So that's exactly what I did, engineer > supervisor > manager (supervisor/manager roles were still in engineering). People always group doctors, lawyers, and engineers together but most doctors get paid double what engineers make. Colombia. I always thought there was a big market for EE'S in sales engineering. If you can do that, you'll be happy no matter what's going on around you. Of course, we get annoyed by beurocracy and management at times. Just don't even go there. You now have the keys and own the truck. There's also the risk factor. [–]tokulord[S] 2 points3 points4 points 1 year ago (10 children). The pay isn't anywhere near as good however. Doesn't necessarily have to be academia, I just suggested that since you indicated you enjoyed it. It's a double-edged sword. That's personal. I assume you mean crazy vs. angry, although I'm a little of both. No posts about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Maybe the job is great but in a terrible location and can't provide the out of work lifestyle you require. [–]phatdoge 0 points1 point2 points 5 years ago (1 child). Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. I just don’t see a reason to stay here if I can go get a full time mba, and get into something much more lucrative like management consulting, where I could make 180 total compensation out of school, and with large raises every year, [–]Capt-CluelessMechanical Enganeer 4 points5 points6 points 1 year ago (1 child). Engineers should help each other to make the world a safer and better place. I've always been passionate artsy / creative type and I just happened to be better at logic and mathematics, so it kinda fights each other. First high paying job was in the oil patch, yes. We crucified the Engineer … Answers must contain an explanation using engineering logic, and assertions of fact must be supported by links to credible sources. I didn't like it before, but I finally realized I hated it and didn't want that as my career. ... "I'm an engineer." There is a common misconception that Computer Science is software while Electrical Engineering is hardware. For many students, earning a degree in engineering is less than enjoyable and far from what they expected. There is a strong statistical chance I’d be doubling my salary upon graduation assuming I get into a good school. CareerDoes anyone else regret becoming an engineer? There you are, just trying to get through your day and be normal, and people are just dropping like flies at your feet. The detail work was still there and is still used, but it wasn't the only thing. I've read all the good comments and thought a few of my own might be helpful (or maybe not). And on top of that, if you were a really good engineer you could become a supervisor and maybe even a manager (back then a "manager" title was a big deal, not so much today). Now it isn't just what I've experienced. [–]c8nice 1 point2 points3 points 5 years ago (0 children). It seems weird, but it offered about 2/3 the same skill set as a mechanical engineer, especially adding a few electives, but it also offered a whole additional realm, well several realms, of job scope. Within engineering there is no grade inflation and it is quite common for the vast vast majority of the class to be far below average. But.. You can't change the past, but present and future decisions are yours to make. [–]Awnyxx -1 points0 points1 point 5 years ago (0 children). [–]davidsmith53 3 points4 points5 points 5 years ago (4 children). Well...I did like the theory, specifically the actual math and science behind electrical engineering.