Engineering

[PolarisRider06]

who here is any type of engineer and what exactly do you do? i have been accepted to both UND and NDSU for engineering but i haven't decided exactly what kind of engineering i want to do. i want to go into a field where there is quite a bit of hands on stuff as well as the desk BS.... i don't want to be stuck in front of a computer all of the time i want to be able to get out and get my hands dirty and actually do something constructive.

[omaits]

I am a Software Engineer. Doesn't really sound like something you are interested in by your post. I like it. Contrary to what most people think, I get to meet alot of people, travel, and don't spend all day in front of a computer.

i dont think many engineers work in the field to extensivly. an engineer's job is to know how to design somthing, not to do the actual job at hand.

im sure there is some more 'hands on' jobs than others tho.

i used to work for a drilling contractor, we did some environmental work installing test wells. There would be an environmental consulting company there aswell, making sure everything is done right... I alwasy found it funny that it requires no formal traing to install a well, but it takes 4 years of college to watch sombody install a well.

[killed300ex]

I am in school for civil engineering. I like it i am interested in the surveying end of it. Definitly have in hands on and desk work if you want. One person can start a project and follow it from an empty lot right to a major building. I love it.
Evan

[Quad18star]

Civil Engineer here ... well atleast that's what the diploma says . I never got a job in this field , mainly because I didn't want to get a job in it ... it just didn't interest me as much as I thought it would .

You said you're looking for something that'll put you in the field and behind a desk .... well Civil Engineering is for you . You can do out and do a survey one day , then spend the next day doing all your calcs to make sure you close properly ... then you spend the next day out surveying again cuz you realized you screwed up somewhere along the line . ;)

But there's more than just surveying .... you can actually make your way out to a job site and see the progress being made .... then go sit in your truck with a lap top and redesign parts of the project for different loads and such .

I said it didn't interest me , because I was getting bombarded with math for 2 years straight ... to the point where I'd go home at night ... look at the house and have numbers rolling through my head or go out to the mall and stare at the ceiling trying to figure out what kind of forces are being put on certain beams .

If you go into Civil Engineering , you will eat , sleep , breathe and live for numbers and math equasions . It's been almost 3 years since I've been out of college and numbers still roll through my head when I look at certain things .

There is potential to make good money as a civil engineer . If you can get on permanent with a company that does local building then you'll be ok ... if you get on with one that builds all across the country , well then plan on moving around a lot and not seeing family for weeks on end . BUT don't worry about not finding any work ... there is ALWAYS work for a civil engineer .

[PolarisRider06]

Civil engineering is the one thing i don't want to do...

i want to do something more along the mechanical lines... i was thinking about mechanical engineering, thats what i will probably go into because i love the mechaics part of it...

[Ralph]

Originally posted by PolarisRider06
Civil engineering is the one thing i don't want to do...

i want to do something more along the mechanical lines... i was thinking about mechanical engineering, thats what i will probably go into because i love the mechaics part of it...

I am going for the same thing but i am not expecting to get my hands dirty doing it. I will just have to get my hands dirty on the weekends.

[NET450r350x]

Originally posted by PolarisRider06
Civil engineering is the one thing i don't want to do...

i want to do something more along the mechanical lines... i was thinking about mechanical engineering, thats what i will probably go into because i love the mechaics part of it...

Mechanical engineering used to be my major before i decided to change it. I thought it might be an exciting job in the future, but then I realized that I didn't want to be a desk jockey for the rest of my life. so i chose a major that suited me better. Now i'm Forest Resources and i'm loving it.

If i would have stayed with Engineering, but i would have to move further away to a major city (no need for engineers in hog-balls Idaho). Forestry just suited me better. But if you feel like getting hands on with your work, Mechanical is the way to go. Just be prepaired for a **** load of math and physics.

[Quad18star]

Originally posted by NET450r350x
Mechanical engineering used to be my major before i decided to change it. I thought it might be an exciting job in the future, but then I realized that I didn't want to be a desk jockey for the rest of my life. so i chose a major that suited me better. Now i'm Forest Resources and i'm loving it.

If i would have stayed with Engineering, but i would have to move further away to a major city (no need for engineers in hog-balls Idaho). Forestry just suited me better. But if you feel like getting hands on with your work, Mechanical is the way to go. Just be prepaired for a **** load of math and physics.

I'm thinking about going back to school and getting another diploma and Forest Resources is what I what to go for . It's a toss up between going back to college or getting my flying license . Good to hear that you really enjoy your course .... what's a typical day for someone in Forest Resources ???

I'm thinking about going to Sir Sandford Flemming College up here which is one of the top Environmental related colleges in North America !!!!

[NET450r350x]

Well a typical day for me right now is sitting through a bunch of boring classes for a couple hours. Some with hippies, some without. But when i graduate I’ll have a guaranteed job with the Forest Service. I'm specializing in Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing so I’ll probably spend most of my days collecting data out in the forest either by hand GPS or with an airplane. Then I’ll be on the computer analyzing them.

[Scro]

Originally posted by NET450r350x
Well a typical day for me right now is sitting through a bunch of boring classes for a couple hours. Some with hippies, some without. But when i graduate I’ll have a guaranteed job with the Forest Service. I'm specializing in Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing so I’ll probably spend most of my days collecting data out in the forest either by hand GPS or with an airplane. Then I’ll be on the computer analyzing them.

Have you got the chance to work with the ESRI or ERDAS software yet?

[NET450r350x]

Originally posted by bama450r
Have you got the chance to work with the ESRI or ERDAS software yet?

Yup

[fasterz]

Im in school for mechanical engineering right now, you pretty much go to school to "learn to think like an engineer" all the hands on stuff is taught by the company that hires you since it doesnt take much time and they would rather train you then a college since every place does thing differntly. So be prepared for some annoying classes, and hard hard math and physics! But hey theres fun in it too, alot of schools have have the mini baja club where you build a baja cart and compete against tons of other shcools across the country, and usually the last 2 years you pick your own project and just build and disgn something, like i know one peroson last year did a wind tunnel.

[trick250r]

Originally posted by omaits
I am a Software Engineer. Doesn't really sound like something you are interested in by your post. I like it. Contrary to what most people think, I get to meet alot of people, travel, and don't spend all day in front of a computer.

my uncle lives in fairmont. he's a computer engineer for lockheed martin.

[Velocity Girl]

As others have said, alot of engineers don't actually get their hands "dirty" at work. I have a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (boat/ship engineer basically) and worked in the field for a few years (before swithing careers to a software test engineer). I had times where I was able to get my hands on things but for the most part was in the office crunching numbers. I know other folks I went to school with in my field, mechancial, aerospace, etc. and for the most part it's the same. There are the exceptions and some of the them get to work with the test groups or prototype groups. But the techs/mechanics are the ones actually doing the work most times while the engineers are supervising (but at least if you're in the shop you're not behind your desk I guess!) Good luck!

[spent21]

well, everything depends on where you go to work, and what sector of engineering you go into. i am a mechanical in Nashville. i design HVAC systems for stadiums, arenas, ballparks, and every so often, really huge private residences. i'm behind a desk most of the time, but i've been in the field. before this i was a mechanical engineer/ job forman for a smaller HVAC company in Mississippi. i got lots of travel time, and hands on experience, but i also sweat my balls off. i appreciate the desk job now, but i spend a lot of time on the phone with architects and putting out fires, so the day usually flys by.
if you're serious about being out in the field, there are numerous positions in mechanical. if you're in manufacturing, you're out on the floor. if you're in the oil field, you're usually out on a rig (land and ocean based depending on the company), and schlumberge (sp?) is a big name that is ALWAYS hiring engineers. i have several friends that went with different oil companies for their own reasons. i have one that went to work for Esco, a foundary that makes teeth for the leading edge of HUGE excavating buckets. he's always out doing something.
i know quite a few people that took the "engineering tech" route. most of them ended up as job supervisors in the house building arena. they do alot of bid work and take offs in the office, and supervise the job if they get it. that's something i may be interested in if i ever decide a career change.
my absolute best advice, is ask around. find a family friend, or friend of a friend of some guy's sister that lives on your block that is an engineer and call them up. ask them some questions and they will probably have no hesitations in you tagging along for a day or two to see what it's all about. that's what i did with my neighbor, and he dropped me off with all of the engineers one on one. chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical, etc. i got to see what each one did on a daily basis.
better yet, get a co-op position. Mississippi State has one of the best co-op programs in the nation. co-ops are kind of like internships, only you go to school a semester, then to work for a sememster. it pays well to boot. i put myself through college like that, but it does delay graduating by a year or two, depending on how many semesters you work.
good luck and keep us posted!

Originally posted by fasterz
theres fun in it too, alot of schools have have the mini baja club where you build a baja cart and compete against tons of other shcools across the country,

i came across this site once, http://www.lestraneng.com/indexb.html its pretty cool....looks like they built it out of a quad and just made it WAY slower, but at least there experimenting with that wierd clutch thing.