Questions for engineers?

[Pouryakamkar]

I'm planning into going to electric engineering? Do you fellow boaters that are engineers enjoy engineering? How many hours did you study in school? Also, how much math do you use in the career. Lastly what is the salary. Above 6 figures?? Thanks a lot!

 

[pckeen]

Re: Questions for engineers?

Hi.

This probably isn't the best place to post a question like this.

Your best bet would be to contact some local engineering firms, and ask precisely these questions. In terms of study - this varies with students, but engineering is one of the most rigorous undergraduate programs. The workload tends to be heavier than many other programs. Contact the school you are interested in, and ask for the phone number of the student engineering society president - have a chat with him or her. Math, physics, and the other sciences is central to electrical and other engineering. Salaries vary greatly depending on what you do after university.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Questions for engineers?

salary depends on where you live what perks are added and how many hours you are expected to work. As you will have no experience in the beginning expect to work a lot of hours for very little reward as you gain experience in what ever the company needs you to specialize in.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Questions for engineers?

Electrical engineering is also a very wide subject field.
Designing the AC Power System for a Nuclear Power Plant is completely different from designing Computer Heart Monitors.

Do not chose this field if the salary is Important.
If you do not throughly enjoy the challenges, 6 figures will not compensate for the difficulties.

To be any good at it you will want to live and breath electricity.
Forget about Spring Break, This is Nerd and Geek country.
The effort will be similar to becoming a Doctor.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Questions for engineers?

When do you anticipate going into the engineering field? Timing is a huge key. Are you through your core courses in college? Yes math is very important. Salary in the engineering field is similar to most good salaries - VERY competitive.

The last electrical engineer I met is my local Priest. He has his electrical engineering degree but followed a higher calling that makes substantially less more money but, he is happy with his work. Being happy at what you do is probably the MOST important. You need to have a job where at the end of the day you can say to yourself "I can't believe I get paid to do this!!"

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Questions for engineers?

Do I enjoy it yes. Do I do it for the Money - NO

Salaries are tied to the geographical area and what the local going rate is.

very few people make it to 6 figures within 15 years of graduation. To do so, you need to be in Management, or transition to sales.

plan on a few job jumps either internal, or external to keep your career progressing.

As UncleWillie pointed out. its a very wide field. you need to be specialized. you have everything from theoretical / research work thru manufacturing thru service work. from micro thru macro.

If you want a high salary, do NOT look into engineering. We make an OK salary and are driven by our passions and not salary.

As Bob_VT pointed out, Timing is also critical. When I started college, I was a EE, however looked around, saw how many EE's there were in the school, and other near by colleges. I then changed my major to ME. When I graduated, EE's were not that in demand because there was a surplus. now CSE's were in demand at the time, along with CE's

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: Questions for engineers?

I'm a mechanical engineer. I made it to management 8 years out of school. I quit my job and bought a marina.

Some days I question the move and then I step outside and remember, sitting at a desk in a windowless office for 10+ hours a day was not what I was supposed to do. Now I work 12-14 hours a day and feel healthier, happier and have a lot less money.

ps I did not make it 6 figures. I was probably at least 5 years from that.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Questions for engineers?

Im thinking of opening a Bar or Bait Shop on the water myself.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Questions for engineers?

fastest way to bigger money is going to be in a field where you are also hands on. Power plant field engineers, instrumentation engineers, etc. There's a shortage in these fields as its rough work unlimited hours and constant traveling.

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: Questions for engineers?

My brother is an electrical engineer he has mainly done pollution control, he owns a patent on how coal is burned but he now is freelance makes about $90 an hr.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Questions for engineers?

I did things a little different. When to work right out of high school. I ran the shop then moved up to mechanical designer while going to school at night. It took six years and I was head of the design department at the time of graduation. I was head of ME department with 10 years of industry experience at age 30.

Long story short, I went from Engineering to Projects to Inside Sales to Area Sales Manager. I enjoyed engineering but if I had to do it over again I probably would get an MBA and go directly into Sales Management.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Questions for engineers?

I am an EE and have a BS and MS. I do digital circuit design for ASICs and FPGAs.

Don't plan on getting rich from it unless you go the start-up route and get lucky. Very easy to get over $100K in a non-startup if you are in certain states like CA like I am. Engineers at my company with a little over 5 years experience are making $100K.

Starting salaries are all over the map depending how good you are, what school you went to and experience during school. Last year my company was paying summer interns $40/hr. They were between their junior and senior year. Starting salary in CA is probably in the range of $75k to $85K

Depending on what area of EE you go into there can be a lot of math. For a long time I was designing digital signal processing. There is a lot of math in that particular engineering discipline.

As far as going the route of skipping school and trying to succeed that way...not happening with EE. The few techs we have at the companies I have been at are older guys that know some stuff but will never make the jump that an EE with a degree will have. Very few techs at companies these days. Just don't need them.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Questions for engineers?

I'm planning into going to electric engineering? Do you fellow boaters that are engineers enjoy engineering? How many hours did you study in school? Also, how much math do you use in the career. Lastly what is the salary. Above 6 figures?? Thanks a lot!

Are you good at math? Like REAL good? I went to school for electrical engineering technology which was supposed to be a little bit more hands-on watered down version of EE. I fumbled through my first two years and managed to get an associates degree but when I went on for my bachelors it all went to crap because I couldn't handle the calculus. EVERYTHING is calculus. I would have been better off going for straight EE because at least then I would have failed out much quicker and could have sooner switched to something else instead of racking up years worth of what would be eventually useless credits. Anyway, I got into web development and later went back to school for computer science where I excelled due to the distinct lack of calculus

Good luck to you.

 

[avenger79]

Re: Questions for engineers?

I decided to go the "designer" route. Less schooling, takes longer to get higher pay. I have seen over 100K a couple years. (took about 10 years to get to) most years it is close but not quite. If you are not really into electrical projects before going to school, you probably won't enjoy the field. It's a very cut throat industry right now, everyone has to be multi talented, and willing to sell your soul to stay employed. There are a lot of good engineers and designers who are out of work now. my "title" at work ranges from senior engineer to designer, depending on where I'm working, and on what.

as far as math and schooling etc, we started our freshman year with 20 in the program, at graduation there were 2. I do circuit boards, controls, defense and commercial, plus went back to school to get the mech degree. Currently working on engine harnessing and components, very interesting.

you will have to be willing to constantly change and improve yourself, offten attending more classes and often having to figure things out on your own (before the next guy does).

I have a lot of friends who after being laid off, fired or just getting fed up and quit, are much happier in other fields.

As a young person coming into the field the first thing you will notice is how many of your new peers are single/divorced/ or married again but starting to have trouble. Your mgr will ask you to re-evaluate your priorties at some point to realize without your job your family will suffer. another words you should be more loyal to your job than family. At that point you make a decision, which one would you give up.

normally what I tell people is get the Assoc degree, than get a job to get your feet wet. If you enjoy it, your company will pick up the tab for your Bach. Takes a while longer but you have a lot less invested if you hate it.

BTW like many other jobs, today a lot of engineering is being sent over seas. So the field is shrinking some. Don't be afraid to consider working in another country. Many companies will ask you to. Oh I'm sorry it's "offer" it to you

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Questions for engineers?

Avenger97, You have a BS in EE?

 

[angus63]

Re: Questions for engineers?

There is no more generic term for a profession than "Engineer". I graduated BSME 30 yrs ago and have operated vessels, operated a fishery, designed valves, manufactured optics, fabricated multilayer circuitboards, managed projects for aerospace- deep space- and DoD. Now I manage and teach marine engineering labs. My salary has been up and down the scale. What I did learn over that time is that it is much more satisfying to do something you enjoy than to do something to make (more) money. Pick a path you enjoy and a place you want to live, and then be the best you can at that. Guaranteed happiness...

 

[avenger79]

Re: Questions for engineers?

Avenger97, You have a BS in EE?

nope, only Assoc +, never took the time to finish the BS, the Mech is also Assoc.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Questions for engineers?

If you want to be hungry, take the 5 year architectural program. They have to pay big $ to structural engineers to sign off on their projects/designs, but architects are very underpaid for their education. They'd be better at their jobs if they worked 2 years construction before going into the architect programs.

If you want to make the big money quick, get a BS in Geology. Starting salaries for those mapping the underground in Midland, Texas is over $100K. My cousin, the geologist, holds an engineering license, and his business is in asbestos abatement and mold inspections. He made over $300K last year, as Houston has relatively few licensed mold inspectors. Every commercial building sold in Texas has to have a mold study conducted.

Anyway you look at it, any engineering program takes many years, and much dedication to get out of. My hat's off to you guys that have the tunnel vision and brains to stand up to such a curriculum.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Questions for engineers?

read this:
College Majors That Require The Most Effort - Yahoo! Education
Was many a nights where I was studying or filling out lab spread sheets at 4 in the morning!

I took a lot of the general ed classes credit/no credit so I could concentrate on the tougher engineering/science classes. I didn't think the Math classes were that bad. I actually thought Calculus was fun! A few of the Physics classes(electromagnetism of all things) were the hardest for me. Chemistry was the weed out class. Out of 100 students in the Chem class, 50 failed and around 10 got D's. Only 2 A's in the class(I was not one of them). around 5 B's(I was one of them). I was a Chem major when I took that class. Had not switched majors yet.

When I was in the middle of it, it was hard imagining the end of the tunnel. My biggest setback was having a girlfriend while I was going to school. If I had to do it over again, no steady girlfriend!!! I did have a job while I was in school. I worked in the mornings and on the weekends. When you come into school, advisers recommend that you do not have a job other than your school work. That is good advice if you can do it. During the summer, especially between your last 2 years, try to get an internship. I did not do this but wish I did.

Masters classes were a piece of cake compared to the Bachelors curriculum. I did that while I was working at my first job.

If I had to do it all over again...not sure I would do it. I would probably have gone to medical school.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Questions for engineers?

read this:
College Majors That Require The Most Effort - Yahoo! Education
Was many a nights where I was studying or filling out lab spread sheets at 4 in the morning!

I took a lot of the general ed classes credit/no credit so I could concentrate on the tougher engineering/science classes. I didn't think the Math classes were that bad. I actually thought Calculus was fun! A few of the Physics classes(electromagnetism of all things) were the hardest for me. Chemistry was the weed out class. Out of 100 students in the Chem class, 50 failed and around 10 got D's. Only 2 A's in the class(I was not one of them). around 5 B's(I was one of them). I was a Chem major when I took that class. Had not switched majors yet.

When I was in the middle of it, it was hard imagining the end of the tunnel. My biggest setback was having a girlfriend while I was going to school. If I had to do it over again, no steady girlfriend!!! I did have a job while I was in school. I worked in the mornings and on the weekends. When you come into school, advisers recommend that you do not have a job other than your school work. That is good advice if you can do it. During the summer, especially between your last 2 years, try to get an internship. I did not do this but wish I did.

Masters classes were a piece of cake compared to the Bachelors curriculum. I did that while I was working at my first job.

If I had to do it all over again...not sure I would do it. I would probably have gone to medical school.

The BSEE at CSUF It was the hardest thing I ever did!

USAF pilot training was "cake-walk" by comparison!

All the big companies (incl Boeing, Intel, etc) were at Fresno the year I graduated, "recruiting".......... I decided right there I wanted nothing to do with that "stuff"!

I think I may have made a better choice!
24 years USAF/USAFR to 2004 and 25 years so far at a major Airline......... I donno about medical school!