... Asian Parents should know that being compassionate, supportive, and actually listening to their kids – will not hurt their kids’ chances of being successful. Then it started to change. My family and I recently went on vacation to Florida. I've been a civil engineer for 9 years now, and I despise it. In fact, it’ll … Interestingly, MDA is the only place I know right now that has unionized engineers. I had a grand vision that didn't pan out. Maybe I'm just not suited for corp kind of work environment. It also took months to complete the simplest of projects, for example a bolt hole diameter change on a heat shield took 6 months to sign off, it was ridiculous. A girl asked her boyfriend, an engineer, "Don't you want to see where I was operated upon for appendicitis? I very much would love to become a chemical engineer, and to make products that can be used to help people. Infighting between disciplines was a daily occurrence…”. But when they get a job, they find that reality doesn’t look anything like what they’d imagined. Nothing about it excites me anymore….I don’t find the work interesting and don’t see any options or career moves within engineering that would excite me. A girl engineer to some sounds ludicrous. Peggy Johnson, an engineer who is now Microsoft’s executive vice president of business development, didn’t know what being an engineer looked like – until she got to college. 1. Have you thought of commissioning into the armed service? There is greed everywhere. Best of luck. Engineers use their knowledge of scientific and mathematical principles to solve technical problems. After working a few different jobs, the author was considering a career change. What is satisfying or gratifying for you? Moving into the course load more I find myself really hating the busy work, the pure calculation of it all. If you haven’t already, read the rest of Ryan Nabozniak’s article to discover what turned things around for him. To the point, I figured out what I actually loved doing, what aspects of engineering I love doing, and I found the right career field. That's the necessity for modern day products though and the reason why what we buy is quality and not rubbish because these procedures are critical to the integrity of the product, however it can really become extremely tedious if your role encompasses that entire process. That took Steve Jobs, who is a creative and product visionary, not an engineer. It is sad that being a principal has such a negative stigma associated to it. Now I just go to work to play every day. You can't change the past, but present and future decisions are yours to make. . Joe started Retire by 40 in 2010 to figure out how to retire early. Mauldin’s introduction, in which he writes that he and the women "are in fact unequal," seems problematic, until he explains why. I've never found gratification of the actual thing I made. It's not remotely like school was. . Leapfrog to today. It should be somewhat similar, right? They can solve the problems by using the mathematic and scientific knowledge. This is how exactly I feel like after about 7-8 years in the industry. It doesn't have direct impact on the society I live in, There is little other than 'function' and ' budget' involved in 'efficient' design. 1 decade ago. I wish I would have thought this way 10-15 years ago. In this post, Ryan Nabozniak, an application consulting engineer at Aucotec, describes how he became an engineer to be like his heroes, Q (from James Bond), Chief Engineer Scott (from Star Trek), and his father. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the engineering community. Get to know people at the company on a personal level. The Cold War was definitely another era, though, things change. You could be a robotics engineer, a civil engineer, a chemical engineer, or one of many other varieties. There were also problems at the time like 9/11 and NASA defunding that tanked a lot of jobs. Engineers do not give up easily so might as well get your mind on track and give your best shot! The only reward it seems, is good pay. That type of engineering is cutting edge. But I think it's worth it to pursue work that you're happy with ... even for less pay. You don't want to end up being the chief barnacle scraper, but everyone will participate in basic maintenance duties. It can be a launching pad for jobs in business, design, medicine, law, and government. It almost never happens. Politics tire me, but I guess this isn't specific to the engineering industry. I know of a way it's possible and have done that work. Technically, it's an "early retirement" but quite frankly I just needed to get out. For more, simply Google. It's less about how to do the job, and more about giving you the hard skills you'll need for your career. I could come up with the most amazing product, and I could see it redesigned or crushed the following day and not care one bit. For more, simply Google “engineers unhappy at work” or “I hate being an engineer.” You’ll find plenty more where these came from. So it depends what you enjoy and wish to achieve, the former did it by the book and could be very interesting with the testing and studies and if you enjoy that kind of thing then, perfect, and the hours are shorter and the pay is better so you work/life balance can be good. I wanted to make a small point on this. At the end of the day your job is Mr. Professional Engineer and the scope of work that falls within that. Things were pretty darn good for the first 10-15 years. Here are some examples culled from various online discussions. However, one issue that comes up often is that. The pay for an MSP engineer is not what you'd think it would be. Top 5 Reasons It Sucks to Be an Engineering Student For many students, earning a degree in engineering is less than enjoyable and far from what they expected. I get a surprising number of emails from career programmers who have spent some time in the profession and eventually decided it just isn't for them. centralheating24 on July 03, 2014: I studied software packages on the side that were high demand skills with low supply locally. a blog by Jeff Atwood on programming and human factors. With the right environments, processes, and tools, engineers can spend their days doing the important work they dream of. How Industrial Companies Can Get the Most Value Out of Digitization, The Factory of the Future is Digital: 13 Statistics You Should Know Heading into 2018, Our Top 5 Most-Read Engineering Articles of 2017, Survey: IIoT Adoption on the Rise, Still Plenty of Room for Growth, Digital Twins: 3 Videos to Help You Understand What All the Hype is About. For me I just want to be designing new parts as often as possible and keep it fresh with new challenges and ideas and for that motor racing is perfect for my desires. Your life now is much more regimented. Career change advice? One thing I really liked was scope. Learning how to do the job is incredibly job specific, and is done by the company hiring you. So that's exactly what I did, engineer > supervisor > manager (supervisor/manager roles were still in engineering). Interestingly as a manufacturing engineer, about 80% of my career is pretty much been design engineering/product development. I want to be promoted by being extraordinarily good and helpful at doing my job. to discover what turned things around for him. You too have to find your core reasons for being in the career that you are and how and why you should enjoy it. Just don't even go there. If you haven’t already, read the rest of. I find the work overall, very tiring, very political and for all, very little reward other than pay. Many of the subjects I studied in school were fascinating, but the actual day-to-day work of engineering is very dull to me.”. He identified two major contributing factors: These factors further illustrate the lack of alignment between why people go into engineering (i.e., to take on challenges and solve problems) and what they find when they get there (e.g., days spent hunting for inconsistencies on drawings). Wasn't prepared for that. Of course, we get annoyed by beurocracy and management at times. So what's to be done? I'm not all that crazy about it so far. What is not so hard to say is why I eventually gave up being a support technician. I thought it would be a little more like engineering school. But the work culture not so much. Many companies don’t provide upward mobility or career development tracks for technical engineers. Another guard had an earlier job at McDonnel Douglas (I think). Do you have a story about loving, hating, or leaving engineering? For example, studies have found that graduate engineers in the UK have very high job satisfaction, and that almost 9 in 10 engineers in the RF/microwave industry would recommend the career to a young person. The pay isn't anywhere near as good however. I don’t want to be an engineer anymore. Always fascinating. Since engineers were paid well, you'd obviously be happy. Hello, this may come as a whine post, but this may also serve a purpose for those who still study it, and it'd also be interesting to hear why people love/hate their career in engineering. Read the sidebar BEFORE posting. . Sure there is a lot of difficult thought that goes into managing one of these projects, but at the end of the day I am just telling the construction guys where to put the lights, outlets, and panels.”. I mean, that's what we were there to learn, how to do the job? If you think that scientist and engineer is similar, you are wrong. I have worked for decades in the electronic circuit design field. I don't know. Here are some examples culled from various online discussions. The senior in mechanical engineering at Eastern Washington University sent a letter to the editor of his school’s student newspaper, The Easterner, addressed to "the women in [his] engineering classes." But the fact remains that many people who become engineers with aspirations of making the world a better place find those hopes dashed by the drudgery of the day-to-day work. Learn about educational requirements and how to get into a college engineering program. I was able to apply what I learned and see a project through from concept to production. If it's late, costs too much, doesn't meet customer expectations or anything else that could go wrong ... we're left holding the bag. The pay isn't as good and the hours can be ridiculous, particularly on race weekend, but for me my work and life are the same thing, so it's suitable. I've worked in the Oil&Gas industry, as a consultant (ie: design). If you don't have the right mindset, all the small stuff will annoying the fuck out of you. On the other hand, most students don't really know why they want to be an engineer, let alone what type of engineer. Students go into engineering wanting to solve problems and change the world. If you had a good boss, he/she would try to shield you from the BS, but eventually there were less engineering "bosses" and you were "fair game", getting yanked in all different directions while still trying to get the engineering right. Engineers, as trained in engineering school, are bound to think logically. Do this by going out to … However, the job became too stressful and Joe retired from his engineering career to become a stay-at-home dad/blogger at 38. You see I spent a good amount of time in college, a regular Van Wilder. I am fascinated with chemistry, machines, metals, and electronics. What that is? Make sure you get what you are promised from your recruiter in a contract. This past week I took a form I filled out, and moved it over to the new version of the form that came out. Hello, this may come as a whine post, but this may also serve a purpose for those who still study it, and it'd also be interesting to hear why people love/hate their career in engineering. Many of the subjects I studied in school were fascinating, but the actual day-to-day work of engineering is very dull to me.”, Unhappy with first engineering job, requesting advice, 2012 article by Michael MacRae of the American Society for Mechanical Engineers. “But soon after college, I took my first job…and reality hit. When I told him I was a principal, I got booed by the audience. There's a bunch of stuff I designed out in the world now used by thousands of people. It's pretty ironic that I just stumbled onto this post. I hate being an engineer when I don't get to do engineering. For more, simply Google “engineers unhappy at work” or “I hate being an engineer.” Well I've been lucky enough to experience two sides to engineering, one as a design for an OEM car supplier and another as a design/data engineer in motor racing. For example, every time someone asks me how I can like work, I tell them it's play time for me. You do however get paid well. I hate being the bad guy. 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). They work in a variety of disciplines including civil, environmental, chemical, mechanical, electrical and petroleum engineering.Do you want to know how to become an engineer? 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. He claimed at least once a week, he held the door while some guy in a white shirt and narrow tie, was wheeled out on a gurney. I would dismiss that kind of attitude as someone who just doesn't do well. You can be ridiculously good at something, but not enjoy doing it :). Now it isn't just what I've experienced. I've been a civil engineer for 9 years now, and I despise it. 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