Any Engineers on here?

[moshquerade]

I have a friend who has mad computer skillz but wants to go into engineering. What would you say looks to be a good way for him to steer in the engineering field? What specific engineering field is going to be hottest in the near future?

Thanks.

 

[Turin39789]

No.


There are no engineers on these forums.

That is all.

 

[imported_nerve]

Ayo Technology

 

[RESmonkey]

Is he book smart, too? "leet" Comp skills don't cut it...unless it's CS (programming).

 

[Anubis]

go to school for engineering is prob a good start
step 2 is to never refer to something you are good at as "mad skillz"

 

[Tweak155]

I got a CIS degree which fell under engineering at my school.

 

[FoBoT]

too broad , "engineering" encompasses a gazillion things

 

[bonkers325]

engineer + programmer = good prospects. many firms will hire an engineer who has lots of programming experience and vice versa. you will probably develop in-house programs when commercial programs are not available.

i know there is a high demand for civil and mechanical engineers because of aging infrastructure. cant speak for the other engineering professions though

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: Anubis
go to school for engineering is prob a good start
step 2 is to never refer to something you are good at as "mad skillz"

shaddup you. i used the term, not him. he's got crazymadskillz actually.

Originally posted by: FoBoT
too broad , "engineering" encompasses a gazillion things

true. how about this though, which kinds of Engineers are going to be more in demand in the years to come?

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: Turin39789
No.


There are no engineers on these forums.

That is all.

 

[So]

Originally posted by: moshquerade
I have a friend who has mad computer skillz but wants to go into engineering. What would you say looks to be a good way for him to steer in the engineering field? What specific engineering field is going to be hottest in the near future?

Thanks.

You shouldn't pick an engineering field based on how "hot" it is -- like any other career, that is the path to misery in life. Most engineering schools have a basic "general engineering" track that freshmen can take.

 

[James Bond]

Tell him to do whatever type of engineering he enjoys. You can make a lot or a little in each one, it just depends how far you take it. I'm a network engineer.

 

[krotchy]

Electrical and Computer would probably be a good choice.

I was like that in high school, "mad computer skillz" and I decided to be a computer science major. After 1 semester I came to the conclusion, that while I liked programming, I hated database/algorithm programming, and more wanted to get down into the components. I switched to ECE and kept all my credits and it worked out quite well. Now I am doing Embedded Systems focus in Grad School for ECE and I love it. Programming is needed for firmware and stuff, but the hardware design and board building is the really cool stuff.

 

[thepd7]

For lot's of math and hardware - EE

For a mix of hardware/software - CE

For networking - NE

All will be in very high demand, he could go CS or SE but too much is getting outsources imo.


edit: I apparantly think that lots is a conjunction. Oh well, Engineers don't need grammar or spelling.

<- EE

 

[polarmystery]

If he really has good skills as in he can troubleshoot/fix/repair/build computers and setup networks and whatnot, engineering is NOT the way to go. I went to school and graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree which I started as a Computer Engineer. Low and behold I was rudely awakened that engineering and fixing computers are completely different. He would be better off getting a degree in MIS. I know I would have.

I am now trying to find an IT based job as an engineer...no bites yet...very tough.

 

[calvinbiss]

I am a mechanical engineer. I work for the power company in San Antonio, TX, and I love my job.

What specifcally is he good at on the computer? Any job these days requires computer skills. There is alot of technical drafting in my field, especially in design or R&D firms. Good computer skills are obviously a plus there, especially since the programs can change year to year and are very complex.

Why not software engineering or a programming engineer?

 

[krunchykrome]

heh, someone hacked into Mosh's account

 

[Martin]

Computer Engineerinig is an excellent choice. You study a pretty broad range of topics (from analog circuits to software development management), so you can find out what exactly you like doing and focus on that.

The downside to this breadth is that you have to do extra stuff on the side to really get the practical side of this, so relevant extra curricular activities (robo cup, solar car, etc) and internships are more important. I think other more traditional engineering disciplines do a better job of preparing you for a job, whereas computer engineering will give you a good foundation, but not too much in practical terms.

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: eaj0010
If he really has good skills as in he can troubleshoot/fix/repair/build computers and setup networks and whatnot, engineering is NOT the way to go. I went to school and graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree which I started as a Computer Engineer. Low and behold I was rudely awakened that engineering and fixing computers are completely different. He would be better off getting a degree in MIS. I know I would have.

I am now trying to find an IT based job as an engineer...no bites yet...very tough.

hrm, yes and no.

Yes - you are right engineering is NOT IT. If the OP's friend thinks his engineering job will be fixing computers he should not pursue engineering.

No - I loved toying with computers, went into EE, and it has served me well. There just isn't as much money in IT and I didn't want to be a dime-a-dozen IT guy like so many others.

If you like problem solving and math, engineering might be for you. But yeah it is hard work and it's mostly not hands on.

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: RESmonkey
Is he book smart, too? "leet" Comp skills don't cut it...unless it's CS (programming).

Not even. "leet comp skillz" will get you an IT job. CS requires the ability to do math. It is easier than engineering, but still requires some book smarts.

 

[Aikouka]

What exactly are these "mad skillz" that you are referring to?

If it's hardware or software troubleshooting ( which I'm pretty sure it is ), I'd say to do something like CIS/IS. Liking computers does not translate into working on one in an engineering field.

Oh and Software Engineer jobs aren't drying up. The best area to look at for these jobs are defense contractors. The contractors cannot simply outsource all willy-nilly as Habib over in India will have a hell of a time even applying for government clearance much less receiving it.

 

[lupi]

Dealing with neutrons is where it's at.

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: Aikouka
What exactly are these "mad skillz" that you are referring to?

If it's hardware or software troubleshooting ( which I'm pretty sure it is ), I'd say to do something like CIS/IS. Liking computers does not translate into working on one in an engineering field.

Oh and Software Engineer jobs aren't drying up. The best area to look at for these jobs are defense contractors. The contractors cannot simply outsource all willy-nilly as Habib over in India will have a hell of a time even applying for government clearance much less receiving it.

Correct about defense contractors, non-US citizens can't get jobs there period because US law forbids it for all of the secret and top secret clearance stuff.

However, SE is still a worry area I think because a certain amount of it can be outsourced easily. But yes, a good SE should always be able to find a job here, might just not be easy.

 

[QuantumPion]

Whether you will like engineering is up to your personality I think. If you like programming for the problem solving aspects, then engineering in general would be a good field to pursue, regardless of discipline. If you are just into the technology tinkering aspects, then you're probably better off with some sort of IT degree. As for myself, I really like the physical sciences but I wanted to not be poor, so I went nuclear engineering

 

[RESmonkey]

Mad skillz = Mastership of "Add/Remove Programs" under Windows. LAWL.