engineers, care to explain what you do on your job?

[ed21x]

Originally posted by: amoeba
Well, there are lots of fields in electrical engineering. From power to dsp to hardware design to materials to software to biomed, etc.....

Its a very diverse field contrary to popular opinion.

You should be forwarned that EE curiculum is typically very challenging and alot of students drop out half way through their college careers.

I would think that UC davis is the better route than cal poly but I don't know much about cal poly. Try to do well enough at UC davis to where you can maybe transfer to UCLA or UC Berkley. UC Davis is not that bad though.

You probably also need at least a passing interest in Math, Physics, or Programming. Don't need to like all 3 but one of the 3 is probably required.

of the two, I'm pretty sure Cal Poly-SLO has the better CS program, but not sure about EE. UCLA in general isn't an engineering school like UCSD or Berkeley. UCSD is making huge strides in its engineering department with quite a bit of exciting research underway there 🙂

 

[Cattlegod]

i have yet to see a woman EE who has any idea what she is doing. this goes for in school and in the work force. all who where hired were done so to meet quotas.

 

[amoeba]

I have met many female EEs who are very capable.

 

[timosyy]

<-- Interested in the aerospace engineering field so any more input from Armitage would be appreciated.

Common companies to work for, average salaries, what kind of stuff (already sort of answered, i kind of want to do design for say, Lockheed, though...), working conditions, etc. ...

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: alphatarget1
and she wants some advice because she's kinda interested in EE. what do y'all do anyway?

she's not gonna do civil so I'm no help as I've never worked with anything other than civil.

If she does EE ofr CE(comp eng), do a minor in CS(comp si). That will create high demand if she eventually decideds she likes software.

I'm an EE that does software. I won't give my opinion. It's cyclical wehere I work, and we are at the bottom of a cycle. So it's kinda boring. Working on software is fun though.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: amoeba
I have met many female EEs who are very capable.

Yes, but do any of them look like women?

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: timosyy
<-- Interested in the aerospace engineering field so any more input from Armitage would be appreciated.

Common companies to work for, average salaries, what kind of stuff (already sort of answered, i kind of want to do design for say, Lockheed, though...), working conditions, etc. ...

Well, "Aeronautical" covers alot of ground ... structures, fluid dynamics, dynamics &amp; controls, thermodynamics, propulsion, etc. Add in "space" and it gets even wider. So it depends alot on what you want to do ... you need to have a good background across the board, but will likely specialize in a much smaller discipline.

My experience has been limited primarily to astrodynamics analysis &amp; software, and some missile defense stuff. I've never been involved in building hardware ... at least not yet. That's a fairly small community, so I can't really give you alot of insight beyond that. But anyway, you know the big players ... Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed, Northrup Grumman. There are dozens of smaller companies as well of course.

A good way to get hired by one of the big ones is to work for a small company that subs to them and get noticed, or coop for them in college. Whether that is a worthy goal or not is debatable, but if you want to see &amp; work on the big picture, that's where you need to go.

Working conditions .... I've seen the gamut, from bullpens to private offices. Some field work also in some areas. Aerospace tends to be very cyclical, the current defense spending spree not with standing.

Not much more off the top of the head ... unless you have more specific questions.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: timosyy
<-- Interested in the aerospace engineering field so any more input from Armitage would be appreciated.

Common companies to work for, average salaries, what kind of stuff (already sort of answered, i kind of want to do design for say, Lockheed, though...), working conditions, etc. ...

In gnereal, 90% of aero jobs are in weapons development. High speed apps I think it's referred to. So if you don't like war and/or blowingthings up, you might want to change your mind. Don't go into the area expecting to land a job at boeing or nasa. Chances are you won't.

The pessimist,
karl

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Oh,

CO-OPS and INTERNSHIPS are a must as previously mentioned. DO NOT MAKE HTE MISTAKE I DID THE FIRST TIME AROUND. Relevant experience does alot for you. The most important thing is relelvant experience and you actually have things to talk about when seeking your first job. It's alot easier to WOW an employer

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: timosyy
<-- Interested in the aerospace engineering field so any more input from Armitage would be appreciated.

Common companies to work for, average salaries, what kind of stuff (already sort of answered, i kind of want to do design for say, Lockheed, though...), working conditions, etc. ...

In gnereal, 90% of aero jobs are in weapons development. High speed apps I think it's referred to. So if you don't like war and/or blowingthings up, you might want to change your mind. Don't go into the area expecting to land a job at boeing or nasa. Chances are you won't.

The pessimist,
karl

As a rule, 96% of all statistics quoted on internet forums are made up on the spot 😛

 

[timosyy]

Cyclical ... hmm .. so not all that stable ? hmm

Always been interested in flight/space since I was a kid.. and theres a Lockheed building and a Northrop Grumman building within 20 minutes of my house (Northern VA). Like I said though... more interested in design so I don't know if my questions would apply to you. Maybe if anyone else had more input but it doesn't seem like theres any other aerospace engineers here...

Was wondering (I don't know, maybe you have friends in aerospace who're doing design) like .. office hours ? more lab stuff or cubicle (doubtful) time... I know computer programmers (like both my parents) can spend a good 3/4ths of their day not actually programming - I'm guessing this isn't exactly the case with aerospace. Stability is an issue, I guess, I come from a middle-class asian suburban family so I sort of expect to do the same one day. Doesn't take away too much from social life? I don't know .. sometime down the road I'd like a wife and some kids in hopefully the same area (northern VA or anywhere north of that) with a reletively stable job/income.

 

[amoeba]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: amoeba
I have met many female EEs who are very capable.

Yes, but do any of them look like women?

Yes. There aren't many women engineers so proportionately, the number of hot women engineers are also low. That doesn't mean every female engineer is an ogre.

Its just like how the stereotype regarding all programmers being fat and unkempt is largely untrue.

 

[timosyy]

And I have no problem with blowing things up. Weapon systems are fine by me .. If I went into Lockheed I'd be more interested in their military work than say, anything they do for NASA etc.

 

[amoeba]

Originally posted by: timosyy
Cyclical ... hmm .. so not all that stable ? hmm

Always been interested in flight/space since I was a kid.. and theres a Lockheed building and a Northrop Grumman building within 20 minutes of my house (Northern VA). Like I said though... more interested in design so I don't know if my questions would apply to you. Maybe if anyone else had more input but it doesn't seem like theres any other aerospace engineers here...

Was wondering (I don't know, maybe you have friends in aerospace who're doing design) like .. office hours ? more lab stuff or cubicle (doubtful) time... I know computer programmers (like both my parents) can spend a good 3/4ths of their day not actually programming - I'm guessing this isn't exactly the case with aerospace. Stability is an issue, I guess, I come from a middle-class asian suburban family so I sort of expect to do the same one day. Doesn't take away too much from social life? I don't know .. sometime down the road I'd like a wife and some kids in hopefully the same area (northern VA or anywhere north of that) with a reletively stable job/income.

You can work on flight/space/planes without an aerospace engineering degree. If you talk to a Lockheed rep or Raytheon rep, they'll probably tell you that they hire more mechanical engineers than aerospace engineers.

 

[Yossarian]

Originally posted by: WhiteKnight
I'm a graduate student in mechanical engineering with a BS in electrical engineering. My work focuses on robotics. I have two main research areas right now. One is unmanned underwater vehicles (like in the beginning of Titanic, those little subs that go out) and the other is in Haptics. Haptics relates to forcefeedback that provides a user information about either a real or virtual environment. For example, you use a joystick to move a little ball on the screen and when the ball hits walls, you feel that force on the joystick. Or, in a surgical robot, you feel the cutting of tissue or the force of insertion of a needle from your operator console, even though there is no mechanical link to the robot.

cool, I imagine you're familiar with these guys then. We use their products at work.

 

[timosyy]

Yeah, mech engineering ... I don't know. Doesn't hold the same appeal for me for some reason. Maybe its just how it sounds. I'm definately more interested in flight than anything else covered in Mechanical Engineering though ...

btw - to the OP, sorry for the slight hijack

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: timosyy
Cyclical ... hmm .. so not all that stable ? hmm

Always been interested in flight/space since I was a kid.. and theres a Lockheed building and a Northrop Grumman building within 20 minutes of my house (Northern VA). Like I said though... more interested in design so I don't know if my questions would apply to you. Maybe if anyone else had more input but it doesn't seem like theres any other aerospace engineers here...

Was wondering (I don't know, maybe you have friends in aerospace who're doing design) like .. office hours ? more lab stuff or cubicle (doubtful) time... I know computer programmers (like both my parents) can spend a good 3/4ths of their day not actually programming - I'm guessing this isn't exactly the case with aerospace. Stability is an issue, I guess, I come from a middle-class asian suburban family so I sort of expect to do the same one day. Doesn't take away too much from social life? I don't know .. sometime down the road I'd like a wife and some kids in hopefully the same area (northern VA or anywhere north of that) with a reletively stable job/income.

Design, as in system level design is typically a guru level job, although it wouldn't be unusual to do analysis supporting said guru(s). Working hours ... depends what's up. At crunch time I've put in alot of hours. Some guys do it all the time. But for most of the people most of the time, it tends to be a normal 9-5ish kind of job.

A security clearance is excellent insurance against instability. Not that cleared people don't get laid off, but there are alot of jobs out there that are effectively only open to people with clearances, so it helps your odds.

As far as location, Aerospace tends to be very limited. California, Seattle, St. Louis, Denver are probably among the biggest areas. Things get pretty thin on the east coast, with the exception of the NASA centers (Goddard, Marshall, Cape Kennedy). Not that there aren't jobs other places, but they are limited.

 

[FrustratedUser]

EE here. Besides posting here, I do electronics design, programming (test systems w/ RF instrumentation and so on).

At the moment I'm designing a power distribution system for a Radio Astronomy receiver. (Cryo cooled stuff).

I sit in my own office with the music pumping all day. Life is not bad. :thumbsup:

 

[SuperTool]

We need more women in EE.

 

[MrDingleDangle]

biomedical engineering here

basically I am oriented torwards CS and EE in the BME field...I create programs, and sometimes help with equipment that are needed in spinal cord injury.

In my current department I basically help non-engineer neuroscientists create what the need so they can do the analysis they need, but im just a helper monkey now while i apply for PhD's

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: timosyy
<-- Interested in the aerospace engineering field so any more input from Armitage would be appreciated.

Common companies to work for, average salaries, what kind of stuff (already sort of answered, i kind of want to do design for say, Lockheed, though...), working conditions, etc. ...

I grew up in Huntsville, AL. It's a major NASA/defense town. My father has his Masters in Aerospace Engineering from Caltech. He's currently an expert consultant in vibrations and has worked on the American space station module (physically tested it), missile defense, wind energy, oil pipelines. He HATES the aerospace industry. His advice to anyone thinking about going into the aerospace industry or even working for defense companies is: don't do it. There is very little competition among the defense firms like Boeing or Lockheed as opposed to more 'commercial' companies like Motorola. You don't learn as much. As someone said, it's cyclical. In the early 90s, the aerospace industry was absolute hell. Aerospace engineering is much more specialized than other fields, so aerospace engineers were in absolute hell when the industry was poor (even for an expert with an MS from Caltech!). He now consults for Halliburton and he's happy. Even though they're an 'evil' company, it's not in the aerospace industry.

 

[kaizersose]

Originally posted by: Armitage

Originally posted by: kaizersose
I design stuff:thumbsup:, mostly out of composites

That was my first love &amp; and what I got my M.S. in, but the Air Force saw fit to "redirect" my career.

i looked at the air force engineering stuff whenever they came calling at career fairs. i stayed away because i didnt like them having control over my career and locale. i always wanted to be a pilot which made me a sucker for AF jobs--all i wanted to do was hang around the aircraft.

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: kaizersose

Originally posted by: Armitage

Originally posted by: kaizersose
I design stuff:thumbsup:, mostly out of composites

That was my first love &amp; and what I got my M.S. in, but the Air Force saw fit to "redirect" my career.

i looked at the air force engineering stuff whenever they came calling at career fairs. i stayed away because i didnt like them having control over my career and locale. i always wanted to be a pilot which made me a sucker for AF jobs--all i wanted to do was hang around the aircraft.

Yep ... that was me. They paid for school, but I'm not sure it was worth it. It's very difficult getting a hands-on technical job after 4 years pushing papers in the Air Force ... even harder when you haven't touched composites in 4 years. Luckily I found an opportunity to do some research &amp; publish in Astro while I was in. That plus a security clearance was my ticket when I got out.

I'm a total space geek now of course 🙂

 

[kaizersose]

Originally posted by: Armitage

Originally posted by: kaizersose

Originally posted by: Armitage

Originally posted by: kaizersose
I design stuff:thumbsup:, mostly out of composites

That was my first love &amp; and what I got my M.S. in, but the Air Force saw fit to "redirect" my career.

i looked at the air force engineering stuff whenever they came calling at career fairs. i stayed away because i didnt like them having control over my career and locale. i always wanted to be a pilot which made me a sucker for AF jobs--all i wanted to do was hang around the aircraft.

Yep ... that was me. They paid for school, but I'm not sure it was worth it. It's very difficult getting a hands-on technical job after 4 years pushing papers in the Air Force ... even harder when you haven't touched composites in 4 years. Luckily I found an opportunity to do some research &amp; publish in Astro while I was in. That plus a security clearance was my ticket when I got out.

I'm a total space geek now of course 🙂

the security clearance is quite valuable but it sucks not being able to get your hands on any hardware. i get to spend a good deal of time in manufacturing/M&amp;P shops and i love it. you cant be an effective designer unless you understand how your product is made.

i had to take a space science refresher class when i started work. ugh.

me + koepler(sp?) = headache

 

[Pakky]

Originally posted by: ed21x

Originally posted by: amoeba
Well, there are lots of fields in electrical engineering. From power to dsp to hardware design to materials to software to biomed, etc.....

Its a very diverse field contrary to popular opinion.

You should be forwarned that EE curiculum is typically very challenging and alot of students drop out half way through their college careers.

I would think that UC davis is the better route than cal poly but I don't know much about cal poly. Try to do well enough at UC davis to where you can maybe transfer to UCLA or UC Berkley. UC Davis is not that bad though.

You probably also need at least a passing interest in Math, Physics, or Programming. Don't need to like all 3 but one of the 3 is probably required.

of the two, I'm pretty sure Cal Poly-SLO has the better CS program, but not sure about EE. UCLA in general isn't an engineering school like UCSD or Berkeley. UCSD is making huge strides in its engineering department with quite a bit of exciting research underway there 🙂

CSC++;

I received my BS in Computer Science from Cal Poly, SLO a few years ago. Woohoo!!
/me gets

Anyway, I've been a software engineer for five years working in Java/C/C++/VB. I work on flight planning software for various aircraft/smart weapons. F14s/F18s/EA6s/...

I spend most of my time in front of the computer, but solving those problems is really rewarding. I compensate by working on home improvements on the weekends.

-Pak