If I get an Engineering degree...

simms

Diamond Member
Sep 21, 2001
8,211
0
0
Nothing. Don't come into my major, more jobs for me...

Try your hand at business, or being a lawyer. We always need more of those people.
 

BlancoNino

Diamond Member
Oct 31, 2005
5,695
0
0
You'd carry a clipboard around, write numbers down off of many machines, and get paid 80,000 dollars a year.
 

notfred

Lifer
Feb 12, 2001
38,241
4
0
If you get an engineering degree, then you get a job designing things. Like car doors, or fans for computers, or ergonomic saltshakers, or something.
 

A5

Diamond Member
Jun 9, 2000
4,902
5
81
R&D or taking scientists' work and making it a real product.
 

Legend

Platinum Member
Apr 21, 2005
2,254
1
0
Engineering is very broad, but it will deal with designing something. An electrical engineer might work in power systems, embedded circuit design, embedded chip design, and some computer programming. There's a bunch of other degrees in engineering.
 

Born2bwire

Diamond Member
Oct 28, 2005
9,840
6
71
Engineering is very broad, but it will deal with designing something. An electrical engineer might work in power systems, embedded circuit design, embedded chip design, and some computer programming. There's a bunch of other degrees in engineering.

You mean after going to school for six years to be an Engineer I still can't drive a train?
 

tami

Lifer
Nov 14, 2004
11,588
3
81
Originally posted by: Born2bwire
Engineering is very broad, but it will deal with designing something. An electrical engineer might work in power systems, embedded circuit design, embedded chip design, and some computer programming. There's a bunch of other degrees in engineering.

You mean after going to school for six years to be an Engineer I still can't drive a train?

in ny, you don't even need a degree to operate a train.
 

Modular

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2005
5,027
67
91
Or you'll end up like many other engineers....money is great, but you work 12-14 hours a day for a boss with better personal skills and a Political Science degree who makes even more money than you.

:)
 

ruffilb

Diamond Member
Feb 6, 2005
5,096
1
0
Originally posted by: Modular
Or you'll end up like many other engineers....money is great, but you work 12-14 hours a day for a boss with better personal skills and a Political Science degree who makes even more money than you.

:)

:(

So should I get a degree in something else?
 

CanOWorms

Lifer
Jul 3, 2001
12,404
2
0
Originally posted by: Modular
Or you'll end up like many other engineers....money is great, but you work 12-14 hours a day for a boss with better personal skills and a Political Science degree who makes even more money than you.

:)

That must be a very non-technical engineer to be managed by a non-technical boss.
 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
Originally posted by: ruffilb
Originally posted by: Modular
Or you'll end up like many other engineers....money is great, but you work 12-14 hours a day for a boss with better personal skills and a Political Science degree who makes even more money than you.

:)

:(

So should I get a degree in something else?

Nah, you'll love Engineering! I do! :D

 

Modular

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2005
5,027
67
91
No, no man. I was being partially sarcastic. It's about doing what you love.

I started off an a EE major and honestly found out that I didn't love it. I'm currently a Political Science / English major. All I know is that in the real world, there are very few degrees that cause you to become specialized, engineering being one of them. With my 2 degrees I can go get any job, so can you , but I'm just saying GPA/personality will mean more to any hiring manager for a management job than what the degree is in.
 

Injury

Lifer
Jul 19, 2004
13,066
2
81
If you get an engineering degree....


...you get underappreciated
...you don't get much sleep
...you work 70-80 hours a week
...you get damn good money but work for people that are much dumber than you.
 

Modular

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2005
5,027
67
91
Originally posted by: CanOWorms
That must be a very non-technical engineer to be managed by a non-technical boss.

Nope, you're misunderstanding the reality of most large corporations. They want #'s and $, they don't care how its done at the top and therefore they generally won't even know the slightest thing about what they are selling.

2 family members work for Motorola, believe me, I've seen this firsthand.
 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
Originally posted by: Injury
If you get an engineering degree....


...you get underappreciated
...you don't get much sleep
...you work 70-80 hours a week
...you get damn good money but work for people that are much dumber than you.

Yep
Yep
Yep
Yep

That about does it! :D
 

CanOWorms

Lifer
Jul 3, 2001
12,404
2
0
Originally posted by: Modular
Originally posted by: CanOWorms
That must be a very non-technical engineer to be managed by a non-technical boss.

Nope, you're misunderstanding the reality of most large corporations. They want #'s and $, they don't care how its done at the top and therefore they generally won't even know the slightest thing about what they are selling.

2 family members work for Motorola, believe me, I've seen this firsthand.

I've seen it first hand, too. Do they manage engineers?

In a company like Motorola, the engineers, managers, senior managers, directors, senior directors, vice presidents, senior vps, etc. all have technical backgrounds if they manage engineers. How would a manager understand what is happening?

The accounting side would not be managed by engineers. The engineering side would not be managed by accountants.
 

Modular

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2005
5,027
67
91
Originally posted by: CanOWorms


I've seen it first hand, too. Do they manage engineers?

In a company like Motorola, the engineers, managers, senior managers, directors, senior directors, vice presidents, senior vps, etc. all have technical backgrounds if they manage engineers. How would a manager understand what is happening?

My father-in-laws side of the company was just sold, prior to the sale, he was managed by someone who hadn't done engineering. Technical backgrounds don't really mean anything. A degree from Lincoln Tech would count then?

The other is a senior exec and has an applied tech degree along with MBA. Applied tech hardly amounts to more than understanding what a transistor is.

 

CanOWorms

Lifer
Jul 3, 2001
12,404
2
0
Originally posted by: Modular
Originally posted by: CanOWorms


I've seen it first hand, too. Do they manage engineers?

In a company like Motorola, the engineers, managers, senior managers, directors, senior directors, vice presidents, senior vps, etc. all have technical backgrounds if they manage engineers. How would a manager understand what is happening?

My father-in-laws side of the company was just sold, prior to the sale, he was managed by someone who hadn't done engineering. Technical backgrounds don't really mean anything. A degree from Lincoln Tech would count then?

The other is a senior exec and has an applied tech degree along with MBA. Applied tech hardly amounts to more than understanding what a transistor is.

That really doesn't say much if you aren't explaining what he does. You can get an engineering degree and not be an engineer.

You cannot be the director of failure analysis or director of process technology or some such if you do not have an engineering or science background. But you could be the director of product marketing if you didn't. It depends.
 

Modular

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2005
5,027
67
91
Originally posted by: CanOWorms

That really doesn't say much if you aren't explaining what he does. You can get an engineering degree and not be an engineer.

You cannot be the director of failure analysis or director of process technology or some such if you do not have an engineering or science background. But you could be the director of product marketing if you didn't. It depends.

Father-in-law is a senior design engineer. He is in effect, the manager of his entire department. His boss however, is not interested in QC, but rather making sure that the product rolls out on time and for a certain cost. His boss has nothing to do with the design/marketing/sales/anything about the product really, but makes much more $.

It's the corporate ladder: As long as the engineers keep their boss happy, then their boss's boss is happy which makes his boss happy and so forth.

The director of failure analysis has a boss though, and all his boss cares about is whether or not the failure analysis director did his job well so that his boss won't be breathing down his neck.