What Type of Engineer Would You Want to Be?

[IndyColtsFan]

I'm stuck between EE and Civil. I think both could be quite interesting. I picked EE as that is probably what I'd most likely get the chance at. Really if I was better at math I could probably easily move to that career path if I wanted to. I know my way fairly well when it comes to electrical, if my math was better I'm sure I could pick up the more advanced stuff. Though, is there even lot of complex math like calculus in EE? Or is it mostly algebra and geometry?

I just saw another poster quote this post and I had to come back. Are you serious? EE is probably the most math intensive of all engineering fields. Look at Maxwell's equations that jteef posted.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Oh, well then if you think that engineering is a better career path, and you have a degree in EE, then why not just get a job in EE?

Because I haven't done EE work in quite a number of years and IT jobs are more plentiful?

EDIT: Oh, and this poll doesn't mention career path -- it asks which engineer you'd be if you had to choose one. I'd still stick with EE.

 

[Matthiasa]

I'm stuck between EE and Civil. I think both could be quite interesting. I picked EE as that is probably what I'd most likely get the chance at. Really if I was better at math I could probably easily move to that career path if I wanted to. I know my way fairly well when it comes to electrical, if my math was better I'm sure I could pick up the more advanced stuff. Though, is there even lot of complex math like calculus in EE? Or is it mostly algebra and geometry?

EE uses a lot of algebra, calculus, differential equations
Boolean algebra is used heavly when dealing with logic/computer stuff.
Geometry is used heavily in when dealing with fields though.

Differential equations tend to be done away with though through transforms(tables and calculus) turning them into simpler algebraic equations.

Tables and equation solvers become your friends.

 

[nonameo]

Really, I think people look at engineering because they see that there are jobs and that the pay is such that they can have a lifestyle that their parents raised them with. However, most people don't really have the aptitude for engineering(we're on a tech forum though so... I guess that's an exceptional audience).

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'm changing my answer, I want to be Scott the Engineer.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I'm changing my answer, I want to be Scott the Engineer.

He'll drink to that, I'm sure.

 

[Kreon]

I'm (hopefully) going to be a geotechnical engineer. Ideally in tunnels.

So I of course voted civil

BTW, if you know a civil/construction firm that would like to hire a co-op/intern for the fall semester in Boston, please pm me.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Yes, very. But in my current position I'm working on the finishing side of things... a very large annealing furnace. So right now I'm more concerned about cooling curves like so:

Unless something has happened in the past year to the recognized definition I thought it would technically not be a steel if it has literally no carbon in it. It may be an iron or a superalloy, but steel by definition is an alloy of Fe+C with less than 2.1% carbon and some sort of minimum C content. There's very low C steel (extra deep draw steel) that's used to make complex rounded shapes like bumpers, fenders, etc... but steel by definition has to have a minimum carbon content. If there's something new they can call it what they want but I don't think it can be a steel.

a lot of precipitation hardening steels are carbon free (17-4, 13-8, etc.). some of the ultra high strength/tough PH steels do have carbon though - aermet100, for example.

most of the superalloys are nickel-based, IIRC.

aerospace alloys are fun stuff


what kind of stuff are you working on with TTT's/CCC's?

 

[Imp]

I'm a Civil, and I still would pick it because you "save" lives and make society run with water, transportation, and safe buildings.

Ya, ya, needed a chemical engineer to make the water treatment work, a mechanical to make the hydraulics go, an electrical/computer for control systems, bla bla bla.

 

[Wanescotting]

I would like to change my answer: Southern Engineer

 

[gorcorps]

a lot of precipitation hardening steels are carbon free (17-4, 13-8, etc.). some of the ultra high strength/tough PH steels do have carbon though - aermet100, for example.

most of the superalloys are nickel-based, IIRC.

aerospace alloys are fun stuff

what kind of stuff are you working on with TTT's/CCC's?

:hmm: I guess it's possible. I've never gone too far into the stainless side of things. Though when I look up the 17-4 grade it has a spec for C:

Typical values (Weight &#37
C Cr Ni Cu Nb/Cb Mn
0.04 16.5 4.5 3.3 0.3 0.7

It doesn't matter though. It just goes to show that something most people think is a simple, common material can have so many uses and applications. If I stay where I am now I can't say I'll ever see stainless in any shape or form... or really anything not in sheet. What may concern most people that see me post here is that I have a direct hand in all automotive and appliance sheet that comes through here. Next year's models for more brands than not may have passed under my eyes

I haven't actually used the CCCs that often, other than just learning what our annealing and cooling cycles at my mill are capable of.

And yes, superalloys are indeed neat. Had a job offer from Firth Rixson who makes seamless superalloy rings for jet engines. Very cool field, though steel is really where I belong.

 

[Dominato3r]

Civil because of SimCity

 

[Jeff7]

I do mechanical and electrical stuff. (College was mechanical engineering.) It's neat to see how much overlap there is in some of the principles and math between mechanical physics and electrical physics. Sucks that college is so damned expensive, or I'd probably go back and do electrical engineering. And I've still got loans left from the first round. :\

...
It doesn't matter though. It just goes to show that something most people think is a simple, common material can have so many uses and applications. If I stay where I am now I can't say I'll ever see stainless in any shape or form... or really anything not in sheet. What may concern most people that see me post here is that I have a direct hand in all automotive and appliance sheet. Next year's models for more brands than not may have passed under my eyes

...

One of the teachers at the university said that you could go up to a doctorate degree just working with threaded fastener design. Nut and a bolt, nothing to it.

He took us all to the library to get a feel for finding references. One book I ended up with was several hundred pages, all just dealing with threaded fasteners. Especially if you've got an alternating load, proper design and use of them can get crazy. Hell, just the experimentation, theory, and math that went into figuring out all the stresses and forces for tightening the silly things "properly" is insane.

What's the non-douchey kind? Oh sorry, never met one of those kinds of engineers.

Serious, I'd want to design stuff I could see everyday. "See that bridge right there? Go ahead, jump on it, its not coming down anytime soon."

"See this bolt here? I spent 47 years developing this type of threading. Yup...40 years. On this bolt. SO WORTH IT!!!!"

 

[jteef]

I do mechanical and electrical stuff. (College was mechanical engineering.) It's neat to see how much overlap there is in some of the principles and math between mechanical physics and electrical physics. Sucks that college is so damned expensive, or I'd probably go back and do electrical engineering. And I've still got loans left from the first round.

one of the cool things about EE is you can model a mechanical system with electrical parts and use all of the same equations you learned in EE. pretty common in acoustics/audio and control systems.

 

[Gibson486]

I just saw another poster quote this post and I had to come back. Are you serious? EE is probably the most math intensive of all engineering fields. Look at Maxwell's equations that jteef posted.

Don't let the Div and Curl fool you. It's not that tough at all. That said, EE is probably the more math intensive engineering. However, I think the more intensive stuff is in linear systems. At my last job, I had a mentor who was an ME who was amazed at how fast I could do Laplace transforms. He was even more amazed when I solved it by hand and without the table. As an EE, you are expected to know how to do it.

 

[Xecuter]

<---nuclear engineer

 

[Jeff7]

one of the cool things about EE is you can model a mechanical system with electrical parts and use all of the same equations you learned in EE. pretty common in acoustics/audio and control systems.

Ohm's Law comes into play with heat transfer systems, which is nice, since the systems can be modeled nicely as resistor networks.

V = IR
temperature differential = heat * thermal resistance


Vibrational analysis is another place where the math overlaps - frequencies and all that.

 

[iGas]

Where is the bio-robotic eng, or bio-mech eng option?

 

[sonambulo]

Industrial would be my personal choice. While I can do the math heavy work of the other fields, I fuckin hate it.

Whichever field materials engineering falls under is king, IMO. I have a lot of respect for the folks that develop new industrial materials.

 

[iGas]

I'm (hopefully) going to be a geotechnical engineer. Ideally in tunnels.

So I of course voted civil

BTW, if you know a civil/construction firm that would like to hire a co-op/intern for the fall semester in Boston, please pm me.

Suncor careers, but not in Boston however.

 

[busydude]

I am EE, but I don't deal with circuits. Image Processing and Statistics is where I am at right now.

 

[Born2bwire]

We all know what you want to hear.

An engineer that works in a foreign country.

So yes, I have your dream job.

 

[Aikouka]

I'm a software engineer already, so I chose that.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Don't let the Div and Curl fool you. It's not that tough at all.

I actually aced electromagnetics and really enjoyed it, but it does look daunting.

That said, EE is probably the more math intensive engineering. However, I think the more intensive stuff is in linear systems. At my last job, I had a mentor who was an ME who was amazed at how fast I could do Laplace transforms. He was even more amazed when I solved it by hand and without the table. As an EE, you are expected to know how to do it.

I took a linear systems course in grad school. It really sucked. Now, 15 years later, I've moved into systems architecture and I'd need to spend some time brushing up on my EE skills to be useful, though I have to admit, I'm surprised at how much I do remember.

 

[soulcougher73]

Id probably go Chemical Engineering if i had a do over for the cash.