Why choose engineering?

[ramirez]

For all the EE's here, why did you choose this degree? Also, how hard is the curriculum and does the difficulty vary with different colleges?

 

[dug777]

IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

 

[ramirez]

Originally posted by: dug777
IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

Could you please explain why you think EE is a bad choice?

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777
IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

Could you please explain why you think EE is a bad choice?

Sure.

Oil & Gas & Mining need eleventy billion structural/mechanical/civil/marine engineers. Not many EEs tho I'm simply working on the policy that you want the best chance of getting well paid work at the end of it

 

[Leros]

I was under the impression that MEs were a bad choice and that EE was a good choice. What about ECE (computer engineering)?

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777
IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

Could you please explain why you think EE is a bad choice?

Sure.

Oil & Gas & Mining need eleventy billion structural/mechanical/civil/marine engineers. Not many EEs tho I'm simply working on the policy that you want the best chance of getting well paid work at the end of it

There is more to the world than Oil & Gas & Mining. Think of all the electronics.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: JToxic

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777
IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

Could you please explain why you think EE is a bad choice?

Sure.

Oil & Gas & Mining need eleventy billion structural/mechanical/civil/marine engineers. Not many EEs tho I'm simply working on the policy that you want the best chance of getting well paid work at the end of it

There is more to the world than Oil & Gas & Mining. Think of all the electronics.

Which is why i said 'here' meaning Western Australia. Reading comprehension FTW.

 

[ramirez]

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777
IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

Could you please explain why you think EE is a bad choice?

Sure.

Oil & Gas & Mining need eleventy billion structural/mechanical/civil/marine engineers. Not many EEs tho I'm simply working on the policy that you want the best chance of getting well paid work at the end of it

Engineering isn't supposed to be about the money, though. I mean, granted you do command a higher salary as an engineer, but isn't being one part of that whole "for the betterment of humanity credo?"

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777
IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

Could you please explain why you think EE is a bad choice?

Sure.

Oil & Gas & Mining need eleventy billion structural/mechanical/civil/marine engineers. Not many EEs tho I'm simply working on the policy that you want the best chance of getting well paid work at the end of it

Engineering isn't supposed to be about the money, though. I mean, granted you do command a higher salary as an engineer, but isn't being one part of that whole "for the betterment of humanity credo?"

Electro Engineers dont get credit for the whole betterment of society... Electronics make life more complex & difficult for most, not easier. Hint: (the unusable VCR, the coffee pot you have to program, etc)
Go Aero, Civil, Mechanical, (Bio)Chemical, or Nuclear.

 

[JohnCU]

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777
IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

Could you please explain why you think EE is a bad choice?

Sure.

Oil & Gas & Mining need eleventy billion structural/mechanical/civil/marine engineers. Not many EEs tho I'm simply working on the policy that you want the best chance of getting well paid work at the end of it

Engineering isn't supposed to be about the money, though. I mean, granted you do command a higher salary as an engineer, but isn't being one part of that whole "for the betterment of humanity credo?"

Electro Engineers dont get credit for the whole betterment of society... Electronics make life more complex & difficult for most, not easier. Hint: (the unusable VCR, the coffee pot you have to program, etc)
Go Aero, Civil, Mechanical, (Bio)Chemical, or Nuclear.

besides chemical, EEs get paid the most I do believe. and who do you think keeps the lights on? it's a combo of many disciplines of engineering but electrical engineers are a huge part.

everyone says EE is the hardest but i don't think so. maybe in hindsight it was easier than it was at the actual time, but you don't really learn anything until you get into the real world. engineering school is just like a fraternity initiatiion, you are just proving that you are trainable.

 

[jessicak]

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777
IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

Could you please explain why you think EE is a bad choice?

Sure.

Oil & Gas & Mining need eleventy billion structural/mechanical/civil/marine engineers. Not many EEs tho I'm simply working on the policy that you want the best chance of getting well paid work at the end of it

Engineering isn't supposed to be about the money, though. I mean, granted you do command a higher salary as an engineer, but isn't being one part of that whole "for the betterment of humanity credo?"

Electro Engineers dont get credit for the whole betterment of society... Electronics make life more complex & difficult for most, not easier. Hint: (the unusable VCR, the coffee pot you have to program, etc)
Go Aero, Civil, Mechanical, (Bio)Chemical, or Nuclear.

I completely disagree with that. LOTS of EEs go into the biomed industry and do some pretty awesome stuff there that gets a lot of credit. Although I do agree that electronics make life more complex, but we also aren't the only ones responsible for electronics. (ie software engineers write the code/firmware, MEs design the structure of the VCR, and so on)

Anyway, as for why you would want to be an EE? That's a really good question and it is definitely not for everyone. I started out as an ME and hated it and switched to EE and have been loving it ever since, but it is sort of difficult to say why. I think it might be because I can never actually "see" what is going on--that and it is like a giant puzzle, trying to figure everything out.

 

[NatePo717]

MechE FTW!

 

[JoLLyRoGer]

I think EE is a great degree. I'm not one, but a good friend of mine is and he gets at least two calls per week for job interviews all over the country! Most of them want to offer him an obscene paycheck, relocation bonuses, and signing bonuses. The funniest part is that he's not even looking for a job. The companies are jumping through their asses to seek him out.

The last offer he got was for 72K starting pay plus about $11,000 in relocation expenses and hire-on bonuses!

EE is HOT HOT HOT from what I can tell. Around here (in AZ) I'd venture to say that the job market for an EE is almost as hot as the job market for RN's (my wife is an RN) except the pay is better.

 

[jmcoreymv]

I chose EE because I like it. If you like what you are studying, its not very hard...

 

[JohnCU]

Originally posted by: JoLLyRoGer
I think EE is a great degree. I'm not one, but a good friend of mine is and he gets at least two calls per week for job interviews all over the country! Most of them want to offer him an obscene paycheck, relocation bonuses, and signing bonuses. The funniest part is that he's not even looking for a job. The companies are jumping through their asses to seek him out.

The last offer he got was for 72K starting pay plus about $11,000 in relocation expenses and hire-on bonuses!

EE is HOT HOT HOT from what I can tell. Around here (in AZ) I'd venture to say that the job market for an EE is almost as hot as the job market for RN's (my wife is an RN) except the pay is better.

what's his concentration area?

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: JohnCU

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777
IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

Could you please explain why you think EE is a bad choice?

Sure.

Oil & Gas & Mining need eleventy billion structural/mechanical/civil/marine engineers. Not many EEs tho I'm simply working on the policy that you want the best chance of getting well paid work at the end of it

Engineering isn't supposed to be about the money, though. I mean, granted you do command a higher salary as an engineer, but isn't being one part of that whole "for the betterment of humanity credo?"

Electro Engineers dont get credit for the whole betterment of society... Electronics make life more complex & difficult for most, not easier. Hint: (the unusable VCR, the coffee pot you have to program, etc)
Go Aero, Civil, Mechanical, (Bio)Chemical, or Nuclear.

besides chemical, EEs get paid the most I do believe. and who do you think keeps the lights on? it's a combo of many disciplines of engineering but electrical engineers are a huge part.

everyone says EE is the hardest but i don't think so. maybe in hindsight it was easier than it was at the actual time, but you don't really learn anything until you get into the real world. engineering school is just like a fraternity initiatiion, you are just proving that you are trainable.

Nuclear Engineers, followed closely by Civil engineers are the top paid engineers.
Then Aero, Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, Finally Industrial bring up the bottom.

Originally posted by: jessicak

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777
IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

Could you please explain why you think EE is a bad choice?

Sure.

Oil & Gas & Mining need eleventy billion structural/mechanical/civil/marine engineers. Not many EEs tho I'm simply working on the policy that you want the best chance of getting well paid work at the end of it

Engineering isn't supposed to be about the money, though. I mean, granted you do command a higher salary as an engineer, but isn't being one part of that whole "for the betterment of humanity credo?"

Electro Engineers dont get credit for the whole betterment of society... Electronics make life more complex & difficult for most, not easier. Hint: (the unusable VCR, the coffee pot you have to program, etc)
Go Aero, Civil, Mechanical, (Bio)Chemical, or Nuclear.

I completely disagree with that. LOTS of EEs go into the biomed industry and do some pretty awesome stuff there that gets a lot of credit. Although I do agree that electronics make life more complex, but we also aren't the only ones responsible for electronics. (ie software engineers write the code/firmware, MEs design the structure of the VCR, and so on)

Anyway, as for why you would want to be an EE? That's a really good question and it is definitely not for everyone. I started out as an ME and hated it and switched to EE and have been loving it ever since, but it is sort of difficult to say why. I think it might be because I can never actually "see" what is going on--that and it is like a giant puzzle, trying to figure everything out.

But when I see the words... "for the betterment of humanity credo?" I think Nobel Prize Winners and the equivolent. Theres a big difference between doing something and getting a lot of credit for it, and changing the entire world.
Here is my internal problem with that... By nature, Engineers are problem solvers, they create solutions to given local problems. Scientists perform theoretical research in the fields of learning which eventually apply to engineering. Scientists change the world, engineers dont.

 

[Rumpltzer]

To answer the OP's question, I chose EE when I was a high school junior. I had an internship at a local air force base among a bunch of middle-aged EEs (weapons lab) who gave me advice like, "Go for EE because you can't do anything without electonics," "Computers will rule everything and simulations will make other engineering fields obsolete," and "Don't work for the government. The pay sucks."

It was generally the impression in my high school that EE was the hardest of the engineering majors, and that was also very appealing to me (I like the challenge).

I'm pretty sure that ChemEs have the highest starting salary, but I also think that that assumes you're going into the petroleum industry and a lot of ChemEs don't find the work to be all that appealing. EEs have it pretty good as far as salary, though. Certainly for the work you do when you graduate, it's probably not really worth paying you $50-90K. I mean, a lot of it could be done by a high school kid or a trained monkey as long as you can really, really trust that high school kid or trained monkey.

My experience is that the school does matter. I went to UIUC for undergrad, masters, and part of my PhD and undergrad was tough. I came from a large, very well-rated public high school, and I remember being very frustrated as an undergrad and feeling like a lot of my classmates knew a lot more than me. It was tough, and over half of those who started decided to go another route. This is why UIUC has such a large business school! Undergrad was tough, and I don't remember it being all that pleasant. Grad school was much, much easier and more up my alley.

I took a few undergrad circuits courses at UCSB to prepare for my qualifying exam, and I was shocked at how whiny the students were and how relaxed the instructors were and how people just didn't seem to be learning (or at least retaining) a lot. My research advisor complained to me about how the students in his courses weren't learning the material, and I suggested that he fail them. He pointed out that their parents would complain and the dean would come after him. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

From that, I would suggest that different school are different.

Here's another thing to consider: There are no women in EE. I know someone might come in and point out that one hot girl in their intro devices course. I remember her. She lasted until the second mid-term. Seriously, though, there are no girls in EE. Lots of them in ChemE, CivE, MechE, etc. No women in EE.

Yeah.


It's tough to decide in high school which course you're going to choose for your career. EE is pretty good if you're interested in what you do, and it's broad enough that you can go into a lot of different stuff. If no one wants to hire you, you can even jump onto the Mining/Energy Resource Boom of middle-of-nowhere Australia. I'm sure they must use a lot of electricity and might need power engineers to work it out for them.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: Rumpltzer
To answer the OP's question, I chose EE when I was a high school junior. I had an internship at a local air force base among a bunch of middle-aged EEs (weapons lab) who gave me advice like, "Go for EE because you can't do anything without electonics," "Computers will rule everything and simulations will make other engineering fields obsolete," and "Don't work for the government. The pay sucks."

It was generally the impression in my high school that EE was the hardest of the engineering majors, and that was also very appealing to me (I like the challenge).

I'm pretty sure that ChemEs have the highest starting salary, but I also think that that assumes you're going into the petroleum industry and a lot of ChemEs don't find the work to be all that appealing. EEs have it pretty good as far as salary, though. Certainly for the work you do when you graduate, it's probably not really worth paying you $50-90K. I mean, a lot of it could be done by a high school kid or a trained monkey as long as you can really, really trust that high school kid or trained monkey.

My experience is that the school does matter. I went to UIUC for undergrad, masters, and part of my PhD and undergrad was tough. I came from a large, very well-rated public high school, and I remember being very frustrated as an undergrad and feeling like a lot of my classmates knew a lot more than me. It was tough, and over half of those who started decided to go another route. This is why UIUC has such a large business school! Undergrad was tough, and I don't remember it being all that pleasant. Grad school was much, much easier and more up my alley.

I took a few undergrad circuits courses at UCSB to prepare for my qualifying exam, and I was shocked at how whiny the students were and how relaxed the instructors were and how people just didn't seem to be learning (or at least retaining) a lot. My research advisor complained to me about how the students in his courses weren't learning the material, and I suggested that he fail them. He pointed out that their parents would complain and the dean would come after him. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

From that, I would suggest that different school are different.

Here's another thing to consider: There are no women in EE. I know someone might come in and point out that one hot girl in their intro devices course. I remember her. She lasted until the second mid-term. Seriously, though, there are no girls in EE. Lots of them in ChemE, CivE, MechE, etc. No women in EE.

Yeah.


It's tough to decide in high school which course you're going to choose for your career. EE is pretty good if you're interested in what you do, and it's broad enough that you can go into a lot of different stuff. If no one wants to hire you, you can even jump onto the Mining/Energy Resource Boom of middle-of-nowhere Australia. I'm sure they must use a lot of electricity and might need power engineers to work it out for them.

Good point. It's broad enough you can jjump into a LOT of stuff. IF you ever feel digital design is too tough for you, you can always switch to CS... If you want to switch between EE and CS, I think that's a simply thing to do even when you graduate with a EE degree. It's not too tough to just take a few programming courses, as coding can be done by anyone these days.

 

[Rumpltzer]

To put the argument of who gets paid the most to bed, it's easy enough to Google it.

Here's an easy to read result: http://www.ns.msu.edu/acrc/after_graduation/job_salary.asp

Whoever said NukEs followed by CivEs bring up the top with EE and ChemE near the bottom is pretty poorly informed.

 

[5to1baby1in5]

Originally posted by: ramirez
For all the EE's here, why did you choose this degree? Also, how hard is the curriculum and does the difficulty vary with different colleges?

Not an EE, but I work with a lot of them. I think the curriculum is probably one of the harder ones (none of them will be easy), but work you do is a lot more interesting. Definatly stay on the Power side of the field (much more entertaining when you cook something ). Probably the more important question is what field is always in demand, and what kind of engineers are needed where I want to work? I am a Chemical Engineer BTW, and ended up moving to KS (from CO) to find work at a refinery since there is not an overly large ammount of Oil and Gas work around here (I have since moved back). ME's and EE's seem to be able to be able to find work pretty easy anywhere, and Civil Engr's are massivly in demand in Denver with all the road work and construction going on here. As far as the difficulty between colleges, the undergraduate degrees are probably the same dificulty since you have to learn the same basic information. Some colleges are looked on more favorably for finding that first job after graduation, but then employers are more interested in where and in what fields you have worked when you change jobs. If you go to work for an engineering company, you will change companies as the market is cyclic, and various companies are busy with large jobs while others are dead. Not to say you can't work your entire career with a single engineering company, but it is difficult.

 

[JohnCU]

Originally posted by: sao123


Nuclear Engineers, followed closely by Civil engineers are the top paid engineers.
Then Aero, Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, Finally Industrial bring up the bottom.

Very wrong, sorry. I work with all of those. And I've seen the data.

 

[dawks]

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: JToxic

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777
IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

Could you please explain why you think EE is a bad choice?

Sure.

Oil & Gas & Mining need eleventy billion structural/mechanical/civil/marine engineers. Not many EEs tho I'm simply working on the policy that you want the best chance of getting well paid work at the end of it

There is more to the world than Oil & Gas & Mining. Think of all the electronics.

Which is why i said 'here' meaning Western Australia. Reading comprehension FTW.

Not everyone here knows you're from Australia. And on these forums, 'here' means NA, unless otherwise specified, smart ass.

 

[bigdog1218]

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: JohnCU

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777
IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

Could you please explain why you think EE is a bad choice?

Sure.

Oil & Gas & Mining need eleventy billion structural/mechanical/civil/marine engineers. Not many EEs tho I'm simply working on the policy that you want the best chance of getting well paid work at the end of it

Engineering isn't supposed to be about the money, though. I mean, granted you do command a higher salary as an engineer, but isn't being one part of that whole "for the betterment of humanity credo?"

Electro Engineers dont get credit for the whole betterment of society... Electronics make life more complex & difficult for most, not easier. Hint: (the unusable VCR, the coffee pot you have to program, etc)
Go Aero, Civil, Mechanical, (Bio)Chemical, or Nuclear.

besides chemical, EEs get paid the most I do believe. and who do you think keeps the lights on? it's a combo of many disciplines of engineering but electrical engineers are a huge part.

everyone says EE is the hardest but i don't think so. maybe in hindsight it was easier than it was at the actual time, but you don't really learn anything until you get into the real world. engineering school is just like a fraternity initiatiion, you are just proving that you are trainable.

Nuclear Engineers, followed closely by Civil engineers are the top paid engineers.
Then Aero, Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, Finally Industrial bring up the bottom.

Originally posted by: jessicak

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: ramirez

Originally posted by: dug777
IMO EE is the worst choice you could make, certainly here.

The demand for engineers in almost every other area is crazy tho

WA Mining/Energy Resource Boom FTW!

Could you please explain why you think EE is a bad choice?

Sure.

Oil & Gas & Mining need eleventy billion structural/mechanical/civil/marine engineers. Not many EEs tho I'm simply working on the policy that you want the best chance of getting well paid work at the end of it

Engineering isn't supposed to be about the money, though. I mean, granted you do command a higher salary as an engineer, but isn't being one part of that whole "for the betterment of humanity credo?"

Electro Engineers dont get credit for the whole betterment of society... Electronics make life more complex & difficult for most, not easier. Hint: (the unusable VCR, the coffee pot you have to program, etc)
Go Aero, Civil, Mechanical, (Bio)Chemical, or Nuclear.

I completely disagree with that. LOTS of EEs go into the biomed industry and do some pretty awesome stuff there that gets a lot of credit. Although I do agree that electronics make life more complex, but we also aren't the only ones responsible for electronics. (ie software engineers write the code/firmware, MEs design the structure of the VCR, and so on)

Anyway, as for why you would want to be an EE? That's a really good question and it is definitely not for everyone. I started out as an ME and hated it and switched to EE and have been loving it ever since, but it is sort of difficult to say why. I think it might be because I can never actually "see" what is going on--that and it is like a giant puzzle, trying to figure everything out.

But when I see the words... "for the betterment of humanity credo?" I think Nobel Prize Winners and the equivolent. Theres a big difference between doing something and getting a lot of credit for it, and changing the entire world.
Here is my internal problem with that... By nature, Engineers are problem solvers, they create solutions to given local problems. Scientists perform theoretical research in the fields of learning which eventually apply to engineering. Scientists change the world, engineers dont.

Keyword "theoretical" What good are a million great ideas if they can never be used in society? Scientists get credit for changing the world whereas engineers actually make it happen.

 

[magomago]

I thought EE made the most money after ChemE. ChemE is the most versatile: even though people just think oil when they think ChemE they don't realize how they could EASILY go into just about any industry...and some new industries like tissue engineering is absolutely dominated by ChemEs.

With that said EE is a great degree because you can go into most fields as well, though you'll need to learn a few other things.


EE,ChemE and MAE are all great. CE is good too since consturction is always needed.

Don't be like me and pick Biomedical Eng. because its an absolute waste Talk about hitting "the fastest growing industry" when it still accounts for somethign like less than 5% of the total engineering industry

 

[JoLLyRoGer]

Originally posted by: JohnCU

Originally posted by: JoLLyRoGer
I think EE is a great degree. I'm not one, but a good friend of mine is and he gets at least two calls per week for job interviews all over the country! Most of them want to offer him an obscene paycheck, relocation bonuses, and signing bonuses. The funniest part is that he's not even looking for a job. The companies are jumping through their asses to seek him out.

The last offer he got was for 72K starting pay plus about $11,000 in relocation expenses and hire-on bonuses!

EE is HOT HOT HOT from what I can tell. Around here (in AZ) I'd venture to say that the job market for an EE is almost as hot as the job market for RN's (my wife is an RN) except the pay is better.

what's his concentration area?

I don't know other than he's an EE. I know the work he does is pretty specalized but I couldn't tell you exactly what it is... I'll see him tonight so I'll ask.

JR..