What type of Engineer would you like to be?

northman · Post by **northman** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 1:21 pm

I`m wondering, thinking about going back to school in a year, maybe two. Just for the fun of it, and because its free.
I was trying to figure out what types of education would be useful for society or myself. I`m thinking about engineering or.. well mostly engineering since I have always wanted to be one.
I don`t see the real value of studying sociology or dance, or history.. I see those more as fun subjects, and what people could read in their spare time.
What other subjects I have thought of:

-law: don`t go to well across borders

-economics: mostly about streamlining a company, reducing costs (in most countries = sees workers as inputs, not resources.)
So, I have kind of stranded on engineering. So, I want to ask you, what type of engineer would you be if you did it all over, and why? What jobs?
Me: production/mechanical engineer, how to produce things more efficient. Maybe that don`t go to well with the ERE mantra of producing "cheap trinkets", but it sure fascinates me. I would want to produce high tech stuff.. CNC-machines all over the place producing highly complex "stuff".

dot_com_vet · Post by **dot_com_vet** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 1:48 pm

I'd recommend railroad engineer.

J/K, I like the idea of mechanical engineering. None of my friends in the field have ever been unemployed. Definitely a great idea, and much better than dance.

dragoncar · Post by **dragoncar** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 2:17 pm

For ere, I'd say civil engineering would be most useful. Sure, mechE can teach you CBC, but you don't need an entire engineering program for that. A rapid prototyping class would probably be nice.

Hoplite · Post by **Hoplite** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 3:13 pm

Mechanical engineering is the most jack-of-all-trades of engineering degrees and probably the most useful all around. Of course you get an argument from the chemical engineers

Otherwise, it depends on personal preference. I think that for achieving ERE, a good degree would be in marine engineering. The pay is high, and if you like ships or at least can stand being cooped up on a ship for months at a time, you can't spend the money and your living expenses while on board are covered.

S · Post by S » Fri Jun 10, 2011 3:18 pm

I'm a software engineer and it suits me more than most jobs would I think. There's good opportunity to work freelance or contract for partial income when ERE or you can make the world a better place writing open source software.

KevinW · Post by **KevinW** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 4:19 pm

IMO a modern Renaissance man/woman will be most dependent on mechanical devices and software. So I would be formally trained in one and self-taught in the other. I'm formally trained in computer science / software engineering and fancy myself a self-taught mechanic. It's worked out well for me. Alternatively one could major in mechanical engineering and teach themselves computer programming. Both careers seem lucrative enough to make it to ERE.

George the original one · Fri Jun 10, 2011 4:30 pm

Civil or mechanical engineering are the most portable, but they may also be the most commoditized careers after software engineering.
In one sense, engineering careers are some of the least reliable as they rely on an economy moving forward with projects.

RightClawSouth · Post by **RightClawSouth** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 5:38 pm

Software engineer +1
I liked Akratic's solution here:

viewtopic.php?t=532#post-6424

mikeBOS · Post by **mikeBOS** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:04 pm

Astronautical Engineering!
That way you could go join one of those amateur rocketry groups and help them get a satellite up into orbit on a boot-strapped budget like they've been trying to do for 20 years. Sounds like a nice way to spend a retirement.

dot_com_vet · Post by **dot_com_vet** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:20 pm

Regarding Aktratic's proposal of trying to cash in at a startup, that's an interesting reading plan. Having worked for three startups that fizzled, it's still a gamble that anything will make one rich. And shunning VC's isn't going to help either. The odds of success are probably 1/5000 not 1/10.
Still nothing to lose, so why not try. And falling back on $50-$150/hour consulting gigs is easy. Software engineering is doing well now.
------------------------------

I liked Akratic's solution here:

viewtopic.php?t=532#post-6424

Post by **jacob** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:31 pm

Who me? EE! I got mad number/computer/simulation skills, so it seems like a natural fit.
For ERE (DIY), I think mechanical engineering is the most useful as long as you learn to build your designs as well. Merely being able to make a CAD drawing is rather useless in my opinion.
It also seems to be the easiest branch of engineering because you can tell what's going on just by looking at it.
FWIW: If engineering looks at "how", physics looks at "why". A standard physics degree typically progresses like this.

1st year: Mechanics, Thermodynamics (17th century-19th century)

2nd year: Electrodynamics, quantum mechanics (1870-1930)

3rd year: atomic, nuclear, solid state, astrophysics (1930-1960)

4th year: quantum field theory, particle physics, ... (1960-1980)

5th year and beyond: Thesis work. (1980-now)

Surio · Post by **Surio** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 7:02 pm

As a Mechanical/Computer Engineer, I am biased towards Mechanical all the time

. Of course Jacob's point of Electrical Engineering is a close second as these two fields go hand in hand in an ERE (DIY) scenario towards recreating subset of modern livings on an appropriate scale.
@Hoplite,

I used to help my Chem Eng friends with their work in many of the semesters, so it would be fair to say Chem Eng is subsumed by Mech Eng. I've liked some of their plant economics topics and had read them up for fun so and northman could probably do the same.

Hoplite · Post by **Hoplite** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 8:30 pm

Surio,

"it would be fair to say Chem Eng is subsumed by Mech Eng" Agreed but my chem friends would not, though I still like to make fun of them for drawing pictures of molecules

No matter which route taken, I think that some physical chemistry is useful, maybe two semesters worth at most. Beyond that, as you say, you can read on your own.
The real problem with chemistry, as I see it, is that outside of academia or government labs, many end up either working for an oil company or in some consumer product division. A 30 year career in mouthwash, for example, or perhaps fruit juice box linings. The horror.

crazn · Post by **crazn** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:00 pm

I am a Mechanical Engineer, licensed in about 30 states. I tried agricultural, electrical, and chemical engineering in college but I landed in mechanical. It suits my brain the best. Sample them all and then select - it worked for me.

aquadump · Post by **aquadump** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 1:29 am

I'd go for EE (for the math and abstract lover) or ME (for the hands on lover). The downside with ChE is that many of the jobs are in the boonies, to reduce the risk of possible chemical pollution. Not to say there is anything wrong with the boonies, but I like options.
FWIW, I spent the first two years after ChE in a EE lab and the next four branching into ME.

chilly · Post by **chilly** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 3:33 am

To me, software engineering is something you'd be much more likely to be able to self teach. It's a developer with a good architectural and algorithmic understanding that I believe could easily come with experience.
EE, ME, CHE would all be much less realistic to do without schooling (not to mention you'd likely never get a job or certification).
I've been an ME and a Software Engineer, but not an EE.
And I second what others have said - try them or really figure out what they each do... you will probably find one more appealing. I like ME because it's like practical physics and you really understand a lot about how the physical world works when you are done.

Andre900 · Post by **Andre900** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 8:25 am

Yep, like Bigato and others said, watching what real working engineers do day-to-day would help in deciding which field to study. I earned a BS in Computer Science in 1986 and worked as a Software Engineer for four years. I was an excellent and top Computer Science student, but just an average Software Engineer. I'm not sure software engineers can really be called engineers. Perhaps, software developer and programmer are more accurate job titles.
I eventually earned an MBA and transitioned into accounting and finance. Engineering doesn't interest me too much.

hickchick · Post by **hickchick** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 8:49 am

As an ME graduate, I'd say I'd like best to be an employed engineer.
Seriously, am I the only one that knows engineers on the long term unemployed list? Cause I know several, verging on a lot.

JerseyGirl · Post by **JerseyGirl** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 10:32 pm

Northman, you mentioned that your schooling will be free. Where do you live, that you can get your degree for free? What an awesome opportunity you have.

northman · Post by **northman** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 10:34 pm

Norway.. you compete with your scores from high school.
Ex. 6 is the best grade. To become a Doctor, you have to have 6.8. So you get additional points for military service, math, psychics, biology, 3 language etc etc..
I`m not sure which school you are in, but our Universities has lots of exchange programs with American colleges. If not, you could apply on your own. Usually there are tons of available engineering courses. You could probably do a 4 years here for free... depending on your school, tuition, etc etc