Listen to this episode if you: are an early career engineer, are contemplating a career change, or just like engineering career stories.
This Week in LinkedIn Lunatics:
1. How absurd is this? (entry level engineering salary of $35k)
College Questions
1. Why do so many engineers seem to hate their major?
I’m starting my degree in electrical engineering this fall and am having second thoughts after reading so many of these “I hate my life and engineering” posts.
Why is this so common? Why do so many people seem to hate their major/job? Why even study it if it will make you miserable?
2. Ego (in engineering students in college)
What the hell is up with engineering students man. Sometimes it seems like 70% of my classmates have a god complex over their engineering ability while simultaneously performing at the average level (if not below average) on exams, homework, and projects. I’ve met some wonderful people in my time studying engineering, but I’ve also met so many people who are all the way up their own ass and needlessly competitive about it. Is this normal or is my school just odd? If it is normal, what the hell is that about?
3. Today my pre-med friends argued that you can get through engineering through memory alone
This conversation really pissed me off. My pre-med friends (biochem and biostats) told me they believe you can make it through any undergraduate major through memory alone.
While this may be the case for some majors, I assured them this would not work for engineering. The point of our major is learn new ways to solve problems that have never been addressed before. Engineering is defined by our ability to create something new and solve problems in innovative ways. Our course work is immensely difficult and takes more than memory to pass (let alone excel).
They argued that in their experience as pre-med students, memory was the most important factor. I told them that the structure of their courses is completely different, but they just brushed me off.
There isn’t really a point to this post. But I wanted to rant about how angry this made me. Thank you for listening if you made it this far!
4. What did you do to rectify the mistake of getting a BSME?
I graduated 6 years ago and am generally dissatiafied by this career field. Most jobs are tedious and/or boring. The pay is okay but not amazing (80k). What can I train in or go back to school for to make more money and have a more fun job?
5. Do you think the average person could get through engineering school?
I’ve recently graduated high school and picked up a summer internship for a engineering company, I’ve enjoyed my time there and received a job offer. There is lots of space for career growth with increase of pay if I get a engineering degree the only caveat is that I didn’t do very well in high school and don’t know if getting a engineering degree is feasible for me. Any advice or information on how engineering school would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Career Questions
1. Is majoring in engineering a good investment right now?
I’m about to start senior year in high school, and I’m pretty good at math, so I thought I would go into engineering. I like mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering right now.
I was wondering, though, is majoring in engineering lucrative right now? I just want to know if it’s reasonable to expect a ~100k salary and middle class lifestyle. Also, is it a stable field? Is it easy to get a job, and is it vulnerable to automation by AI in the next couple decades? Thank you.
2. Advice for a College Job Fair (Hair Color)
Hello, I am not an engineer yet, but I am a freshman engineer major. I have an upcoming job fair that I am nervous about. I am alternative, and have bright pink hair… will people at the job fair treat me differently because of that, and if so, should I get a wig or temporary hair dye to cover the pink.
Side note having “normal” colored hair permanently isn’t something I’m planing on doing. I’ve tried it before and didn’t care for it… which is why I was thinking wig or dye…
3. Will I be too old to get a junior engineering role?
I graduated with a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering in 2021 at the age of 21. Due to the times back then, I took the first job I got out of school which was in commodities trading.
Fast forward to this year, I decided I want to get back into engineering, and I got an admit into a funded 1 year masters program in a top 100 uni. My living costs are covered by my parents. When I graduate, I’ll be 25.
I’m just wondering if I screwed up by taking this masters since I’ll be old by the time I graduate and if my age will prevent me getting any junior or trainee roles?
Any advice? I’ll still have a degree by the end of it so it’s not a net loss, but ideally I would like to go into a test engineer role. I would hate to go back into commodities after getting a masters in engineering and also having to answer in interviews why I got the masters but wasn’t good enough to get an engineering role.
I’m so lost. Any advice would be of great help.
4. Help me understand T&M contracts
I get that some scopes of work (whether in design or construction) are bit more liquid, so it makes sense that you set an initial expectation of what to be completed with a specified amount of effort. But who’s stopping the contractor or consultant from BSing everything and saying “this work ended up taking us 3 weeks instead of 2 weeks”? Does a typical T&M contract make it obligatory to at least meet some minimum goal? Or is it at the discretion of the contractor or consultant to be honest about the time and material they use?
Trying to get an idea of the strategies used.
-there are no plans to return to office (RTO)
– company is 70% work from home
– there may be layoffs in the horizon but none you can use
– the team member is a high performer so firing or PIP isn’t an option
6. How to not sound like a total idiot when hiring a civil engineering firm?
I’ve been calling civil engineering firms and they have questions about the project, that I seem to be answering correctly, but I’ve been hung up on a couple times.
I need an engineering firm to (ideally architectural, but hard to find) review an 80 page document of construction and security specifications.
It is for a commercial retail space, based on the specs, it needs to be inspected to see if it needs to be demolished or partially demolished, to build to specifications.
Some things we need from the firm:
-Architectural Engineering Drawings
Architectural cover sheet, site, and parking plan with all measurements / details / abbreviations /
symbols.
Leased premises with all room dimensions to include square foot allocations, wall, door,
window, structural columns, key notes, etc.
Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) Engineering Drawings:
-Coordinating with contractors, & overseeing that the space is built to specs.
-Creating a timeline
& it’s very detailed, down to the type of door knob.
Is there a general term for this type of project?
How do I word it, without sounding like a noob?
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https://www.patreon.com/ENGRingSuccess Top tier supporters – shout out each episode of the month for $10 monthly donation. Follow along on all social medias: https://engringsuccess.com/link-in-bio/ To submit your question, email daniel@ENGRingSuccess.com Subscribe on YouTube to watch short excerpts of podcast episodes addressing specific topics: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj86alc3a7_A_PibgYpkWFg Daniel is a Mechanical Engineering graduate of Trinity University’s B.S. in Engineering Science and currently works in Commercial Management in the Engineering and Construction Consulting Industry. All views expressed on this podcast are his own and do not reflect the opinions or views of his employer. Music by Maxgotthetracks: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Pclog68AY
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