Advice for a Soldier 4

[zdas04]

My son is a soldier with the U.S. Army in Iraq and he is starting to think that being shot at is way less fun than he had expected. He wants to go into some Engineering field when his enlistment is up, but he really doesn't want to follow his old man into Oil & Gas.

He's leaning towards Mechanical Engineering and making stuff. Does anyone have any advice on industries that don't suck?

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

http://www.muleshoe-eng.com

 

[ctopher]

Medical industry is usually a good field. I personly enjoy production/automation...you get a taste of a lot of areas in engineering and good practical experience.

 

[TheTick]

All industries suck in varying degrees of sucktitude. Automotive: sucks. Petroleum: sucks. Aerospace: sucks. HVAC: blows.

What is most important is the organization one works for. There are good and bad companies and departments to work for in nearly every field. The corporate headhunters' adage: "People join companies, but the leave managers."

Hopefully, your son's army experience will have helped him learn to discern a well run organization from one that is not so well run. If he can employ this skill, he can have a great career no matter which field he enters.

All this machinery making modern music can still be open-hearted.

 

[Binary]

Medical devices or pharmaceutical manufacturing. Both are FDA-regulated and (for now) less subject to off-shoring.

Medical devices can be very entrepreneurial (read exciting, fast-paced, and lucrative) or large-scale manufacturing (lots of cool automated equipment and tooling).

Pharmaceuticals appear to have a lot of money available... they're not trying to squeeze out every last penny. From what I've seen, they have very nice work environments and high-end compensation packages.

Both are tough to break into unless you start your career there.

 

[JAE]

I think the most important rule here is for your son to first find out what he really is interested in. Having a job that you love, despite an unpleasant environment, really means a lot. So the actual branch of engineering should be one that he investigates and finds he likes.

There are a lot of individuals out there who love to tap away at computers but do not choose to really work. (now don't get all upset you computer folks out there - many who work with and on computers do work hard) My major professor from years ago recently gave a seminar that I attended. Afterward he was bemoaning the fact that he couldn't find good PhD candidates. He said, "I can hire lots of folks who want to play on the computer all day, write programs and such, but few who really want to work - like spending time in the lab, or really thinking through a project and problem to its conclusion."

Basically, if you have an excellent work ethic, you've got half the battle licked.

 

[ClydeMule]

Congratualtions on being a parent of a serviceman. I am sure you are quite proud.

I'm sure you know well enough that it is tough to start your engineering career at day one and be certain of what business you will be in, and which ones are good and which ones are bad.

The beauty of mechanical engineering and liking to make stuff is you can do that in almost any industry.

I build refrigeration equipment for the medical business, and it is a booming business. But it has it swings as well.

If there is any business that has a lot of oppurtunity, I would say that it is in Water and Wastewater treatment. My Father-in-law owns a business that operates and maintains small sewage treatment plants. He started from zero and in a relatively short time period has done very well. His problem is finding competent engineers to design these small treatment plants. Most of them are designed by massive firms that are disassociated with the project due to their size. I am a registered mechanical engineer, but do some work on the side for him. If you were to go into this you would want to study Civil or Environmental Engineering, though mechanical engineer can do most of the work.

A good way for him to start is take some of the Operator Tests to get certified. That would give him great hands on experience, and being in the Army, any employer would trust him to work on his own. That is the biggest thing is that you usually are working by yourself, so reliability is key.

Anyway, just what I have seen.

By the way, I was an Ag. Engineering major specialized in food processing machinery (and animal prodcution) and my first job was irrigation design. Now I build refrigeration equipment. Never took an HVAC class. You never know what will happen.

Good luck.


Clyde

 

[unclesyd]

Tell him to take some courses that will get him close to Bio-Mechanics or Nanotechnology. Also I have read articles that say Bio-Engineering is entering the production lines a rapid pace.
Please tell him to get an advanced degree if possible. And as stated in previous posts "Be flexible"

Wishing him good luck and a safe return home.

 

[pablo02]

I had a similar experience with my son -- he started in EE because my grandfater was one, my dad was one, me and one other brother are EE's -- he felt compelled to follow suit -- I advised him that I didn't really care what he went into as long as he had a skill and could support himself (and a family if need be) -- he said he really didn't want to do what I did for the rest of his life (power plants) so he changed to Accounting and became a CPA....

I would support JAE in that your son should try to follow something he really enjoys -- in my opinion, the opportunities for most engineering areas are dwindling due to all sorts of reasons -- I think there will be ups and downs in most industries from here on out -- what doesn't "suck" today may do so some time in the future -- I spent 28 years in the electric utility business only to get booted by a new crop of young executives who thought they knew how to fix the business...

I find the medical technology field (all those new instruments and diagnostic equipment) fascinating and possibly a field that will continue to grow -- our infrastructue will need drastic improvements and replacements in the future (but can we afford it) -- water treatment has got to expand -- we continue to populate ourselves out of good clean water --

best wishes to your son in his current location -- hope he and the others return safely (send him some "Listerine" in his next care package) --

 

[Executnr]

David
Go Mechanical, depending on his MOS he may be able to get Uncle Sam to pay him to go to school if he wants to stay in the military. I'm sure there would be a reenlistment requirement but after college he would have a big foot in the door at proving grounds and military design centers around the country (if he is into that side of Mechanical Engineering)

If he is unsure on which part of Mechanical Engineering he wants to be a member of, then his time at school will help hash it out. His love or hate of certain classes will guide him one way or another. (People who hate machine design are unlikely to pursue a career in automotive design).... etc.

Also, looking at your web site, maybe he will take over the family business some day.

David, I'm up here in Wyoming. A lot of CBM stuff going on right now, do you do any work up here?. Would you like to branch out?

Wayne
BSME PE

P.S. Tell your son Thanks from me for all the work he and his buddies are doing.

 

[zdas04]

Wayne,
I've sent him the link to this thread, maybe he'll read your comments and realize how stupid his dad might not be (I told him much the same thing). He calls his MOS "Dope on a Rope" (he's in the 101st Air Assault Division). Don't know if the infantry is eligible for some of the programs he would be looking for.

hmmmmm "MuleShoe and Son Engineering" Can't see it hapening.

I'm working on getting my PE in Wyoming, and I'm looking forward to trying to apply my San Juan Wierd Science to the Powder and other coals. If you have any ideas, please contact me at the e-mail address on my web page. From what I know about the Powder, there is a lot of room for the very-low pressure stuff I've done here.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

http://www.muleshoe-eng.com

 

[Miper]

David,
A few observations that may be helpful:

An undesirable business is one that is bogged down by regulation (aerospace, banking, utilities, etc.) one which has only one or a very few customers (government contractors, airliner manufacturers, etc.), one that has been around more than about thirty years, one steeped in nepotism, or one that believes in hiring consultants to chase the latest management buzzwords.

Good companies are entrepreneurial, realistic, and well-financed, regardless of the industry.

Engineering careers grow with projects. Most engineers are happiest where the management has a strong new product focus with continual new product development.

An engineer gets a bigger part of a project in a small company. At a GE or Boeing, an engineer becomes a "left door hinge bracket flush attachment screw specialist" and sits next to the "right door hinge bracket flush attachment screw specialist." And they have an ongoing, bitter battle with the guys in the left and right door hinge bracket non-flush screw attachment department.

Engineers who start out in smaller places often do very well when they move to a larger company because they have much more experience and confidence than the ones their age who started out in a big company.

There are many kinds of engineers -- designers, test engineers, analytical engineers (structures, dynamics, simulation, aerodynamics, fluids, electronics, etc.). Regardless of which area an engineer chooses, the best ones have a product goal in mind and work hard in school, in their job, and on their own to learn about and pursue that goal.

 

[FredGarvin]

What's his MOS? What does he like? As a previous soldier myself I can tell you I am darned glad I went mechanical. It covers such a broad range that you do get a lot of options for where you want to go. Plus you do have to remember that that will gt him in the door. If he wants to branch off later into something on top of the mechanical slant it's almost expected these days.

 

[zdas04]

Fred,
"MOS" is something like "Military Operations Specialty" and it is a code for a packaged job description.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

http://www.muleshoe-eng.com

 

[k111er]

(ROFLMAO @ TheTick!!)
Yes, you have nailed it! They all suck, just pick the one that looks/sounds like it sucks the least for you. And, though TheTick tells us that Automotive sucks, except for the lean months in July and August, automotive has paid my bills for quite some time. Only my 0.02$, but definitely give the automotive sector a good look - especially if your colleague has mechanical tendencies.

 

[FredGarvin]

ZDAS,
I know what MOS stands for. It stands for Military Occupational Specialty. I was wanting to know what his MOS code was. That way we could know what his background is like. Depending on what it is, he may be better off going into some kind of skilled trade or other avenue.

 

[zdas04]

Fred,
Sorry about that, my brain just kicked out of gear there for a minute, I think I'm ok now.

He's an 11-B (I think that is either "infantry" or "airborne infantry" he's carrying a rifle in the 101st in Mosul). The recruiter said "are you sure that you don't want to learn anything with value on the outside?" and he (being 17 and still knowing everything) said "I want the infantry, the rest of the Army is just hanger's on". A year later he's wondering both at his arogance and his knowledge of the world. He never really planned on a career in the Army, just wanted to gain some maturity before starting on the rest of his life.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

http://www.muleshoe-eng.com

 

[Hush]

My advice is if you want a life other than work avoid a field where your customer runs 24/7, i.e. service or oilfield equipmet manufacture or, worst of all, oilfield service.

 

[SCPotter]

I agree with JAE. The key is to "know thyself"; not an easy task for most of us. Whether any given industry "sucks" or not is a matter of how it's percieved by the-one-who-may-be-sucked-upon.

I'm in a mid-life career change situation myself and I'm finding a great deal of help in "What Color Is Your Parachute", by Richard Bolles. I'd recommend it to anyone who has the time and inclination to ponder on where their life is going. It's an enjoyable read and Bolles obviously knows what he's talking about.

Given the fact that MOST of us are likely to be looking for a new job/career at some point, it's just a chance to get one step ahead of the inevitable.

Thanks to all for a great thread.


Steven C. Potter

 

[electricpete]

I was enlisted (although different branch), then went ROTC, then back into the service as an officer.

It's not such a bad option. If you get ROTC scholarship, they pay. I guess academy is an option as well. A recommendation from an officer in your chain of command may help (I included one in my application).

One big advantage is that your enlisted years of service count for a little something. If you happen to have 4 years service or more then you start as an 0-1E vs 0-1. And the same follows through O-2E, O-3E.

Ok, I know that right now the service seems like the last thing he wants to do. But it doesn't have to be the same specialty or even the same branch of service.

I was in the Navy.... I wouldn't particularly recommend that since working out on ships/boats is not the best.

What about the air-force. Best scenario: be a pilot. The service will invest a lot of money training him and it is definitely a marketable skill if he decides to get out.

Then again, getting out right away may not be what he ends up doing. 20 year retirement is not something many people can do.

To prepare for pilot might want to major in electrical engineering or aerodynamics but any engineering field will work... most important to enjoy it.

Also the air force has a lot of high tech electronics toys. Fun stuff for an ee.

 

[TheTick]

I like the air force. It's almost as good as the military. The problem with the air force is that they are full. It is difficult to get advanced on a timely basis. Even above average officers are at risk for getting passed over too many times and losing their commissions.