Looking for direction and advice for the future.

[offcenter]

My goal is to find stability and direction to help facilitate personal future growth. I am hoping I may be privileged to receive advice from this established community relating to potential paths of education and possibly a following career.

My aspirations and creativity lead me to want to work with advanced and future technology. My assumption is this entails taking the PhD route, possibly several times. On the flip side my pragmatism pushes me to take a grounded approach and specialize in an area currently in demand so I can find a well paying job. No matter which direction I find myself in, a personal demand is to work hands on.

Is a natural path leading to working with advanced and future technology attaining a BS/MS, finding work for a few years or a decade, going back to academia and achieving a PhD, then finding grants and facilities to set up a research laboratory? Or do many scientists mostly go the pure education route which immediately leads to an entry level R&D position either for the private sector or educational institutions? Will there be great financial difficulties going with the second path of pure education?


The second part of the advice I am seeking is practical uses of my current time while I am in school and potential future career paths. I am 28 and just beginning my formal education starting at the local community college. (just a HS diploma currently) As it stands now, it looks like I will have five to six years until I complete a BSEE. So with this extra time in mind I am looking for something to learn hands on which will benefit either my R&D path or my career path.

Currently I the sole owner and operator of a small manufacturing firm designing, fabricating, and e-retail selling illuminated wall art. With this I am experienced with several CAD programs, operating a CNC router, efficiency planning, material procurement, facility layout, website design including SQL/PHP/HTML, customer service, marketing, branding, general ecommerce operations, blah blah blah. Please let me qualify my previous statement by saying it’s a very small one man operation with low production volume. Also, I taught myself how to develop firmware for 8bit MCUs, circuit board layout, and general digital electronic design. Some completed projects include wirelessly controlled RGB LED lighting systems, USB driven BCD clocks, water-cooled PC GLCD UI controlled interfaces, etc. Other interests include IP networking, RF communications, PC hardware and server setup, etc.

The reason why I mentioned my experience to convey my natural talents and the areas I find of interest so they can be translated into a fulfilling research path or career. My thinking is if I specialize in single area I would simply go mad because the way I am built; I like doing everything, especially hands on. If swayed towards MCU systems development I might be stuck in a fluorescent illuminated cubical all day. =( However, from my gathering a jack of a trades is a derogatory term for a generalist and they have little value, while on the flip side I hear jack of trades being described as integrators and are highly valued as managers understanding and facilitating the combination of several branches of technology into a single project.

Are there any suggestions into areas/careers that may take advantage of my multifaceted talents and interests? Are there suggestions along the same line that at the end of the day (50% of the week) I am covered in oil and filth with a big smile on my face? (that’s not a technician’s job) Are there technologies I should begin working with or researching while I have the next five years? (example would be learning PLC ladder programming, simple pneumatics, low level RF communications...) Would being an owner of a manufacturing firm, albeit small, be considering valuable work experience on an engineering resume?

Thanks and my apologies for the partial soliloquy.

 

[lacajun]

One constraint you will encounter in your plans is your age. Once you complete the BS, you'll be 33 or 34. If you get a job and work towards earning your MS, you'll tack on another 3-4 years. You'd be 36 - 38. Then you'd work another 10 years and get the Ph.D., which will take another 2-4 years of full time work. You'd be 50ish and I don't know that a research mill would pick you up. At 50, you could be employed by a small university focused on the practical side of engineering rather than the theoretical side.

All the people I've known that worked and pursued the BS took 10 years to graduate. It was a long hard slog for them and they are bright folks. Engineering is not like anything you've done. It is difficult and demanding. Just be aware of this as you pursue your goals.

Technicians are generally the "hands on" for engineers. Technical work has its pecking order just like any other profession. On some projects, I've gotten dirty but those were rare. And, the products that covered me also made me ill every time. Antibiotics and missed work. Not fun.

Academia can pay good but those are the larger, better known universities. That was the last I heard, which has been probably 10 years ago. Those are highly politicized environments, too.

If you want to do it all and you enjoyed the items listed in your OP, try some aspect of manufacturing with a small company. Large companies do large projects and one engineer can't do it all.

Engineering is vast. Pursuing your degree may reveal other areas of interest. Enjoy your educational pursuits and good luck!

 

[ctopher]

I have never an engineer that took 10 years for a BS or PhD.
My son finished his BS (double major) in 4.5 years.
He will start next month, and complete his PhD 4 years from now.

If what you want to learn is what you want to do, do it. By the time we come out of this recession, you will be more marketable.

Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP5.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[lacajun]

ctopher, the engineers I know that took 10 years to get their BS worked full time, which forced them to attend school part-time. No easy task. They have my admiration and respect.

 

[offcenter]

Thanks everyone for your candor.

The possibility for me to attended school full time is there. It's mostly a question of do I want to keep/grow my small business or take on near insurmountable student loans. Also two reasons for the extended years for a degree is I want/need to ease into the workload and the local community college is lacking required courses for a BSEE despite granting a associates in engineering with guaranteed transfer into Virginia Tech as a junior.

My view of the next decade envisions climbing a tree, there are multiple paths to the top, several techniques of climbing, and sometimes the view is just fine in the middle.

Thanks