Need advice - Too late to get a degree? 2

[t0mills]

Hello All!

I've been a lurker on this site for quite a while now, and have finally decided to register so that I can help other people out where I can, and hopefully receive some help myself.

I need some advice from you guys, about what you think of my current situation, and what I should do.

Almost a year ago, I went to work for my current employer. I originally was just doing contract work for them, and then they offered me a full time position. My official start date was last June.

I started out doing CAD work. I'm a CSWA, and next month, I'm going to try for my CSWP.

However, while I use SolidWorks here every day of the week, I do MUCH more than just CAD work. I'm the only person in the company that does this type of work, so I am the one that everyone calls upon for any kind of Engineering work.

This is a pretty small company, but it has been growing exponentially over the past few years. We're now at over 40 million a year, as opposed to 5 years ago, where it was barely 1 million.

Anyway, I've purchased a home about 45 seconds from the office, and I'm really happy with my current situation, however, I'm concerned about my future.

I don't think that I will be leaving this company any time soon. I'm good friends with the owner and his wife, and I hear quite often things like "Would you like an assistant? I know you're always really busy, and I don't know how we ever got by without you in the past."

Things like that, which are really nice, so that makes me feel like my job is very secure.

I'm doing a LOT of Engineering and Design, and have made this company a LOT of money. The largest retail chain in the world has bought many of the things that I've designed, and our company has got patented. The owner of the company even bought me a Z Corp 450 3D Printer to use for prototypes (this is a very small town, ~1500 people, and there is no where to outsource that kind of stuff). If they got rid of me, there would simply be no one to run it. They even told me about 6 months ago to spec out a PC and they would have it built. I wound up with a quad core, 4 gig monster with 10k drives and dual monitors.

Everything is working out really well, except, that I've never been to College...

That really worries me, because I really like doing what I do here. I take on projects from beginning to end, from meeting with the customer, to design, to manufacture, and then back to the customer.

If I ever leave this company for any reason, I know I will never be able to land a job like this with anyone else.

So, I've been thinking about getting my degree, but I'm almost 23 now, and going to College full time during the day isn't really an option for me.

I've already typed a novel.... So I will stop for now, and see what you guys think.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ctopher]

You are still young. If you can't attend a college full time, there are good online courses to take, but not for Engineering.
I suggest you talk to your manage about it, maybe they can work something out.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 2.0
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated 10-07-07)

 

[KENAT]

Q. Too late to get a degree?

A. No.

I went to uni with plenty of people older than you. It seems you may have some natural aptitude for design so I say go for it.

You do have at least a couple of options. You could go the designer route and probably get by with an associates or shorter more focused course. I think my local community college offers both.

You wont typically get quite the pay or status;-) of an Engineer but can make a decent living, especially if you really learn how to design and draft not just operate CAD (or even worse, just operate one CAD system/CAD Monkey/CAD Jockey).

Is (CSWA) Certified SolidWorks Associate Program and CSWP Certified SolidWorks Professional? If so these are already probably part way to the Designer Route. They'll be usefull for Engineering to but not to the same extent.

If you want to go Engineering then this day and age you almost certaily need your bachelors. I'd expect it will be a lot more work than the designer route with lots of hard math etc. If you're in the UK then open university may be a route, if in the US I'm not so sure what your options are for a good internet/correspondance course.

The fact that your aware this might be an issue. I'd say the next step is to decide if you want to become a Designer or Engineer and plan from there.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[KENAT]

you're not your, sorry.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[t0mills]

That's a good idea. I plan on talking with them about it.

It's not a big problem right now, as I'm doing very well. Every customer has been completely satisfied with my work and product, and come back to us whenever they need something else.

That, and the fact that I'm always extremely busy, makes it hard to find time for College. The closest College that offers classes in Engineering is about 45min away.

I just wish that I had gone to College for this right after High School...

Am I the only one that does this kind of work without a degree? Anyone have any similar experience?


Thanks

 

[vc66]

You're definitely not the only person without a degree who does this sort of work. Almost every manufacturing company hires designers who, if they're like the designers I work with, are basically design engineers who can't do the harder calcs (vibration, shock, heat transfer, etc.) The stuff that engineers have entire classes devoted to.

I would suggest going for some sort of a degree. Perhaps an Associates as KENAT suggested.

Then again, if you're lucky, this company will continue to expand, and you'll retire by the time you're 30.

V

 

[t0mills]

KENAT,

Thank you for your help! I'm definitely aware of my situation, and am trying to think about all of my options while I still have time.

The things that I do are really more on the Design side, rather than the Engineering side I suppose.

The company I work for is a Solutions based company, so if anyone has a problem, they come to us. My job is to meet with the customer (often VERY large corporations), figure out the problem, and develop a solution to meet their needs. It's a VERY broad scope of work, but I love it. I never know what I will be working on next.

And yes, CSWA and CSWP are both certs. in SolidWorks. I've been using it since high school, and absolutely love it.

I will definitely look into going the Design route.

Thanks,

 

[KENAT]

At least one of the drafters/designers I work with has very limited formal engineering education. As I recall he took a short drafting course or one module or something back in the 70s or 80s before CAD was widespread.

Got a job as a drafter and is now probably our lead CAD guy. He's had a lot of on the job training etc but not college that I know of. I believe he makes around the same pay as me.

Talk to your employer about it, work out how it can benefit them etc and see if they'll work with you. They may pay for you, so long as you get at least an A or something and may let you out early a couple of days a week to make classes or something.

To be a designer just knowing a CAD program is in my opinion a limitation. You also need to know drafting (or in these days design communication or whatever for MBD) and at least basic tolerancing etc. You can learn this on the job like the guy here did but a formal program will be better for showing future employees, and as you have no one at your place to learn from may be your only option.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[MiketheEngineer]

You are not too young - maybe too nervous or too scared...

But do you want to do EXACTLY what you are doing for the next 42 years?? - assuming your company stays in business.

Go for it...

 

[TheTick]

You're only one acquisition or layoff away from being an unemployed designer with no credentials. Get a degree any way you can.

If you're half as handy as you say, you will make good use of your education and be even more valuable.

 

[Lion06]

I started college at 23 and had to drive 1 hr and 15 min one way to class. I worked full time while going to school part time for 4 years, and then work part time while going to school full time for 2 years. On top of that, I was married with a kid. It was challenging to say the least, but if you have less familial responsibilities, go for it. You won't regret it in the long run.
As for the gen ed classe, look for a community college and bang them out online. You can smoke through a lot of classes pretty quickly that way.
Also, because of your experience (life and work) and your actual desire for the degree for a reason beyond "I'm good at math and science" you will get much more out of your classes than 90% of your classmates.
Once you get to teh point of taking the actual engineering clases is where you will probably have to work something out with your employer. If you have as good of a relationship as you say (and you continue to get your work done), then hopefully it won't be a problem.
I know at this point in your life it's tough to look down the road and see the true benefit of the possible 6, 7, or 8 year committment on your part, but just think of it this way....... you are going to be 29, 30, or 31 in 6, 7, or 8 years anyway and you will be much better off with the degree. That was what kept me going sometimes (the light at the end of the tunnel can seem very far away sometimes).

 

[t0mills]

vc66,

That's good to hear. I'm still pretty new to this, but in the past year I've learned more that I ever thought I would. My name is out there with all the people that we do business with, so hopefully that would help me if something ever did happen to our company.

You pretty much described me when you said:

"are basically design engineers who can't do the harder calcs (vibration, shock, heat transfer, etc.) The stuff that engineers have entire classes devoted to."

Though I try to factor in everything I can when designing a product. I've got the Machinery's Handbook, and the Handbook of Mechanical Engineering that I refer to often.

I just feel that I could be better, if I had a degree of some sort. I sorta feel like I'm cheating somehow, since I never attended College.

Thanks,

 

[mechmama]

I think it's great to consider going for a degree (2 or 4, engr or not) at 23. That's not even close to being old!

I would definitely go for some further education. Picture this scenario: you continue at the company doing CAD/design for another 5 years. You then move out into other areas, supervising and managing others ~10years. The owner that loves you so much makes you the VP of Operations. . .then they sell the company to an investor. You get cut. You look for another VP Ops job or something with equiv salary, but have no luck because you don't have that degree. Maybe not a very likely scenario and probably sounds kind of silly, but point is don't get so blinded by the opportunity right now that you limit future opportunities.

 

[ctopher]

Lots of great advise. Do what you can to get your degree, later you will be glad you did it. Don't waist time thinking about it. You can be finished well before you are 30.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 2.0
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated 10-07-07)

 

[PatCouture]

It looks like you have been at the right place at the right time to find this job and it's a good thing for you since it's look like you have found your niche.

Of course without a college degree it will come a time that you will feel less qualified regarding someone with a bachelor degree but I don't think that with a degree you are more likely to have many more creative ideas that you may have right now. So if you plan of doing this for a long time then go for it and don't look back, but if you think that you need to do more engineering work then go to school.

I don't have a college degree and there's been a time when I wanted to go back to school to finally found out that I wasn't made for engineering (hard math and other stuff) so now I really enjoy designing things and being good on CAD while keeping the analysis to engineers.

Find out what you want to do and get the tools to do it.

my 2 cents

Patrick

 

[t0mills]

You guys are fast with your responses! Thanks!

I think I'm hearing exactly what I've been thinking, and that's to go get a degree.

I'm going to check with the local college and see exactly what they offer, and try and work it into my schedule. Maybe I will take them up on the assistant offer, to free up a little time on my side.

I think that I can do pretty well in this field. I've gotten our company several contracts, and that's not very easy. One of them was for a very intriquet bracket. The customer (who we had never done work for) wanted me to make them a prototype for them to try out.
They were also having 2 Engineering Firms out of my state make prototypes.

One of the firms they had used in the past, so they were to be their first choice. However, after 2 attempts, that firm could not come up with a bracket that would do everything that it needed to do. The other Engineering Firm's bracket also failed. Mine worked perfectly the first time, and they ended up buying 10,000 of them. We are now their first call when they need something like that.

Nothing huge, but it definitely made me feel pretty good.

 

[t0mills]

*intricate, not intriquet... Don't know what I was thinking there... sorry.

 

[IRstuff]

I think that you'll have a world to gain by getting a degree. Your postings definitely show an articulate person who can think through problems. There are people coming back from Iraq at about the same age, but with far less related job experience, heading off to college, so you're nowhere near being too old.

Education is an on-going process. Every day is a learning experience. The only time it's too late to start school is if you're going to die before getting to the first class.

Good luck with your endeavors.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[ctopher]

going to die before getting to the first class

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 2.0
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated 10-07-07)

 

[ctopher]

OOPS!

I meant:
"...going to die before getting to the first class".

I have felt this way before a class.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 2.0
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated 10-07-07)