Should I feel like an imposter working as an Engineer? 2

[metalman89]

I got my BS from a top school in Chemistry years ago. Realized I wanted to go down a different path and did a MS program in MechE. Since I didn't have an engineering undergrad, I actually had to complete quite a bit of undergrad MechE courses first before I started. I then went on to complete all the masters courses for the degree which was 27 additional semester units. The last thing to do was my masters project 3 unit course and unfortunately I put the program on pause to move away for an amazing career opportunity to be a founding member at a tech startup.

Looking back this was an amazing financial opportunity for me, and to this day it's impossible to regret this decision. My biggest regret, as you can imagine, is that I never finished the Masters program and unfortunately too much time has passed to pick it back up again. In the last decade I've worked as a manufacturing engineer, product design engineer, and mechanical engineer for some of the largest household name companies in the US. In spite of my rich work experience, I still can't shake the feeling of being an imposter and calling myself an engineer without actually having an engineering degree. The flip side is that my experience makes me super employable and I'm currently working at the Chief Engineering level so from a career standpoint it's not causing me any harm. It's more of just a personal issue at this point, and I'm curious to hear what you all think about it? Thanks in advance for your time.

 

[mk3223]

Not to worry or regret....
Or, may add it to the bucket list.

 

[SnTMan]

I worked with some really good engineers didn't have a degree, they just knew their field backwards and forwards. I'd not worry about it. Especially if I was "super employable"

Regards,

Mike

The problem with sloppy work is that the supply FAR EXCEEDS the demand

 

[IRstuff]

I never finished the Masters program and unfortunately too much time has passed

sez you; Brian May finished his thesis in Astrophysics LONG AFTER retiring from Queen. You can tell everyone you're going to do similar ;-)

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list

http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm

 

[SWComposites]

mm - have you checked with your Master's university - any chance they would count work experience as a "project" and award a degree?

but yeah, as long as you are not claiming a MS on your resume, and if you have no problems getting a job now, then don't worry about it.

 

[EdStainless]

The last time that I checked the science, physics, and methods involved are the same in the sciences and engineering.
I would call the graduate studies office at the university that you worked at and press them to see what they can do.
With your experience I can't imagine that they would just say no.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy, consulting work welcomed

 

[SnTMan]

A donation might be in order

The problem with sloppy work is that the supply FAR EXCEEDS the demand

 

[CWB1]

Hard no. I've known quite a few excellent engineers who had a degree in another STEM field and even a few without a degree. My favorite intern earned two physics degrees, it was a joy watching him devour engineering texts and online software courses to become a very competent ME after others had doubted him. I've also known quite a few who graduated with engineering degrees from top schools with honors yet were useless at both design and analysis bc they had never taken the time to tear anything apart and study the design. Engineering requires both education AND experience, education being much faster and easier to gain.

 

[TugboatEng]

My grandpa got plucked out of Cal Poly by Bechtel and then went on to finish his career at Aerojet as a QA engineer. He never did get a degree.

 

[Snickster]

From what you describe about your career and education, you seem to be more educated and have more accomplishments than I do as a BSME and 40 years working as a process mechanical design engineer in refinery, chemical plant and oil and gas industries. You do have a degree in engineering and more education in mechanical engineering than most undergraduates BSME's. I would be happy to be in your shoes.

 

[dik]

I haven't done this often in recent years (I still get the odd 'winger'), but when I was younger, I was involved with dentistry work modelling amalgam fillings and steel pins. and taking measurements in the micron range where 'families' could only be determined statistically, and computer programming for piezoelectric ceramics and gas bearings... totally out of my field. I did all my undergraduate stuff in hydrology and hydraulic structures... originally starting in geologic engineering, with courses in optical minerology and morphological crystallography. I had no halo to limit my horizons... I just loved learning.

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[tygerdawg]

Don't sell yourself short. Degrees are the first litmus test of the qualification. That said, there are many folks without degrees who are amazingly competent. Their skills, experience, and accomplishments makes this acceptable. Unfortunately there are also bunches of incompetent charlatans out there who give the Profession a bad name. If you stay with your company where you have proven yourself, then all is good. If you go somewhere else, you may be in the position of having to sell your work experience, accomplishments, and references because you don't have the degree. It might go well for you, or the door to that opportunity may never open because there is a strict administrative requirement to possess a degree.

You may be surprised at how accommodating your University would be to figure out a way for you to finish those last three hours so you can get your paper and finally be invited to march down the aisle with a funny hat. Contact them and ask.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Manufacturing Engineering Consulting

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[3DDave]

an amazing career opportunity
amazing financial opportunity
founding member at a tech startup
rich work experience
largest household name companies
impossible to regret this decision
super employable
Chief Engineering level

If all that is unsatisfying maybe some time at an inner city non-profit will provide a clearer sense of purpose. For a guide star, Salman Khan created Khan Academy to educate the world from humbler origins.

 

[geesaman.d]

The Engineering school 'projects' are some version of a 'real world' experience to prepare you for ... you guessed it, real world projects.

Trading less time in the simulated real world of Engineering school projects and theses for more real-world projects is always an upgrade, IMHO. Engineering school professors might think they can imbue some real-world preparations on you, and while I found their efforts to be somewhat helpful, they are never very useful. Like most of the coursework, the projects mostly prepare you for ever-advancing degrees in the field.

Your resume certainly looks robust to me. Enviable.

One of the best engineers I've ever worked with started out doing janitorial work in a machine shop. He was very intelligent and curious, and just kept asking what was going on. He earned trust to keep machinery going (sweeping chips, feeding stock, etc), then to run basic machines, and before long he was an advanced machinist offering design and manufacturability ideas to the design engineers. Somewhere in there he read a chapter of Machinery's Handbook every day. Last I worked with him, he was a design engineer and a really good one. Engineering school might have been easier and faster if he had access to it, but I don't think it would have made him a better design engineer.

Looking back at my BSME senior design project, I did learn a valuable real-world lesson - it's not what your design / product actually does, it's often what it looks like it does. The team that won our design project competition was a mechanical feeding machine that only ever did one cycle of operation correctly (the rest of the time it flung materials around the room). But they caught it on video and spliced it into a loop. During the questions from the judging panel (the hard part of the competition) that team showed their high speed spliced video for the first time. The mesmerized judging panel were to distracted to ask serious questions and that free pass along with the appearance of blindingly fast, perfect operation, netted their team nearly perfect scores. It wouldn't have made it useful in the plant but it certainly would have pulled in plenty of VC support.

 

[blakmax]

I started my career as a metal machinist, then returned to high school and ended up doing a degree in Mech Eng. I studied part time for a Masters in engineering, and then applied for a research position in materials science that required a PhD. By chance, there were no other applicants so I got the job based on assessment of my work in the field as a project. I say I got he job by popular default.

In my experience, you never use at least 80% of engineering training, but the fact that you got to where you are shows you have the smarts to get on.

Of interest, after I had retired I was awarded an honorary PhD by my old university.

Diversity in experience is a very valuable asset.
Go for it!

Blakmax

 

[electricpete]

Sciences like chemistry usually include core math, physics and programming that are backbone of engineering. Finishing an MS Eng degree (except for project) demonstrates you had pretty good command of the undergrad stuff.

More importantly, for the most part, college diplomas are important only to get your foot in the door, but vastly decrease in significance as you accumulate experience and on-the-job knowledge. Being able to do the job is what everyone you work with cares about, not what pieces of paper are hanging on the wall. (if you change jobs, the diploma might again rise in importance somewhat but only to the extent previous work accomplishments are not readily verifiable)

Using the word "engineer" in your title or resume is certainly justified imo if that is the job that you fill / filled.

The one obvious exception is if you are promoting engineering services related to public safety in a sense that is covered by licensing laws for practice of engineering in your state. In that case you need a PE, and presence / lack of PE would be the ultimate issue (supporting degrees not relevant except to the extent they might be used to meet some prerequisites for a PE).

 

[DAVIDSTECKER]

I just looked up Engineer and Engineering at Wikipedia, and I think you'll like what you see.

 

[Snickster]

Funny but I have always had imposter syndrome when working as an professional mechanical design engineer for 40 years. No one in by family was an engineer or even anything whatsover technical (my father only finished high school and my mother only grammar school) so I was blazing new trails and learning as I was going along. What I did have is a extreme love of science and the application of it to real life. In spite of this I was always thought very highly of as an engineer and given the hardest technical design projects in the companies I worked for and produced very good work with very little mistakes if any (but did take more time than most other engineers which frequently got me in trouble with the project managers, lol) but always had that feeling it wasn't real and I could make a major mistake at anytime. 40 years later I retired with any major mistakes - you never know what you got until you try. In the end I think that my greatest strength was my uncertainness in my own capabilities because it made me more alert and diligent for any mistakes. I would go over every calculation 3x looking for errors. I would research everything I designed figuring out everyway you could possibly design something and then coming out with the best alternative because I did not want to design something that everyone would look at and say that's not the way most people would do it. Sometimes what you think of as weakinesses and self doubts can really be your your strengths.