Soon to be grad looking for some advice

[gopherloafer]

Hi, I will be graduating this December and am feeling lost as to what my should be my next step. My degree will be a bachelors in mechanical and I have been reading about and looking at the various jobs offered to mechanical engineering grads. Mostly I have been looking at the big companies that recruit at my school such as lockheed, northrop, ge, etc.

What I would really like to work on are the large structures that contribute to society like dams, bridges and buildings. I am really interested in their design and would like to contribute to this field. I know anyone reading this is probably thinking "a little late to realize this now, should have went civil", but at my school I didn't have the option of civil engineering, and wasn't really exposed to the difference between mechanical and civil until later on in my course work when it was too late to switch anyways.

I was wondering if anyone had any guidance on what I should do from here. Would it be extremely hard to switch and get a masters in civil after a bachelors in mechanical? If I did this, would it look bad or unusual to employers? The problem with this is I really need to get a job after graduation. I know some civil engineering firms hire mechanical engineers for hvac but I'm more interested in building the entire structure and would be afraid of getting stuck in hvac if I started out there. I don't really know any engineers out in the "real world", so if anyone here has any advice I would really appreciate it.

 

[GregLocock]

In the real world there should be no problem moving into structures with a mechanical engineering degree. Whether academia agrees is a whole nother ballgame, ask the relevant institution. I did some UK structures papers, they'll keep you on your toes.

Cheers

Greg Locock

SIGlease see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[msquared48]

What structural courses did you take?

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[rowingengineer]

Most of my mechanical engineering friends do civil design (water pipes). I also have a good mate that is the head of a local engineering firm that specialises in structure bridges whom is a mechanical grad.

Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in mud. After a while you realize that them like it

 

[MechEng2005]

I might consider starting in a civil engineering firm as an HVAC designer or something similar, and then trying to work your way up. That way, you may be able to get your employer to help pay for some education. Maybe just a few key courses for civil eng. grads that mech. don't take, maybe going all the way to having dual bachelors in mech. and civil, or a Master's in civil.

I would definately explain your hopes of progression right off the bat (although either leaving out or being tactical in the hope helping of payment for further schooling).

I would think there are some firms out there that would love to have an HVAC guy now that will be ready to take on the strucutral engineering aspects 5-10 years from now. Most places have somebody that will be retiring or leaving, and it would be nice for them to have somebody waiting in the wings that already know the office and that they already know.

Of course, finding a job of any form in the current economy may be a challenge, and you may not have as much of a choice about your first employer.

Best of luck to you!
-- MechEng2005

 

[MiketheEngineer]

I have hired a few mechanicals for structural work - didn't go too well.

I am guessing that if you went back and picked up 12-15 hours in structural - you might be able to get a second degree. Check it out.

 

[gopherloafer]

Thanks for all the replies. It seems like if I could find an entry level position, HVAC with a civil company would be a good place to get started. At my school the civils take many different classes than mechanical students, so I think I would need more than 5 classes to get a second bachelors. After working for a few years would it be possible for me to get a masters in civil with a bachelors in mechanical? Also I know you sometimes need to have a bachelors in engineering to get your PE, but if you want a civil PE can you have a mechanical bachelors?

 

[stanier]

Wh not do what the average Aussie graduate would do. pack your bags get on a plane and travel the world. Come dowunder and get a job with SMEC. (Snowy mountains Engineering Corp well it was until it morphed into a general engineering house. You will find them on the Internet.

We Aussies are not so snobish about what degree you have. After all a mechanical engineering degree proves :-
you worked damn hard for four years,
drank copies amounts of beer,
chased women and played rugby/gridiron/football..
and still survived.

Not much you learnt in university will be used anyhow (about 10%).
Get your self onto a big jobsite and start learning. teach yourself what you need in the civil engineering field by books or remote learning courses. Fundamentally pick the brains of those around you.

Determination and willingness to learn will beat study hands down in this country.

 

[rheim]

In a company I worked for 10 years ago they had an aerospace engineer doing structural engineering. Worked out just fine. He is still with them.
They also had a mechanical engineer, didn't work too well. But don't let that discourage you, this guy was a real geek. He had 10 semesters of mechanics classes under his belt and could provide a 80 page analysis for connecting 2 pieces of lumber with 3 nails. In other words, he never delivered within the budget and never met a deadline.
I can't see why you wouldn't be able to work your way into structural engineering, if you have the dedication to do so. A lot of structural work is dealing with code requirements, and you don't learn this in College or University anyway.
You might be better of with small companies, which emphasize more on getting the job done than on papers showing degrees.
Good luck

 

[HgTX]

I don't think you'd have major trouble getting into a civil engineering master's program. There might be a couple of catchup classes they'd make you take as prerequisites to the graduate-level structural classes. Pick a likely program, call them up, and ask.

And as long as you have *some* kind of ABET-accredited engineering bachelor's degree, you should be able to eventually get licensed as a civil PE--but check with your state board just in case. The regulations I've seen don't get specific about the discipline in which you hold your degree, and you'll have further evidence for which test you ought to take from the master's and subsequent job experience, but ya never know, so better ask.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[MGXFP]

Don't forget that structures aren't much use if they're on a bad foundation. Take some soil mechanics and foundation classes while you're at it.

 

[plasgears]

In case you hit a dead end in your job search, consider the possibilities of bio-med-eng. The path would be bio-med studies with guidance from university advisors in that specialty.

 

[DWHA]

If I were you, I would spend 1 extra semester in college and get about 15 credit hours in structural classes. This opens the door to many different options for you. If you take 1 semester of structural classes (Structural Analysis, Foundations, Reinforced Concrete, Steel & Timber) I do not think that many employers would not hire you just because your degree says mechanical. With that one extra semester you will have a decent grasp of basic structural engineering (from an academic level).

 

[purdue87]

structural types aren't building anything these days now that goldman sachs and aig have pissed it all away. stimulus money is gone (where'd it go)...

i'm with our aussie friend stanier..... TRAVEL and work.... that's what i did.. us / south africa / europe.

good luck....

Thanks,
Scott

 

[cvg]

dams - hydroelectric facilities require a lot of mechanical engineering to design the turbines, generators, gates, cranes etc. You may need some structural, hydraulics or electrical experience also.

buildings - mechanical required to design elevators, HVAC, fire or domestic water pumps and any other mechanical equipment etc.

Bridges - most mechanicals are required to take statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials etc. did you learn any FEA? If you had any of these classes you could move into structural analysis

 

[DWHA]

purdue 87,

I dissagree. It depends on where you are at and the type of work you do. Bridges are always being built. That work will never stop. The company I work for dues 80% bridges and 20% other structures. The bridge work has not slowed one bit.

 

[youcancallmeAL]

I would start looking at small companies. The gatekeepers at big companies are the flakes in the HR departments with communications degrees. Someone tells them that an applicable canidate has to have such and such degree. They don't know enough to understand that the most valuable skill you picked up in school was the ability to "go figure it out", not something that is disciple specific. I would also look "up" at the interview. You are definately going to need your license, if that company doesn't have the 3-5 PE's to recommend you, find someone else.

FYI - my degree is an engineering specialty in Green Construction, I am now in R&D in industrial heating equipment and love it. Sometimes life throws you a curve.

 

[PeterStock]

I have a BS in Ocean Engineering. Currently I am working on jet engines and aerospace. But I do live on the coast.

As has been said the specific degree does not matter as much as the skills learned and the ability to learn.

For the structures work you are interested in, do make sure that there is a PE around to oversee your work. I have not found that a PE is needed for what I do (industrial exemption), but the area you are interested in would require one.

Peter Stockhausen
Senior Design Analyst (Checker)
Infotech Aerospace Services

http://www.infotechpr.net

 

[DarrellThomasNV]

"I have hired a few mechanicals for structural work - didn't go too well."

What happened Mike?

 

[DarrellThomasNV]

In a bad economy... no jobs prospects... go to grad school while it's still fresh. Other options: Law School, MBA, etc..