Was an Engineering Degree Worth it?

[Overt]

This is my "problem"-

I have a mechanical engineering degree and graduated about five years ago. I graduated with an A average. I couldn't find a job even though I had 6 months of pre-graduate work experience. From that 6 months I knew what I wanted to do. Design automation machines. And with no job offers after a long year, I went to a college that offered course work specializing in this and got a technical diploma with more work experience. I have been working as a "designer." I want to advance in machine design, but I find that most people I work with don't have a degree, and don't understand why I'm there. Recently, someone said I was in the bottom end of the mechanical design industry.? It is very depressing when the co-op is studying for a technical diploma in NC programming. I mean, could I have spent only two years post High School in school, which would mean, by now, I would be at the top of this field?

How do I know that the job I have is giving me the right skills, or any skills at all that would help me? I want to use more of my engineering. What field of automation machine design requires this? What can I do to become a better designer?

Am I to old to obtain a job in the leading edge of this industry? How can I get an edge on the competition?

I've become certifiably fluent in German. Could this help me in this industry?

 

[ctopher]

Only not having the degree could hurt you. Sometimes you have to struggle a bit to get where you want in engineering. I suggest gain as much knowledge as possible where your at. Also, go to trade shows and coventions. Nothing is better than meeting others and talking to them.

Chris
SolidWorks 06 5.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 02-10-07)

 

[SWComposites]

Where did you graduate from? BSME or MET or ?degree? And in what locations and types of companies have you looked for work?

 

[Maui]

You need to develop networking skills. This can lead to wonderful prospects down the road, and it has certianly helped me to advance in my career. As ctopher said, nothing can replace meeting others face to face who are involved in the type of work that you're interested in. What professional societies govern the type of work that you want to do? Have any of them established a local chapter in your area? If they have, consider becoming a member and attending the chapter meetings. Trade shows and society meetings are a great place to start. Recruiters can also be useful in this respect, but you must exercise caution when dealing with them.

Maui

 

[Overt]

Thanks for the advice. I haven't realized how important networking is or at least beyond the people at work and at school. I've been reading trade magazines and am looking into organizations I might join like the SME and an EIT program, which are relative.

Id rather not say where I graduated from, though it wasn't in the US. And where I live, which is where I have been looking for a job. I have the equivalent of the American BSME and MET.

 

[GregLocock]

To get my first engineering job I wrote to every single applicable company in the UK. For every job since then I have had to move house.

Cheers

Greg Locock

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

 

[IRstuff]

Well, any field where you can be at the top with only an associate degree or where you can get there in only a few years wouldn't have sufficient depth to keep you interested for 20 yrs, would it?

TTFN

 

[ShaggyPE]

Are there any aspects of your current designs that could be enhanced by performing an engineering analysis? You could separate yourself from your co-workers if you were able to better optimize a process, or reduce the cost or complexity of a mechanism. These enhancements would also look great on a resume if/when you are looking to move on and upward in the industry. If there isn't an area that can be improved with a little analysis, then "engineering" really isn't required. If "designing" will suffice to get the projects done and done well, then maybe a company with more complex projects is in your future.

-Shaggy

 

[tripleZ]

I know you said you wouldn't say where you live, but at least the name of the country helps. Automation positions in the US can be finicky. You basically have to go where the work is, and that changes regions from time to time. I work in Wisconsin, and there a good number of automation design firms in this state, Illinois, Michigan, etc., all geared towards different fields of manufacturing. As automotive companies move plants to the south, I'd hazard a guess that you'll see automation firms popping up down there as well.

 

[FACS]

Where are you located?

Have you tried any side jobs?

The majority of our machines are custom built, the market seems quite large.

Location could be a key.

Charlie

http://www.facsco.com

 

[Overt]

I've looked over all of your comments. Firstly, let me clarify..

1) When I graduated University with an Engineering degree, I looked for over a year, everywhere, for any kind of mechanical engineering job. And worked two jobs at the same time. Of course, not having a computer, or a car (for a while) didn't help. My last job, which was design, but unrelated was over an hour's travel by highway and I worked in shifts. Boo hoo!

2)When I studied for my MET, I moved into a good location for assembly automation.

3)I realize that the way I stated my problem has left me open to criticism about my past and my decisions. When all I wanted were various opinions about the importance of an engineering degree in machine design. And in which field of machine design an enginnering degree would be valued?

Furthermore-
Which field in machine design would keep me interested for twenty years? And where I'm gaining skills that are usable across the spectrum of the machine design industry? What qualities make-up a good machine design company? What are the qualities that make-up a good designer?


FACS, what do you mean by side jobs?

If I design without applying or applying very little engineering analysis, then can I, in the future, do more complex jobs? (At work, I don't think I can work outside my box, when all my hours are pre-booked, though, outside of work I always can, of course.)

Thanks again, for all your comments. Both good and not so good.

 

[prohammy]

Overt,

You seem, to me, to be falling into a mental trap that a lot of mech engineers have experienced.

Being a design engineer requires far more than the ability to use 'engineering skills'. The office envoirnment/industry norm now requires engineers to have a much broader involvement in projects (even more of a Jack-of-all-trades attitude). Automation design is exactly like this as well. You need to see that there is more than just the drawings that you produce. If you want to make yourself more complete, and to add value to your position, learn what the other engineers and accountants and administrators etc do, so that you can work your designs to include/help them to do their end of your projects more efficently.

The other bonus of this approach is that when you are 20 years older and (potentially) in another industry, the fact that you started out in machine design will be part of the engineer that you have become, not the only thing you have becom.

Kevin Hammond

Mechanical Design Engineer
Derbyshire, UK

 

[KENAT]

I'm with Greg on how I got my first Eng job in UK and while I haven't actually moved as such for my second I do work away from home during the week.

You choose not to say where you are in the world but this is unfortunate as it makes a difference.

From what I've seen there is a much bigger distinction between 'Engineers' and 'Designers/Draftsmen' in the US than in the UK for example.

In the UK I, as a degreed engineer, was given the same title (once I had some experience) as other more senior design guys who had taken the apprenticeship route back in the 60s, 70s and even 80s. In fact the 'chief stress engineer' and both senior project manager types had apprenticeships not degrees, and this was aerospace defense!

From what I've seen so far I doubt this would occur in the US but I'd be happy to be proved wrong. Except when they wanted to impress the customer by proving they had degreed engineers it didn’t really make much difference on what jobs I got etc.

I did do maybe a little more analysis than the non-degreed Designers did but not by much.

Also for some employers in the US non US degrees aren’t as attractive plus non North American degrees don’t necessarily count as credit toward EIT/PE, this is one of the problems I’ve encountered.

From my (admittedly limited) experience, the job is pretty much what you make of it. I try to be proactive, do things because I see the need not always wait to be told to do it. However, I have to back this up by making sure the things I am explicitly asked to do still get done on time, sometimes this means working an extra hour or two.

Perhaps you can come up with some analysis tools which improve your process, or maybe formalize some ‘word of mouth’ design guides etc. Maybe look at some of the non core engineering skills as others point out. Project management or preparing company procedures etc.

Sorry the above is a bit disjointed.

 

[atlas06]

So, was an engineering degree worth it?
Sure you can be rich without going to college.
A red neck with a lot of money will always be a red neck, an Engineer with no money will always be an Engineer.

Morality: It is one thing to be rich, another to be an aristocrat.

 

[MechanicalChef]

In a world where most people can't/won't do math, I think that makes us special. I take pride in the fact that I am an Engineer. That extends beyond simply the job I do.