What should my son do with his life? 2

[mykidsfuture]

Hi, I just want to start by saying that I am not an engineer and please feel free to delete this post and ban me if you feel it's necessary. If so I appologize.
My 15 year old son is interested in engineering and I want to know what I can do as a dad to help.
He is on the honor role at school.
Does very well in math and science.
Seems to have a good eye when figuring out how things work, how they broke etc.
So what can I do to help? I will be enrolling him in the University of Western Ontario's summer camp for engineering. I also have solidworks software for his computer coming. I gave him my project MG Midget and we'll be attempting to put a 2.3 turbo Ford in it shortly. The project car should give him a basic understanding of computer management, wiring, mechanicals etc etc. and give him some experience with welding, basic tools etc, and putting square pegs in round holes.
What's a good type of engineering to get into for the future.
What else can I do?
Thanks for your time, and ANY tips or advice about where engineering is going, how to get ready for the job market etc. would be really appreciated.... absolutely anything that you as engineers think would help.
Dad (Jeff)

 

[SiliconeAurora]

It sounds like you're doing about all you should be doing. As a parent, it's less about trying to steer his interests and more about supporting him when he's having problems and weaknesses. If you're making the tools available to him, that's all you need to be doing other than keeping your eyes and ears open to any problems he might be having that he cannot solve himself.

 

[TheTick]

With my own sons, I am not worried about intellect or creativity. They have plenty of those. I am trying to help them develop "soft" skills that will help them work with others as they pursue whatever goals they are after. Can't get away from working with people. (Me? Coaching interpersonal skills???)

My son is in a design and problem solving group at his school (5th grade). He was very frustrated by the group dynamics, how everyone has an idea but no one stops to listen to his or anyone else's.

I've been encouraging him to stop and observe how the group behaves, remain quiet and wait for the right time to speak. Also encouraging him to find ways to help the group work more as a team and less as a gaggle.

 

[moltenmetal]

rb1957: two years of experience gathered throughout the educational process, at 3-6 different employers (UW, Mac), versus perhaps 12-16 months at one place (the U of T experience year)- I'd say there's a BIG difference. Unless you've got a dad like the OP to help you find great summer employment, a real co-op program is far more useful to the student.

From the perspective of an employer, we'd rather have kids here for four-month terms, and take the good ones back for a 2nd term after more study. For a small-ish company like ours, being stuck with a poor selection for 16 months is difficult, whereas you can put up with anybody for four months.

 

[jamesyboy1990]

I'd say it'd be a good idea for your son to learn computer programming language (ie. c++). Even though your description of your son seems to point him more mechanical, he may find the programming aspect interesting too. I was mechanically oriented through high school and then decided to take mechatronics at waterloo. I had never touched programming until then, but I like it a lot now (but struggled because I had never programmed). Not enough to do pure software for a career, but enough to appreciate its potential in robot design.

As for co-op, I feel the co-op program at waterloo is great. I've been able to have different types of jobs (ie. pure software, pure mechanical, robotics) and this would greatly help your son decide what he wants to specialize in during his upper years. He'd have 2 years worth of RELEVANT work experience once he graduates, so that has to be an edge when job searching against students who worked at mcdonalds.

 

[BJC]

Send him to Vassar or Bryn Mar. Tath way he can meet a girl with money. Problem solved.

 

[kontiki99]

Put him through flight training until he gets a pilots license. It will show him there are outdoor, electrical, mechanical, physics, aerospace, weather etc sciences way cooler than couch potato CGI eye candy stuff.

If you want him to get really comfortable meeting women, set him up to be a musician in a band.

 

[HPRifleman]

Like other replies, your involvement with your son's career path is beyond what many of us have experienced when we were kids.

When it comes to promoting his interest in engineering, you have already done more than anyone can reasonably expect from a father. Now comes the hard part as a parent, let him continue (mostly) on his own.

Let your son's motivation to be an engineer (or any career for that matter) drive him from this point forward. While a 15 year old isn't going to declare a career path, he is old enough to pursue what interests him. If those interests include engineering, then you will be able to see this pretty easily.

Provide your son with the opportunities to tinker and learn about the physical world. Guide him with a gentle hand. But let him drive towards whatever result he is comfortable with. This may be a greater test for the parent than the child.

 

[kontiki99]

HPR makes a great point. Some of the better enginering jobs in the next decade might not even exist yet. And, the chances of picking a carrier at age 15 that you don't burn out on at age 35 are remote.

It's probably more reasonable to help him build the self sufficency and wealth he needs so he has something to work with when he does really discover himself and needs to make the transition.

Of course hard won wisdom isn't easily transferred.

 

[FeX32]

Let him go to a school away from home. It's what I did. Aside from engineering I learned other important things in life. My parents hated me for it as I could have stayed at home and chosen any school around there ect.
Do your son a favor, don't hate him for it if that what he chooses. In fact you should encourage it.


Fe

 

[TrippL]

http://www.clemson.edu/ces/me/undergraduate/index.html

 

[flash3780]

Lots of great advise above. It's great fun to take stuff apart to see how it works. Learn to use tools, weld, solder or maybe even build a robot or something. The car is a great idea. My dad and I rebuilt the engine in my first car before I was able to drive it.

One thing: I'd recommend that he take a drafting class in high school if he's interested in engineering. They did a horrible job teaching any type of technical drawing skills at my university. It's something that I use all of the time in my work.

 

[brandonbw]

Car stuff and tinkering with things always feels like Mechanical Engineering to me. I was told around that age that if I was interested in how opening a soda can worked, I might enjoy engineering as a major in school, specifically Mechanical Engineering. Turns out I wasn't so into it, but switched into Civil Engineering as I liked buildings too.

B+W Engineering and Design
Los Angeles Civil and Structural Engineering

http://bwengr.com

 

[havesealwilltravel]

I've been an engineer for 35 years. My personal suggestion is to discourage engineering and encourage him to go into medicine. Your son seems smart and intelligence sets someone apart in any profession.

My children are: Physician's Assistant, Pharmacist and Doctor. Needless to say they have a brighter future in their chosen professions than they would have in engineering.

I'm sure you have noticed the massive amount of outsourcing going on. With the lower need for engineers due to the manufacturing going overseas, the domestic engineering being done in foreign countries and the large number of foreign born people working as engineers in this country, engineering has taken a severe beating wrt wages and opportunities. I see this trend increasing in the future.

People will always get sick and they are not likely to ship people overseas to get them better. Engineering will always exist somewhere, usually where costs are cheaper - overseas.

2 of my kids earn more than me and the third is very close. I've been in engineering for 35 years and they're just starting.

 

[FeX32]

humbug!
Encourage them into what they enjoy to do. Not what makes cash!....that's my opinion.
Being happy is much more important than having an extra bit of cash. (if you care only about the money there are other ways to make even more money....)


Fe

 

[moltenmetal]

Sure, encourage him to smoke drugs and play video games...there's a great future in that! Not so much cash in the playing or the smoking, though- more in the making/growing and "distribution"...

Kids have to follow their passion, but with their brains engaged the whole way along. And passions change- especially in young people. Most people are not so limited and closed minded that there's only one career they could ever consider to be interesting enough to be any good at. The only thing that's a given is to not limit your options by dropping math or science too early.

Engineering is still a very good gig, for some, and the smarter and more passionate you are for the work, the more likely you are to succeed in any profession. But engineering is nowhere nearly the great gig it was 60 years ago, when all you needed was a degree and the world was your oyster. Encouragement of people wh are already passionate about it is fine, but recruiting kids into our profession is idiotic.

 

[Twoballcane]

Yda Yda Yda same old cynical arguments who is comparing apples to oranges. You’re comparing a Bachelors degree in engineering to people who had to go thru another 4 or 7 years of L/M SAT/school/intership/state board exams (retake board exams) to become lawyers or doctors. How unfair. First off, Engineering students get the highest start pay compared to other bachelor degrees. Second, if you do desire going into the law or medical field, your Bachelors degree in Engineer (I’ve heard) will give you a better chance to land you in the program than Poly Sci or Bio/Chem degrees. In any case, if your son has a knack in engineering, go with an engineering degree, if he decides to go further in law or MD, he has a better chance to succeed. For me, I’ve excelled to the top 10% of our salary range (six figures) and enjoyed the trip there.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”

 

[flash3780]

I was thinking of this thread the other day. I'm not sure if you're still following it, but if you are you may want to look into a television series called "The Secret Life of Machines" from the late 80s/early 90s. Tim Hunkin discusses how everyday things work. Telephones. Radios. Car engines. It's a great series, and you might get an idea or two for fun experiments to build with your son. It's be cool to put together an Edison microphone or build a radio from graphite and razor blades.

The series is available on Youtube, or at their website:

http://www.secretlifeofmachines.com/

 

[indme]

If someone wants wealth, then engineering is not the place for them. It's nearly impossible to become rich.

If someone values life experience, engineering is a great profession because, if you are flexible and look hard, you can get a job that allows you to travel the world and experience things that are beyond your dreams.

Everything people like in the world today was made possible by engineers, from medical equipment, to Ipods, Facebook, cars, electrical power, clean water. When your son looks back at his life as an engineer, he will be able to say that he made a difference. If he is crafty and gets all the opportunities it presents, he'll be able to say that he had fun doing it, too.

 

[flash3780]

If someone wants wealth, then engineering is not the place for them. It's nearly impossible to become rich.

I disagree with that. Engineers working for a big company? Sure, you're probably not going to do as well as the hot-shot marketing guys. You'll still do well, though.

On the other hand, engineers starting their own company can make quite a good living, either in consulting or in invention. Imagine the potential to create that comes with an engineering background. Computer Engineering skills allowed Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates, and Paul Allen to create companies which define the computer industry. Dean Kamen has been very successful, and certainly created game-changing technologies relating to personal mobility.

Engineering degrees are something that many CEOs have in common, as a matter of fact.

For engineers, the sky really is the limit.

 

[Hurricanes]

I agree with flash, there is plenty of scope to make some serious coin as an Engineer. It all depends on your skill level, but more importantly your personality and ability to deal with people.

And if you are that way inclined, it is pretty easy to move from Engineering to Management and really rake in the big bucks. Though Management/Project Engineering definitely is not everyone's cup of tea.