When is it too late to pursue engineering professionally? 5

[filasofee]

When is it too late to pursue engineering professionally?

Do you think there are some definite restrictions one must place on their interest in engineering, such as age, skill, math/science aptitude?

I suppose it would make perfect sense to urge an interested person not to enter the field if their grasp of mathematics is severely limited, but what of the real world practicing amateur engineer. I am referring to a tradesman, craftsman, or technician who puts his/her mind to the test everyday coming to solutions on field problems which may have had a similar origin at an engineers desk. Should these people be urged to enter the field, or put themselves through a college engineering program?

If one should have a natural inclination toward the discipline and techniques of professional engineers should they take aggressive means to propel that desire and manifest a reality out of it, and if so what restrictions would you think should apply? Age? Sex? Marital status?

 

[jenofstructures]

i think you can not blame others to go to canada since canadian govt keeps on inviting a lot of people (specially the professionals) there.

but i can't agree on "if you are not good in math try to avoid engineering". Logic is much more important in this career and (cough) perseverance. If you really want to have this profession you will do anything just to get it. Im not good in math when i was in the primary school but i developed the "love" in math in my college since i learned to love calculus and how to derive formulas and many things

I know somebody here who is not really good in math, besides he flunk many times in math but he really wants to be an engineer so he pursue the course, he graduated with honor in Civil engineering and land on the third spot in our board exam

Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree. engineers creates wonderful buildings, but only God can creates wonderful minds

 

[brandoncdg]

I can say that my older brother who is a surgeon told me he doesn't think he could get through an engr degree. He was being pretty serious.

I never think its too late to study for this degree or profession. I am turning 31 today and I learned my hillside grading from someone who learned Civil as a trade later in life from his buddy who was a surveyor. His buddy is a well known person here in SoCal who I don't really know what makes him ok to do his line of work except he sees the topo, city/county requirements and the development in his head better than anyone else around. This is the single reason I take talking with a person for what I know they can and cannot do.

So knowing that an engineering degree is hard, the license requirements are pretty difficult, and the pay generally sucks. Will you still be interested to get your degree in this field? If yes, well then welcome to something that only people in this industry could ever understand.



Civil Development Group, LLC
Los Angeles Civil Engineering specializing in Hillside Grading

http://civildevelopmentgroup.com

http://civildevelopmentgroup.com/blog

 

[FeX32]

Happy B-day


Fe

 

[MiketheEngineer]

NEVER - Unless you are on life-support......

 

[filasofee]

"the pay generally sucks." -brandoncdg

Could you define suck?

 

[KENAT]

Never barring death or perhaps permanent severe impediment such as vegetative state or something.

However, if you want to know whether it will pay off economically make some assumptions and do the math.

By the way, very similar question posed not that long ago – you may want to take a look.

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[moltenmetal]

filasofee, I recently heard an interview on the radio about a physics "prof" in her early 50s who was now apprenticing as an electrician- on a condo project no less. Pullin' wire. She was VERY enthusiastic about the change- literally giggling with it, though it was still early days by the sound of it.

She didn't mention it (and the interviewer didn't ask), but I would not at all be surprised if she was a lecturer rather than a full professor. If so, she'd have had no job security and rotten pay (at one of our local universities, only 25% of the teaching faculty are full professors- the rest are contract lecturers who have to re-apply for their courses every year). Having a PhD here, even in the sciences, is no guarantee of anything other than student debt.

They say a change is as good as a rest, but I wonder how she got it in her head that a job which gets physically HARDER to do as you get older is the kind of thing you really want to take on as you near retirement age! Good luck to her all the same- she seems delighted with her choice at present anyway.

Again, there's no statute of limitations on learning- it should be a lifelong thing for everyone. But at a certain point, formal training for a new career is unlikely to bear fruit of a monetary nature. So unless your goal is to be an amateur, i.e. one pursuing something purely out of love with no regard to money, a little math of the accounting/arithmetic variety is highly recommended prior to making the decision.

 

[gwolf2]

> When is it too late to pursue engineering professionally?

About 28 years old, and don't even think about it if you don't have any basic craft skills and related hobbies. Good maths is a must too. It all feeds in later on to produce that mythical 'well rounded engineer'.

However, if you have a choice I think engineering is far more enjoyable as a hobby than as a job. I know some high powered medical professionals who design, build and fly model aeroplanes and they seem to get a huge amount of enjoyment from the hobby which is almost completely absent in most engineering careers.

gwolf

 

[HgTX]

"About 28 years old"

Based on what???

Hg

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[zappedagain]

filasofee:

I'm glad you popped back in with your story. I say go for it! In my 21 years as an engineer (eeek, time files!) the best engineers I've known are the ones who really enjoy those 'ah-ha' moments in their work.

Having that AS after your name, along with your years of experience, will help landing a job. You can always go back to a technician position, but it sounds like your capabilities are beyond that.

Just be careful on those slipper rocks - Edie B

John D

 

[gwolf2]

> Based on what???

Engineering judgement.

 

[HgTX]

I started work at 29 and have no craft skills whatsoever. Guess I better go turn in my resignation. Thanks for the pointer.

Hg

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[moltenmetal]

HgTX, since you started WORK at 29, you're good. If you started engineering at 29, you wouldn't be, according to gwolf2's "engineering judgment".

If I understand filasofee's post to another thread, they were a little shocked by how (little) newbie engineers actually make relative to a tech at Verizon, and hence may be re-considering...

 

[HgTX]

Something for whippersnappers to keep in mind:

At 35, you still have at least 30 solid years of work ahead of you, if you want them.

Hg

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[gwolf2]

"Engineering judgement" - that's an Engineers joke, shame you didn't understand it.

My comments were in answer to filasofee's original question and I hold by them, especially for electrical engineering which can get VERY mathematical.

filasofee asked a question, I gave an answer, that's it.

 

[jenofstructures]

I really can't think of having this profession for 50years or being in this business until 60years old. There's a studies that i read but i forgot where it is,that some of structural engineers have a high mortality rate. Some of them die because of heart problems. It is due to stress that they are having in work.

So if you want to be an engineer better start early to have all the years that you need LOLZ

Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree. engineers creates wonderful buildings, but only God can creates wonderful minds

 

[HgTX]

I know a lot of older engineers. They don't want to leave. It's almost a shock when someone actually retires from the field, rather than "retiring" from public to private sector, or from a private firm to consulting.

Social Security doesn't really kick in here until age 65; we're expected to occupy ourselves doing *something*.

gwolf, I ignored your "engineering judgement" joke since your previous post did not and still does not appear to be a joke, seein' as how you are still justifying it.

One has to be pretty old not to have enough time to be able to develop a career in one's chosen field. Where age limits really do come in are the prejudices of people like gwolf, who might look at you and say (to themselves), "Omigawd, you waited till *29* to start school and now you're looking for a job at 33??!!?? Why, you're practically DEAD, you geezer! Do me a favor and crawl off and die out of my sight." They'd never be so gauche as to say this out loud, but it will color their entire perception.

And as you get older, the hiring twerps get relatively younger. Most of the sane ones won't look at you cross-eyed for being 33, but there's some prejudice against people over 40, and a lot of prejudice against people over 50.

Hg

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[mauricestoker]

KENAT,

Vegetative state does not limit you from engineering, it only limits you to engineering management. Some medical conditions, like weak knees, no spine and chronic need of chapstick, can actually enhance your career (though the chances of being repeatedly stabbed with a shrimp fork increase).

Of course other fields may pay more, and I believe that you will be happiest and do best in a field you enjoy. I think at 28 years old (when my oldest son started engineering) some fields would be no longer available, and some fields would never be open. Jethro Bodeane wanted to be a brain surgeon or a soda jerk, but he still seemed happy just being rich.

 

[filasofee]

Hi,

I posted this thread question just before spring sessions started at my local community college. I had a handful of credits from 1994 to start with. Since first posting this thread I'd gone through a 6 credit algebra course which prepares one for pre-calc, a graphics class which was mostly drafting and some auto Cad, and Chemistry I. The algebra was work but I found it very intuitive and very manageable. Chemistry was very interesting and completely alien to me. Graphics was fun.

I was very inspired by my return to school that I went in for 9 credits for the first summer session; English II, Pre-Calc I, and sociology. Sociology was annoying and riddled with value judgments but the professor was excellent. English II was a breeze, and pre-calc was a challenge at first since I was having all sorts of mathematics thrown at me at once.

I earned A's in every class. So now I am very much inspired to go to NJIT as an electrical engineering major. I wonder though, (not that the material was simple but,) I did very well in school and I don't know if that was because community college is "easy" or being 35 makes one concentrate even harder. I am taking 7 credits right now during summer second session, pre-calc II and Chemistry, and really enjoy math and science in a way I never had before. I went to Catholic school k-12 and they never really pushed the math and science thing, they pushed miracles and sin a bit more.

How much of a difference can I expect in a college like NJIT in the curriculum? I might be close to 40 by the time I finish and that depresses me beyond belief. I could have my associates in engineering by next June from the community college. The AS was my goal, but what could one expect with an AS degree, 10 years electrician exp., and 3 yrs. telecom exp.? Could this qualify me enough to get a foot in an engineering firm?

Thanks very much for your input.

 

[KENAT]

Before you start thinking the math is too easy, see how you do on full blown calculus, especially Integration. The US system is so different from the UK system that I have trouble what is covered when but if you can handle integration then you can probably handle any math that'll get thrown at you in all but the most esoteric branches of engineering.

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