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?

 

[FeX32]

Persons should be restricted based on skill/knowledge and intelligence, as they are already.
Of course a hands on app. is good, but it is sad to see how many trades people that think they can engineer. Just because you can think of another way to weld 2 pipes together doesn't mean you "engineered" anything. What science was behind that decision???...ect.
....

All in all, anyone who is interested should think about it.


Fe

 

[jenofstructures]

the younger you start the better since experience is the best teacher

i also observed that respect from colleagues varies directly with age...Seniors engineers had a lot of talking while juniors had a lot of listening

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

 

[zdas04]

I used to teach the Engineering activity pin to Weblos (the last year of Cub Scouts, Grade 5 kids), and I differentiated Engineering from other activities by saying that Engineering was "the application of mathematics to describe the physical world and to predict the effect of proposed changes". In short if you struggle with arithmetic then no matter how innovative you are, your chance of success in Engineering school and in Engineering practice is going to be curtailed.

Someone with poor math ability should avoid the profession. Other than that, age, gender, race, religion, cultural heritage, or sexual orientation should not be a barrier to entering or succeeding in the field.

David

 

[moltenmetal]

There are no limitations on when you can start to learn ANYTHING. It gets tougher, but it's no doubt good for you too.

There are definite limitations on when pursuing a course of study is worth it economically relative to the investment of non-earning time and tuition involved.

FeX32 can tell you why I think anybody who is considering engineering as a career option should give their heads a shake first- he apparently has my tirade memorized by now. But as I've said before, the people who are truly committed will not be deterred by the facts.

 

[controlnovice]

Never too late.

______________________________________________________________________________
This is normally the space where people post something insightful.

 

[FeX32]

Tirade? I agree with that.
Truthfully, I have seen more incompetent engineers than I would like to see. But who am I to judge.
Also, our country has a history of technological superiority then most. Take the avro arrow for example. Destroyed because of the stupidity of politics.
Why don't we make a "DON'T GO INTO ENGINEERING IN CANADA WEB SITE".
Preferably positive thought is more constructive then negative.


Fe

 

[KirbyWan]

I would definately not pursue an engineering career after death. Any time before that is alright by me. I don't even think that math and science aptitude is critical. It may be critical for many fields within engineering, but there are engineering fields that don't need exceptional math skills. If a student can struggle through the required classes with a passing grade, they have the required aptitude. Most engineering debacles are not because of a computation error, but because of a failure to understand the failure mode or how a product will actually be used which is more conceptual then mathematical.

-Kirby

Kirby Wilkerson

Remember, first define the problem, then solve it.

 

[Junior37c]

If you're getting into it for personal satisfaction, there's no such thing as too late. However if you're getting into it for financial reasons, a future worth calculation can provide a much more qualitative answer than any number of opinions we can provide.

 

[ornerynorsk]

Generally, our only obstacle is ourselves.

 

[moltenmetal]

KirbyWan: I agree with you on the "after death" part- according to a good joke I heard, apparently practicing engineering in hell can cause more than the usual disagreement between God and the devil- and where's God going to find a lawyer?

FeX32: the website you suggest doesn't exist- perhaps it should.

One that comes close, though, is

http://www.notcanada.com

. I'd estimate that about half the participants in their forum are foreign-trained engineers who have been unable to find work as engineers in Canada, and hence have an axe to grind. They blame Canada and Canadians for their plight, rather than the job situation for engineers- understandable, since they keep hearing this rubbish in the media about Canada having a generalized "shortage of skilled workers". If you have a hard time hearing from me on this topic, you're going to LOVE what these folks have to say about us as a nation!

 

[FeX32]

I could not care less for those people that think they can come to our country and steal our careers, these are rightfully ours to begin with. Period.
Stay in your own country if you are "well off"......
Why would we want more Engineers that can't even multiply. Who knows how they got their qualifications, "back where they came from".
Despicable.




Fe

 

[FeX32]

by the way, I have many friends from EUROPE that are superb engineers that came here passed the test with flying colours and now are professionals.
One of them came and took the exam the very same week he arrived.
In fact, in some cases you don't even need the test. Another friend of mine from eastern Europe got an equivalency degree recognition through one of our equivalency departments at a university. This only took about 1 month.
That site is crock. Period.


Fe

 

[FeX32]

not to mention my buddies from China. I don't hear them complaining. If they could they would have 3 P.Eng's by now.


Fe

 

[msquared48]

Since we cannot pursue engineering after death, I assume that also applies to the death of the economy?

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask

 

[filasofee]

Thank you for all the replies. There has been some positive feedback save for the bit about avoiding Canada! I've posed this question for personal reasons, you see, I am 35 and have recently returned to school in an effort to achieve at least an AS Engineering from my community college. I left school the first time due to two reasons, first being a lack of career goal which made picking a major quite difficult, the second being my involvement with a touring music group.

Being an extremely pragmatic person I chose the electricians trade as a day job because of the specialization allowing me to pick up work whenever I needed it in whatever city. Once a marriage and child come into play the touring stopped and the electrical trade became more serious beginning with a union membership. Having completely pulled out my hair from the Marxist ideology of trade unions I left after 10 years in the trade to join yet another union in the communications business as a network technician for Verizon.

Three years into optical networking I came to a similar plateau I reached in my electrical situation, performing well over the intended mark, not out of vanity or brown nosing but natural talent. It seemed clear to me once Verizon issued mass layoffs that I should seek challenging work. The jobs available mandated an associates in engineering as a minimum, so the path seemed clear, go get an associates.

However, without even considering the grander concept I seemed to be poised to embark on a greater journey toward professional engineering. It stimulates me to use those parts of my mind that had only been minimally tapped in my previous work experience. I must explain that much of my attitude toward science and mathematics has been split open wide from a passion for philosophy. The "a-ha" moments I experienced from reading Kant or Sartre have been replaced with the same intellectual buzz I get from school chasing the engineering degree.

So, I do stay awake some nights reeling from the thought I'm being foolish and putting my family at risk in an effort to get the mental "a-ha" fix. In your opinion would someone of trade stature be able to cross over the engineers threshold at an age like 35?

 

[FeX32]

I suggest, you do not avoid Canada.
Only come here if you are the "creme of the crop", otherwise there are others who will step on you.
And some who will do so with a large grin as well.
{no pun intended}

Moving on, 35 is not too bad. I suggest you do it part time while you work as an electrician.
And every evening, you can study "a-ha" fix and all.


Fe

 

[dvd]

filasofee:

I can appreciate your position. I was a union tinner and felt the need for more challenge. I got a bs in m.e. and went to work as an engineer. For me an engineering job was not as satisfying as engineering school was. I changed jobs and got a masters in m.e. That still wasn't fulfilling. I got a phd in m.e., and a new job and I still feel unsatisfied professionally.

I have reached an age where my friends in the sheet metal trade are retiring (fairly young) and I don't have any pension from my engineering efforts, so don't forget to look at the big picture.

I think that engineering is a big gathering place for all kinds of people. Some of us are from engineering families, some of us are natural engineers, some were advised to become engineers, some are like you and me: people who want more professional fulfillment after trying something else. My advice is to look around. Engineering can be very fulfilling to the right person, but so can physics, mathematics, geology, meteorology, theology, etc.

You should think about augmenting your trade with something that you find personally stimulating. Maybe you shouldn't quit your day job. If you have a secure source of income you can delve into more obscure areas of knowledge just for the sake of learning. Don't get a degree to just do a cleaner kind of grunt work. Do something that will stimulate you. Don't sink yourself into debt and postpone your life for the promise of an engineering degree unless you know that engineering is definitely the right choice. I don't think that age will deter you from proceeding with your dreams.

 

[TheTick]

Don't let lack of aptitude stop you. With enough of that, you will soon be an engineer's boss.

 

[SomptingGuy]

There are plenty of engineering jobs that don't come with "a-ha" moments. Some engineers seem to like the "I did that" satisfaction. Being an "a-ha" type, I got bored after my first 5 years - there's no "a-ha" in turning the same old handle for a different client. Finding a position that hits the right spot is important.

- Steve