[WreckerX5d]

Anyone here an engineer? I intend to switch schools/majors to Electronics Engineering (not for the money, I actually enjoy electronic circuits) in the fall semester and want to know if anyone has any tips they'd like to provide. Things like what I should focus on, when or if I should do internships; things like that. Essentially, if you could tell your college self what you should have done differently to make yourself a better engineer, I want to hear it. Thanks.

[RABAUKE]

I always wanted to drive a train.....

[Josh (PA)]

Originally Posted by Wrecker335d

Anyone here an engineer? I intend to switch schools/majors to Electronics Engineering (not for the money, I actually enjoy electronic circuits) in the fall semester and want to know if anyone has any tips they'd like to provide. Things like what I should focus on, when or if I should do internships; things like that. Essentially, if you could tell your college self what you should have done differently to make yourself a better engineer, I want to hear it. Thanks.

I graduated Lehigh as a Mechanical Engineer. Been working i product development pretty much non-stop since 1997. I love it. A real benefit to engineering is the job market is much more stable than many other careers. Since 1997 I've never not been getting paid or ever had to worry about my next job. I got my MBA and have moved into engineering management. That's another benefit (IMHO) to an engineering degree, it provides a great foundation to moving into management, finance, marketing, sales, etc.

If you get into it, stick with it. The first year or two will be painful and you'll probably question whether it is worth it. It is.

Looking back to college:
I'd tell myself "moderate." "go to class and don't take so many snow days" "drink less, live more" "study once in a while" "get the basic shit down because without it the hard shit is 100x harder" "Figure out units like a champ, I lost a lot of points because I f'ed up units." " Take extra time to learn depth in every kind of design software you come across... really learn it, don't just do whatever class project you have and forget about it. This will set you apart in your first job and again make life easier when you get into harder stuff" Have fun and make friends, they'll last a long time, but get a strong foundation of engineering skills too.

Join engineering networking groups. Take internships wherever/whenever even if they don't pay. Look for in your field type projects. Find things that will show you have an interest and some level of experience in your field for your resume. When you interview be passionate about that experience and projects and be able to answer second level questions (ie: a bad answer is "I participated but my group members did all the real work so I don't really understand why x component had y function")

Just my thoughts.

[zx10guy]

I'd add consider taking the EIT (Engineer In Training) exam shortly after you finish your degree. If you wait, at least for me, it becomes so much harder to have to refresh all the material you'll need to know to take the exam especially while working.

Getting the EIT in my opinion will raise your marketability to employers and sets you on your path to getting a PE license if you so choose to go that route.

While I completed my four your degree in Materials Science Engineering, I'm not even in that field of study. Ended up in IT.

[Axius]

Self proclaimed tooling engineer due to life experience. I know more than the guys I work with that have college degrees.


Find an internship, learn learn learn learn learn, hands on, surround yourself with what you want to know. You will learn more from the people that are already in the business than you will from books. I was in college and working full time, and after 80 hour weeks, work experience alone gave me several different job offers. School is a huge bonus I don't have, but flood yourself with real experience and ask questions.

[WreckerX5d]

Thanks for the replies. Even though I can probably ask the Ph.D. engineers at the school the same questions, getting outside information is beneficial as well.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by Wrecker335d

Anyone here an engineer? I intend to switch schools/majors to Electronics Engineering (not for the money, I actually enjoy electronic circuits) in the fall semester and want to know if anyone has any tips they'd like to provide. Things like what I should focus on, when or if I should do internships; things like that. Essentially, if you could tell your college self what you should have done differently to make yourself a better engineer, I want to hear it. Thanks.

BSEE here.

A degree really helps getting you in the door, but after that experience goes a long, long way. Take as many lab courses as you can. Lots of hands-on experience (designing, building, testing, etc.) really helps as well as job versatility. If you enjoy building circuits and other do-it-yourself stuff at home, I think that's a big plus when looking for a job.

[eluded]

All this talk of engineering makes me want to go outsource something.

[Chrispy650]

I'm probably in the minority (biomedical engineering major-grad in 2012) but if I had to do it all over again I would've gone into ME. I think you're on a good path choosing a specific field. BME was more of a jack of all trades but the master of nothing. That being said I did get an engineering job at one of the top heart valve medical device companies and couldn't be happier. At the same time I barely applied any of what I learned in classes and it was all on the job learning .

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by Chrispy650

At the same time I barely applied any of what I learned in classes and it was all on the job learning .

Same here. I found that very few classes really prepare you for real world engineering.

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by Wrecker335d

Anyone here an engineer? I intend to switch schools/majors to Electronics Engineering (not for the money, I actually enjoy electronic circuits) in the fall semester and want to know if anyone has any tips they'd like to provide. Things like what I should focus on, when or if I should do internships; things like that. Essentially, if you could tell your college self what you should have done differently to make yourself a better engineer, I want to hear it. Thanks.

I'm a EE with a concentration in electronics. Spent 18 years as a manager of software and hardware techs...but recently made the move back to engineering. I deal now with power electronic substations...which there's a big industry for. Cooper Eaton, GE Alstom, ABB, Seimans, there all out there looking as the workforce has been retiring (same for the utility companies).

I got lucky...well, maybe not... I graduated first in my class and was hired before I even got out of school. I've always worked hard and my former bosses look for me as they've moved on. Needless...great field...highly recommend.

[fcman]

Every single person I've met with an engineering degree ended up in software development/IT. I am about 9 credit hours away from my Aerospace degree but I said fuck it and got a CS degree. In the more high tech engineering disciplines you're not going to be doing anything overly exciting unless you have a Masters/PHD.

[smrtypants44]

Im IE with an aerostructures manufacturer. My recommendation is to take as many excel/visual basic classes as you can.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by fcman

In the more high tech engineering disciplines you're not going to be doing anything overly exciting unless you have a Masters/PHD.

I don't think that's necessarily true.

What do you consider as "overly exciting?"

[tcpsoft]

Double honorary PhD in Sanitation Engineering here....

I work in a data engineering group, but I know several guys, all at least MS and PhD EE grads, designing and testing mobile chips for a large telecom. I chat with a few of them at lunch on occasion and at the annual Christmas party and I have a tremendous amount of respect for what they do. They say there's definitely a shortage of new engineers wanting to do IC design in the US and they seem to always be looking for talent. Good $$ if you get into it.

PM me your email and I'll see if a few guys would mind exchanging emails. One generalization about engineers - not the most outwardly social group, but no one's perfect.

[WreckerX5d]

Originally Posted by tcpsoft

Double honorary PhD in Sanitation Engineering here....

I work in a data engineering group, but I know several guys, all at least MS and PhD EE grads, designing and testing mobile chips for a large telecom. I chat with a few of them at lunch on occasion and at the annual Christmas party and I have a tremendous amount of respect for what they do. They say there's definitely a shortage of new engineers wanting to do IC design in the US and they seem to always be looking for talent. Good $$ if you get into it.

PM me your email and I'll see if a few guys would mind exchanging emails. One generalization about engineers - not the most outwardly social group, but no one's perfect.

Thanks, I'll send you my email.

Thanks again everyone for the replies.

[OptionlessM]

Mechanical engineer doing hardware product development. The company I work for is probably the very best in hardware, so the expectation is very high but I love it.

If you truly love engineering, the vast majority of "engineer" jobs probably will not be sufficient to satisfy that need. Therefore, hold yourself to a high standard during schooling and be sure to throughly understand concepts and the soft skills of being able to explain those concepts.

Absolutely get a summer internship and don't just take the first job that's offered to you. During that internship, focus on team interactions rather than just pure deliverables. Don't just pick aerospace because it sounds cool (odds are it isn't...) Make sure the exact job description interests you.

From there, don't feel bad about bouncing around every few years while early in your career.

Again, be sure to excel in school and put effort into actually "getting it" not just being able to take the tests.

Don't go into engineering just because it's a "good path to management"

[fcman]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

I don't think that's necessarily true.

What do you consider as "overly exciting?"

Research/cutting edge tech design
Something like developing a new CPU architecture. Obviously everyone has different interests though.

[Fifty3bags]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

I'd add consider taking the EIT (Engineer In Training) exam shortly after you finish your degree. If you wait, at least for me, it becomes so much harder to have to refresh all the material you'll need to know to take the exam especially while working.

Getting the EIT in my opinion will raise your marketability to employers and sets you on your path to getting a PE license if you so choose to go that route.

While I completed my four your degree in Materials Science Engineering, I'm not even in that field of study. Ended up in IT.

Electrical Engineer here, graduated in 2012. Currently working in nuclear power plant design. Definitely take the FE/EIT your senior year. I haven't taken mine yet (taking it in April) and regret not taking it my senior year. Hard to get back into the study habit, and also haven't used most of it since school. I also agree with the person that said excel classes, they'll help for sure.

[WreckerX5d]

What's the general consensus with getting your Masters? Is it more beneficial to do it right after the BS, or work a bit then go back to school? I get most of my schooling paid for by the Post 9/11 GI bill, so I'll only have a small amount of student loans compared to what I will receive in education.

I already have a background in telecommunications/electronic circuits via the USMC (data systems tech), will that play a role in what kind of work I can do? Sorry if some of these questions seem elementary; I'd just rather be over prepared than under.

To the EE's, what kind of books do you suggest studying? I've found one here.

This is the curriculum of the degree I'm intending to switch to. I agree experience goes a long way but the coursework is important to me as well. I don't want to fall into another joke curriculum like I had with my past 2 years of schooling.

Thanks again.

[Fifty3bags]

Originally Posted by Wrecker335d

What's the general consensus with getting your Masters? Is it more beneficial to do it right after the BS, or work a bit then go back to school? I get most of my schooling paid for by the Post 9/11 GI bill, so I'll only have a small amount of student loans compared to what I will receive in education.

I already have a background in telecommunications/electronic circuits via the USMC (data systems tech), will that play a role in what kind of work I can do? Sorry if some of these questions seem elementary; I'd just rather be over prepared than under.

To the EE's, what kind of books do you suggest studying? I've found one here.

This is the curriculum of the degree I'm intending to switch to. I agree experience goes a long way but the coursework is important to me as well. I don't want to fall into another joke curriculum like I had with my past 2 years of schooling.

Thanks again.

If you think you'll ever go back and get your masters, get it now and don't wait. For me, I want to get mine but I would have to do nights/weekends and like I said in my previous post, it's hard to get back into study mode.

That looks very similar to the courses I took for my degree (only took quick glance at the courses). As long as the degree program is ABET accredited, then you shouldn't have a problem with the degree. Also, don't do an engineering technology program. I know many people that got one and took them a long time to find a job. Most firms won't hire you as an engineer if you have an engineering technology degree (Also, you can't get a PE with an engineering technology degree. At least that's the way it is in GA and TN)

[rsr552]

Do an internship as soon as possible. As others have alluded to, experience in the end trumps your college experience, and will help you get your foot in the door to your first job. Even if the internship isn't related to your dream job, do it anyway. Any experience is better than no experience.

Also, do not forget the power of talking to people/meeting people. It is much better to know people in your industry vs cold applying to jobs on websites. It becomes a lot easier to get a job when you have a reference from within the company.

With the EIT exam....you can take that during your senior year. I took mine in the fall of my senior year and it was relatively easy once all your classes are relatively fresh in your mind and you are used to studying a lot still.

Become active in your professional associations. Actively attend meetings at the very least, and if you are up to it, get active with volunteering or even take up a position in a committee.

Develop personal relationships with your professors and counselors and other engineers. You will find mentors that will prove to be invaluable not only in your early career, but as your career progresses.

That's all I can think of for now off the top of my head.