Well, I would like to be an Engineer after college, but I have one major problem. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT AN ENGINEER DOES!!! The only bit of infromation I know about is that it takes A LOT of math/science skills. One of my teachers had told me that I would be a natural . Sooo.... Are there any engineers on this board? Do they get good pay? Any good schools in Texas with good Engineering studies? Do I post dumb things? Ah, too many questions.
Depends on what kind of engineering you do...chemical, electrical, computer, biomedical, software, etc...Do a little more research and find out which field you'd be best suited for, and which has the best potential for job growth yep, but be prepared to work your ass off Texas A&M...just as long as you're not asked to stack logs Can't be any worse than some of the stuff on the Rockets board
I'm a software engineer... If that's what you're into, Texas is one of the top 10 CS programs in the nation (#7when I graduated)... money... yeah we tend to make good coin it's not the most exciting profession, i mean you sit in front of a computer in an office for hours a day... but if you like programming, you can really get into it (as I do)... but there are tons of engineers... civil, mechanical, petroleum, electrical, testing, structural, hardware, software, custodial... the list is endless...
I have a civil engineering degree and am currently working on a master's in project management. There are a wide variety of things you can do as an engineer from very technical jobs to managerial jobs. If you have any questions you would like to ask me, feel free to send me an email. Joe Joe is an engineer who does environmental work in Houston, so you might want to drop him a note too. He's very enthusiastic about what he does so I'm sure he wouldn't mind talking to you about it.
I'm almost finished with my Computer Engineering degree and I am interning at Cisco Systems. Basically I am working as a test engineer, testing routers. You throw commands at them and sometimes you gotsta check them out with various devices (oscilloscope, volt meter, etc.) to check things like the power system. It's okay work and you do get paid a lot. I have also worked at Intel, a little more on the design side. Since I was only an intern, I didn't actually get to design anything. Mostly I made models of the circuits that the engineers designed. Now, engineering is not for everybody. Computer engineering is pretty much indoor, sit on your a$$ work. The financial rewards are very nice though, especially once you move into management. Since your are just starting school, there is little point in looking at job opportunities right now (they will change before you are done) so think about what you like (cars, computers, the outdoors, buildings, whatever) and talk to some schools about a related department (ME, CpE, CE, respectively). If you do go into engineering, there are a couple of advantages. You don't need grad school, for one. There is a lot of diversity, people from many different cultures go into engineering a lot. Also, if you want to go into something else, an engineering degree can get you into law school or med school if you can pass the tests. Engineers are problem solvers at heart. I think it is a good degree to get (duh) but you should talk to people who know you better and find out from them. On the negetive side, the ratio of men to women is about 10 or 20 to 1 in all of my engineering classes.
Then why would you like to be one? To answer your question, an engineer is a little man in a blue suit that drives the train. It's an easy job, you don't really have to steer at all.
Unfortunately that doesn't really change in the workplace either... in my last job, i worked in a team of 20 people... 1 of whom was female...
THE University of Texas has the #10 Electrical Engineering dept. in the nation. I will be entering my last semester this fall and I only have 3 classes left. In fact all Engineering disciplines at UT are top-ten. Yes, it does take some serious applied math and science skills. You need to have an excellent background on differential equations (linear and nonlinear), as well as a good grasp of basic mechanics, and electricity & magnetics (E&M). Is it worth it? That's for you to decide. In college I've chosen party and study as my two objectives. So there are alot of times where I don't sleep well. I'm kind of a slacker and am sitting on a 3.1 GPA right now. Hope this helps.
Hydra, a friend of mine was supposed to intern last summer with Cisco but his offer letter got rescinded along with many others. I guess they're doing better now. I am in the PC business myself so I know the reality of the RIF (reduction in force). As far as grad school goes, a engineering degree + MBA = 6 figure salary. Oh, and EE is definitely a sausagefest, swordfight, or whatever else you want to call it.
I'm a Mechanical Engineer by degree, and have slowly but surely moved to Project Management, Decision Analysis etc. The thing I like about Mech Eng. is that it is so diverse. The training allows you to do a huge range of work. I work for a major Oil & Gas company and it has been an awesome experience. I've traveled the world and in 9 years of working have yet to get bored. It is hard work, but the rewards are there.
One of my really good friends is a petroleum engineer. He basically plans oil drilling. Takes the info given him by geologists and cost info from whoever does that and plans exactly where their going to drill. He's been working out here in West Texas (Midland) on drilling that costs about $2 million a piece. He just got transferred to Houston and will now be working on drilling that costs about $25 million a piece. It seemed pretty interesting to me. As for pay, I'd say he makes a nice salary. He's about 24 years old, and the live in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Midland. They're selling their house for a little over $150,000 (about 2500 square feet or so). Not bad for a house you bought at 23 years old. There are a lot of perks working in the oil industry, as I'm sure there are in many others as well. This is the only one I know anything about. If they don't sell their house within 30 days, the company will buy it. They company will pay for movers to pack and move everything for them. They will be put up in a Residence Inn type place for 45 days while they try to find a place to live. Their furniture and stuff will be stored by the company, so no storage costs. And all their meals will be paid for during that time, so they get to find all the restaurants they like during that time. He does work hard. Whenever I ask him how his day was, he usually says, "Long." It's not the hours, because I think his hours are 8:30 - 5:30. It's long because he's put a lot into those hours.
How did you end up working with Cisco? Did you need a connection to get the job or was your academic and work history enough? I'm only asking because I'd like to work for them after college (I'll be a freshman this fall).
I right now am gaining experience working doing environmental grunt work. I want to get into helping out solve environmental problems like the air pollution in Houston without 55 mph speed limits, but I'm short on experience to make a difference. I've worked with liquid waste processing facilities that recycle some of the waste saving both landfill space and providing alternatives to illegal dumping. This is why I knew the general principals behind a composting toilet that Grizzled mentioned in a thread about 2 months ago.
SFR, My school (University of the Pacific, where Olowokandi went) has a really good internship program in the school of engineering. About 40-50 companies send representatives out every year to interview students for internships. Cisco usually takes about 4-6. If I end up working here, let me know if you still want to work here when you graduate. If I recommend you and you get hired I would get a $5000 bonus. It is a fun company to work for, so good luck on coming here when you are finished.
