Calling all engineers....

[orangelion03]

Sean...buddy...we should talk.  This may surprise you, but I am actually an engineer.  Go figure...

[SacDuc]

That's very tempting.

You can mark me down as a maybe for now.

sac

[The Bearded Duc]

If I were in your shoes I think I'd sort of hedge my bets by jumping in and going back to school and taking some math and engineering courses and  see what you think.  You may catch on fire with it and that's great.  Or, if you don't like them, you can drop out and you are still ahead of where you'd be if you never took the classes.  At least you would get it out of your system and know that a formal engineering education is not for you.  I think part of my point is that as time passes it gets harder to go back to school and sooner than later you'll find yourself in a position where going back to school is just not realistic.  So do it now is my suggestion.

Bob

I'm thinking this is gonna be the route I take. Figure if I take both math and science it will meet the requirements for both engineering and marine biology, maybe throw an engineering class in the mix as well and see which route I like better or suits me better anyway.
It is definitely getting harder to convince myself now at 32, I agree, I think it would be much harder as the years go on.

Sean - good on ya for contemplating a change.  the nice thing about so-cal is that it seems to be ground-zero for car/bike customization type places.  what about offering to apprentice for one of those local businesses (like some of the ones listed in the sponsor section of this site)?  i.e. work for free in exchange for learning some stuff and getting a flavor for the work.  hell, if i had the time, i'd offer to sweep Speeddog's shop floor just to hang out and watch and learn!

I've actually thought about this already, might give Nick a shout and see what he thinks. I asked Duc-Stew when he still lived here but he left shorty after. It's worth a shot!

Sean...buddy...we should talk.  This may surprise you, but I am actually an engineer.  Go figure...

As soon as I have some free time to talk on the phone for a bit, I will. I wanna call Nick too, I just haven't had enough time to have a real conversation.

[The Bearded Duc]

sac

I knew that was coming!!   

I have a pal I'm trying to convince to join, he doesn't ride a duc though. I told him he wouldn't be shunned.........too much!!

[Randy@StradaFab]

    At the risk of offending all of the engineers, here's my perspective. Remember this is only MY personnel experience. I absolutely hate just about every engineer I've worked with. I started out doing TIG welding and fabrication for 12 years, quit and went to a two year electrical program. For the past 15 years I've been an electrical technician for a national company that manufactures roofing products. I do PLC and HMI programming now.
   I know there are engineers that actually engineer things and know what they are doing, I just haven't had the chance to work with one yet.. Here's a perfect example from about 15 years ago. The boss brings me a blueprint for a table designed by a food-service engineer. I look at it and tell the boss the table is gonna fall over. The boss says "build it". So I build it and yell at the boss to take a look. Sure enough when I let go, it falls over. WTF! Still pisses me off 15 years later.
   Where I work now if you have an engineering degree you're qualified to be in management. Ordering components from a vendor is not engineering. Especially if the vendor is specing the components. If we get new equipment the the high school education guys design and install all of the piping/valves, design the conduit runs, size the wire and do the programming. The engineer gets the free hunting/fishing trip with the vendor.
  I also have a sister-in-law that has a masters in mechanical engineering. She couldn't tighten the chain on a bicycle. She goes all over the world buying parts.
 
   You can build anything you want without an engineering degree. There are tons of online engineering calculators that don't cost a thing.
Take some machinist classes or some welding classes. You can do it if you want to.

   Sorry for the rant engineers
   

[pennyrobber]

    At the risk of offending all of the engineers, here's my perspective. Remember this is only MY personnel experience.
 

I am so offended right now. 

Honestly, I wouldn't sit in a chair if I knew it was designed by half the people that I graduated with. It really does take a knack that can't be taught in the classroom. The best engineers that I know were the people who were taking apart stuff around the house and trying to make it better way before they ever took an engineering class.

[Randy@StradaFab]

   To be fair, I have worked with some young electrical engineers(vendors) that were very sharp.

[Speedbag]

It really does take a knack that can't be taught in the classroom. The best engineers that I know were the people who were taking apart stuff around the house and trying to make it better way before they ever took an engineering class.

+1

I tore everything apart as a kid. Still do.

I've been designing automated equipment for 15 years, and like to think I know what I'm doing (no failures!). I had a management gig briefly (late '08 thru early '10) but I missed the hardcore mechanical design end of things so much I had to get back into it, and when a former co-worker sought me out to be The Guy for his new group it was a no-brainer.

There's great satisfaction in designing and building something that takes on a sort of life of its own.

But I know what you mean by there being a lot of folks out there that can't engineer their way out of a wet paper sack. I work with a guy that's got a master's in mechanical engineering and it's like he never absorbed a thing....

[chris1044]

    At the risk of offending all of the engineers, here's my perspective. Remember this is only MY personnel experience. I absolutely hate just about every engineer I've worked with. I started out doing TIG welding and fabrication for 12 years, quit and went to a two year electrical program. For the past 15 years I've been an electrical technician for a national company that manufactures roofing products. I do PLC and HMI programming now.
   I know there are engineers that actually engineer things and know what they are doing, I just haven't had the chance to work with one yet.. Here's a perfect example from about 15 years ago. The boss brings me a blueprint for a table designed by a food-service engineer. I look at it and tell the boss the table is gonna fall over. The boss says "build it". So I build it and yell at the boss to take a look. Sure enough when I let go, it falls over. WTF! Still pisses me off 15 years later.
   Where I work now if you have an engineering degree you're qualified to be in management. Ordering components from a vendor is not engineering. Especially if the vendor is specing the components. If we get new equipment the the high school education guys design and install all of the piping/valves, design the conduit runs, size the wire and do the programming. The engineer gets the free hunting/fishing trip with the vendor.
  I also have a sister-in-law that has a masters in mechanical engineering. She couldn't tighten the chain on a bicycle. She goes all over the world buying parts.
 
   You can build anything you want without an engineering degree. There are tons of online engineering calculators that don't cost a thing.
Take some machinist classes or some welding classes. You can do it if you want to.

   Sorry for the rant engineers
   

X50bazillion...and I'm an engineer.  There are those that can do, but there are very few that have the skills/hands on knowledge.  A degree does NOT make you an engineer.

[Triple J]

While I agree that there are a lot of bad engineers, and getting an engineering degree doesn't really mean much more than a person can study...

   You can build anything you want without an engineering degree. There are tons of online engineering calculators that don't cost a thing.

This statement is a gross oversimplification.

Also, anyone who believes what a computer spits out without knowing exactly how the computer came to that answer is setting themselves up for problems.

[ducpainter]

While I agree that there are a lot of bad engineers, and getting an engineering degree doesn't really mean much more than a person can study...

This statement is a gross oversimplification.

Also, anyone who believes what a computer spits out without knowing exactly how the computer came to that answer is setting themselves up for problems.

Most opinions are...

from the other perspective.

[Triple J]

Most opinions are...

from the other perspective.

True. 

Maybe I should tell some stories of contractor proposals I've reviewed which would have led to serious failures and ultimately injury, if not death, to their own workers. All in the name of saving a few $$. 

There are always stories from both sides. 

[Speedbag]

Damned engineers. 

[Vindingo]

While I agree that there are a lot of bad engineers, and getting an engineering degree doesn't really mean much more than a person can study...

I think it also means that the person has some discipline, patience and perseverance to get through 4 years of tough schooling.

Employers probably see it as less of a gamble to invest in one of these people than a self taught prodigy.        

[He Man]

The paper puts your money where your mouth is. When it comes time to do something though, most engineers don't know a damn thing  becase in engineering school, they teach you concept of how it works, not how its applied.

Its just like the story RMartin wrote about. You dont need to be an engineer to look at a plan and say, thats not going to work.

Also, anyone who believes what a computer spits out without knowing exactly how the computer came to that answer is setting themselves up for problems.

Actually, ill say for a fact that for most of common problems that you come across you dont need to know where the answer comes from. Its the highly technical ones that require you really dig deep into the math and understanding.