Paging Mechanical Engineers******

[RAF7789]

Hello, my name is Ryan and I am 18 years old. Currently, I am attending community college with 15 units and i already passed 15 units of general education. I am aiming for my Bachelor of Science with Major: Mechanical Engineering and Minor: Business Administration and possibly a Master's Degree then Ph.D . I am looking for anyone who has achieved a degree in mechanical engineering to give me some advice (for example: What did it take to get where you are? what did it take to get your degree? What academy did you attend? What was your profession? etc) Anything will help me.

Thank You in advance.

[Crazy Canuk]

I am a Mechanical Engineering Technologist (went thru a 3yr college program rather then the 4yr university program).

I do the same things as a full Mechanical Engineer but get paid less and can't sigh stuff off (because only a University grads can directly apply to become a P-eng.).

At the moment I am upgrading so I can become a P-eng because I wasn't aware of the differences when I started out.

I would HIGHLY recomend getting real work experance in engineering durring the summers, so you know what intrests you. I am into CAD design and prototype testing at my job but the mechanical eng. field is very diverse.

If you can't get an engineering job for the summer try for a machinest or a labourer in a plant, it will look good on your resume and give you a good foundation to build on.

Each state has its own laws in reguards to who can call themselfs professional engineers (in ontario only p-eng's can be the head of an engineering departments.) A masters degree is ok with a professional engineer status. Going farther is overkill for most jobs unless you plan to teach.

The biggest complaint I most often hear with people who are went to the masters level or higher is that they should have become a doctor instead because the pay is SO much better and the workload is about the same or less.

[Performin Norman]

Close but no cigar. I've got a BSEE.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

I am a Mechanical Engineering Technologist (went thru a 3yr college program rather then the 4yr university program).

I do the same things as a full Mechanical Engineer but get paid less and can't sigh stuff off (because only a University grads can directly apply to become a P-eng.).

At the moment I am upgrading so I can become a P-eng because I wasn't aware of the differences when I started out.

I would HIGHLY recommend getting real work experience in engineering during the summers, so you know what interests you. I am into CAD design and prototype testing at my job but the mechanical eng. field is very diverse.

If you can't get an engineering job for the summer try for a machinist or a laborer in a plant, it will look good on your resume and give you a good foundation to build on.

Each state has its own laws in regards to who can call themselves professional engineers (in Ontario only p-eng's can be the head of an engineering departments.) A masters degree is ok with a professional engineer status. Going farther is overkill for most jobs unless you plan to teach.

The biggest complaint I most often hear with people who are went to the masters level or higher is that they should have become a doctor instead because the pay is SO much better and the workload is about the same or less.

I was going to say about the same thing but he beat me to it.

I am a mechanical designer which is paid less than either of you. LOL I just have to do some EE and RF design too.

A PE degree where I work means nothing. Where I work is really strange though. Most MEs here do what I call program management type stuff rather than CAD, stress and thermal. They write reports and direct people what to do. Not many have time to do CAD, stress and thermal. The designers do all of the CAD work here or what they call the fun stuff.

From what I have seen here I agree that a masters is kind of a waste. Getting a business degree would be far more useful and get you more money. Marketing would help too.

I can not agree more with getting real world experience while going to school. Get in a co-op program. Many times that will transition into a full time job after graduating.

The weakest thing I see with our MEs is their lack of understanding of machining. Take extra shop coarse if you can.

Get your hands on a solid modeling CAD package like Mechanical desktop or Solid Works. We use Solid Edge but it is not nearly as widely used in America.

Make sure you take a class on GD&T and make sure you understand it. It is the language of making drawings. There are certification classes you can take for it too. Getting a certification will make you look like a gold mine to a potential employer.

It sounds to me like you have a pretty good plan.

[RAF7789]

Thank you all for the help! I am looking forward to pursuing my career in the AUTO INDUSTRY

I have been raised on the saying: aim for the moon, even if you do not make it, you will still land among the *stars*

For Example.... Aiming for a position on the Vehicle Line Team for Corvette perhaps.

[RAF7789]

Close but no cigar. I've got a BSEE.

My father has that degree from CalPoly, San Luis Obispo, Califrnia.

He is now a successful insurance agent for State Farm Nonetheless Honorable and professional.



PS: There is a Designer/Builder plant/lab located in Scotts Valley -where i reside. * http://www.lintelle.com/ * The founder of the company knows my brother...My question is: Would getting employment/internship with them satisfy my future emploers in the automotive industry?

[wolfdogs]

im an ME. then i got a bs in auto technology from a community college. i started my career in the auto industry in 1970 as an asst. manager of a Market Tire dealer (they have been bought out and renamed now). went on to become an asst. serv manager at a chev dealer...from there, a zone serv rep for GM...from there, back to the chev dealer as serv manager.. not happy..from there...U.S. Govt. in the Automotive Commodity Center as an automotive engineer, tire specialist...then took over the Federal Tire Qualification program in 1984...ran it till 1996 when the Govt downsized and gave our portion to DOT ("us" being GSA). Now i handle recalls, prev. maint schedules, liaison to NHTSA, rep on the White House Committee for recycling and retreading tires, and do the tire program for the second largest fleet in the U.S., GSA Fleet... we have over 203,000 vehicles nation wide... I'll be ending my career in the next couple of years ..............time to retire....... then.... im going to be a personal trainer...LOL

my auto career has been wonderful in my book, spending 1 week a month doing tire testing at http://www.natc-ht.com for over 12 years, meeting with manuf. in detroit on new models and potential recalls, warranty issues, etc.... met a lot of real fine folks over the years. wouldnt trade it for anything.