My degree was in Mechanical Engineering Technology. I loved the program, a lot more based on method vs. based on theory in regular mechanical engineering. basically a lot more hands on type lab work so that suit me great. I started out in sales engineering right out of school with a large HVAC company but have since shifted to project management with a global construction products company (tools, anchors, firestop, etc.) I'm not really using a whole lot of what I learned in school but the degree has opened several doors.

 

Theres probably 150 or so openings right now with in 10 miles of my house for engneers... Mostly Mechanical..

 

i started my mechanical degree...the math/physics was fun and the labs were fun but it seemed like waaaay to much book work.

If i was to do it again I would definetly do the mechanical eng tech program...seems like more hands on through out the course as well as once you get out.

 

Im still looking at what type of engineering degree to pursue. I do like renewable energy and I know there is a market for it and will be for awhile. What does a Mechanical engineer do exactly?

 

I'm working on Construction Engineering Management right now, a lot of focus is getting directed towards "green" engineering. Something I've thought about as well....

 

I graduated in 07 with a civil engineering technology degree (gotta pay attention to the tech or not cause it does make a difference)

Personally I am bored to tears at my job, just like yours paper work and sitting in front of a computer. Its cushy all the perks and certainly nothing to complain about, but I am a fish outa water in it.

I think civil is a great major though, covers just about EVERYTHING, including the renewable stuff. Doesn't give you some down and dirty specifics but covers a lot of field, structural, pipes, roads/materials, hydrology and overland flow of water, soils, ect.

Currently my particular group in this computer (water/wastewater group) is pretty busy, but overall its fairly slow still. Our company as a whole is growing, but we are still under a salary and hiring freeze and have had layoffs in the past few months.

 

I'm a mechanical engineer around here the jobs are slim at the moment - but I love what I do. I work with custom automation for the die casting, forging, and foundry industries. I see lots of different plants, processes, and parts being made across the industry.

 

Become a pharmacist! All kidding aside after driving truck and working as a commercial truck tech I graduated with my Automotive Engineering degree and went to work for Jaguar Cars and then Cummins. I still work at Cummins on power generation equipment to 91 liters. I honestly don't know if I would do it again if I could. If you truly think you would be happy, with you finance/MBA background you would be a desired candidate. Engineering only gets you so far and I know Cummins is pushing for continuing education for all employees.

Cory

 

Building windmills could be fun.

 

I'd rather build bridges ...........

 

Aerospace Engineering, wish I stuck with that degree

 

Windmills would be a lot more fun. Might even be able to make a base jump off one.

 

You could base jump off them also.

 

I made a base jump off of El Cap in Yosemite, it was a blast.

 

Sometimes we would make sudden unannounced jumps into college football games.

 

Refs hated having to call a timout for parachutes.

 

Perfect.

 

im going for electrical engineering, so far so good. Its alot of math and computer work but the labs are hands on and tons of fun.

 

Company I work for or at least companies within the company (its a big conglomerate) build or at least do a lot of design for windfarms. I still kick myself for not pursuing a construction job on one in wyoming, anything is better than living in a cubical.

Speaking of bridges, I did a summer coop with the Mass Highway department, was an awesome time, mainly since it wasn't a real job but I was getting paid to experience some cool stuff. Most of the people I worked with were Civil Engineers, but we were mainly doing construction inspection work, comparing construction to the plans, confirming proper materials, including concrete testing

Company I work for now is Tetra Tech, they own all sorts of smaller companies like the one I work for (Tetra Tech Rizzo) and do all sorts of work all around the country and now going international in India, Canada, and some talk of Germany maybe.

 

Well thanks for the input guys. I really appreciate it. Im going to talk to some schools about there engineering programs and maybe this fall I might be going back to get another degree....I will update you guys. Thanks.

 

To give you an idea, here's a picture of my desk today:

I went to school and got me BSME, and I did very well in the electrical class we had to take, For some electives I took a C++ programming course, and a mechatronics course.
Also, I was heavily involved in our robotic combat team. It was through this team that I learned a lot working with people from different disciplines. Particularly art majors and EEs.

So I graduated with more electrical knowledge than 90% of all MEs who just graduated.
I now work for CNH doing technical support work for some of our machines (planters, combines, seeding equipment), and I love it. I never know what to expect in the morning, every day brings something new. I support everything from the old 1460 combine built in 1977, to the 9120 combine built in 2010.
Keeping up with the changes in the equipment, finding out what can be retrofitted, and what can't. Work with other people in the company to develop marketing material, service training material, and parts kits books.

Right now is kind of a slow time, so I'm working on a project to allow a combine engine to be run on a dyno without all the extra combine controllers. I have to find out exactly which CAN messages are required to allow the engine to run, get my chip to connect to the CAN network and communicate correctly, and send out the correct messages at the correct time as well as read in messages and interpret them correctly.
The chip also interfaces to an LCD screen to give a readout of critical engine parameters, and it has a set of LEDs to indicate errors and warning or shutdown modes.

But normally my job requires me to have a working knowledge of how the machine is supposed to function, then use the hydraulic and electrical schematics to develop a set of tests to determine which part(s) are not functioning correctly.
Also, I have to develop testing procedures to find out if the software in the controllers on the machine possibly has a bug in it. So I also have to know how the different controllers work together and how the logic in them is supposed to work.
Also, my group helps track problems that we see, and other people see.
To get an idea of our work load, there are 6 of us in the office (plus 1 team leader) to handle all the combine questions on Red combines for all of North America. Now add to that we support all colors of CNH planting, seeding and tillage equipment, and you can see that when it's busy, it's really busy.

 

I'm a licensed civil and structural engineer. In Nevada, it's slow as the markets have died off when housing crashed. There is still a little bit of work, but you have to do more with less. I do mostly buildings so I have an architectural background as well. It's not the same here locally as it was 5 years ago. I like the work, but I yawn on occasion.

As far as environmental engineering, that degree usually covers water and waste water treatment and land reclamation if I remember correctly. I'm not sure they've modified the program to cover green energy. If you want renewable energy look at electrical or mechanical. I'd only get involved if they wanted the tower and foundation designed.

 

Thanks for the input and pics guys. Im gonna work at my current position for about a year and see how it goes. I would prefer to be a business owner so Im looking for opportunities everyday. We will c how it goes