How many actually like engineering?

[Matt-NM]

If I got paid for my hobby I would be making decent money to hunt, fish, and fly! Some good venting going on here. I can relate to almost everyone. The fact that it's ok not to love your job(how many people actually do?) or that many others get bored after a while as well is comforting.

Another thing, and I may start a separate thread, is the fact that I look relatively young and come off as being a nice person. That's just my personality. I have discovered these things to be career suicide. Unless I am imagining things, I just get the feeling that nobody listens to anything I say, regardless of how much I know. In metings, people sometimes talk over me but will listen to others without interrupting. On the phone (I guess I sound more mature) I can get people to pay attention to me, but as soon as they see me and learn my real personality, it seems like it all goes out the window.

I know other people can probably relate to these things. What methods do you use that work? I hate to change my personality, and become an artificial as***le, but sometimes I feel like I might not have a choice if I want peoples attention.

 

[benbo]

Another thing, and I may start a separate thread, is the fact that I look relatively young and come off as being a nice person. That's just my personality. I know other people can probably relate to these things.

Not me, I look about 90 and am a complete dillhole.

That's why I make the fatty dollar.

 

[maryannette]

... I look relatively young and come off as being a nice person. That's just my personality. I have discovered these things to be career suicide. Unless I am imagining things, I just get the feeling that nobody listens to anything I say, regardless of how much I know. In metings, people sometimes talk over me but will listen to others without interrupting.

Oh! I can very much relate to that. I'm over 50 now, but when I was in my 20's and 30's, I suffered just as you describe. Don't turn into an ugly troll. Just be consistently yourself. I get much more respect now than I used to, but it was not so urgent that I wanted to be a b**** for the last 20 years.

Hope you stay nice.

 

[cement]

I'd do this for free if it wasn't for the paperwork

 

[Dleg]

^LOL!

I remember feeling dissatisfied with my choice in degrees and careers for a long time. I moved into my current job, working for a small state environmental agency, when I was 30. Suddenly I found myself feeling more satisfaction, more freedom, more interest, and enjoying myself immensely. Which is funny, because I've received virtually no recognition and have even been punished for doing my job well. But for whatever reason, once I decided I liked what I do, and that it was possible for me to make a difference, I found it much easier to work and even started taking on extra projects and responsibilities that eventually did get me a little recognition and better career prospects.

So for what it's worth, I guess I am saying that it's possible to enjoy your job. Working for a national lab sounds like you are working on something important, and that can be a great source of satisfaction, as long as you see it that way. Once you do, you tend to work harder and more focused and this eventually gets you the respect and better assignments that make the job even more satisfying.

If that's just not possible, then maybe you need to change jobs... :dunno:

When I first moved out here to the islands, I was totally burnt out from 4.5 years working on oil wells, and I seriously planned to just get a job as a bartender at a resort hotel. I was kind of disappointed when I was tracked down and offered a job as an engineer, because there was (and still is) a big shortage of engineers here. I spent 3 years as an A&E engineer, mostly construction management, during which I picked up new skills but still didn't like what I was doing. I almost quit and became a teacher. Seriously. But then I got this environmental job, and things changed.... So I suppose there's certainly no harm in moving on. Change can be good.

Have you considered going back to school for a graduate degree? That might be a nice, controlled and constructive way to explore career change opportunities. Get a Masters that expands on your present skills, or broadens them... Consider an engineering Masters, but don't rule out something different.

 

[Santiagj]

I actually like what I do. I believe I am a builder at heart. At home I finished my basement myself (framing, plumbing, electrical, knocked out a new egress window, added a rough in), built a serious man shed 12'X16' with electrical. I also built my sister in law a new deck for her wedding present. I think I just like building things. When I was younger I was constantly building forts and tree houses. If I was not doing engineering I would probably be a heavy equipment operator building cool stuff.

 

[Matt-NM]

I have considered going back for a masters degree. Here's a quick summary, in my situation at least, of the pros and cons...

Cons

1. Do it part time while working and spend the next 5 years in school.

2. Do it full time and make no money for the next 2 years.

3. I don't know if the interest is there.

4. It won't really help in my current company, either salary or promotion wise.

Pros

1. Gaining the knowledge from the masters.

2. At the national labs, the respect for engineers really begins at the masters level. BS engineers

are really the design grunts for the Ph.d's. You cannot, in most cases, get an actual enginering

job (unless you are a contractor) for the national labs as an engineer with only a BS. You would

be considered a "Technologist" as opposed to "Technical Staff".

3. Self satisfaction, similar to why I got the PE.

 

[JoeBoone82]

I have considered going back for a masters degree. Here's a quick summary, in my situation at least, of the pros and cons...
Cons

1. Do it part time while working and spend the next 5 years in school.

2. Do it full time and make no money for the next 2 years.

You could probably still work full time and finish in about 5 semesters. I think it's usually around 10 courses or 30 credit hours, and I took 2 classes per semester.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

It is a job. If you enjoyed it, it would be a hobby.

Capt, I'm sorry I have to disagree here. If you don't enjoy your job, I think you're in the wrong job. If you just go to work and don't enjoy what you do, that's a lot of time during your life where you're not happy. Also, I don't think you can be very productive if you don't like what you're doing.

Just my take on work. It should be something you like to do and have a passion for. If it's not -- look for something else that is. You'll have a much more fufilling and happy life in the end.

Oh, by 'enjoy', I mean 'I'd do it for free.' I wouldn't do this for free, therefore I don't enjoy it the way I would a hobby. In reading what I wrote, it wasn't that clear.

But I am happy with the work and suffer few frustrations, so all is good.

 

[chaosiscash]

You cannot, in most cases, get an actual enginering job (unless you are a contractor) for the national labs as an engineer with only a BS.

You can always come over to the dark side. :vadar:

 

[wilheldp_PE]

Oh, by 'enjoy', I mean 'I'd do it for free.' I wouldn't do this for free,

Unless you are making "fatty money" you are doing it "for free".

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Oh, by 'enjoy', I mean 'I'd do it for free.' I wouldn't do this for free,

Unless you are making "fatty money" you are doing it "for free".

See? Now you done gone and got me all depressed!

 

[wilheldp_PE]

Oh, by 'enjoy', I mean 'I'd do it for free.' I wouldn't do this for free,

Unless you are making "fatty money" you are doing it "for free".

See? Now you done gone and got me all depressed!

 

[ansul]

At times I wonder if I choose the right career. I am a mechanical engineer engineer at a national lab and have been at it about 8.5 years. I mainly do design and analysis, as well as the modeling, procurement, and assembly that go along with it.
I find that most times it is extremely hard to get motivated while at work. I don't know if I have lost the interest, never had it to begin with, or maybe just chose the wrong career. I definitely can't see myself doing this another 30+ years until retirement!

Maybe I am just stuck in a temporary rut or just need a vacation. I work with pretty cool people, have lots of freedom, and have laid back bosses that don't bother me. I should be happy as a clam.

Does anybody else feel this way, or have felt this way in the past? How did you overcome it? What did you do for motivation. I know engineering isn't the most exciting thing in the world to begin with, but I need to come up with something to help me press on. I have always received great praise from my customers for the work I do. Makes me wonder how well I could be doing if I really enjoyed it more.

Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

 

[JavaJim]

I really like engineering as a discipline but I really hate the politics and BS that goes with it in the corporate world. As an electronics hardware engineer, I'm doing work that I dreamed of doing as a kid. However, it's not all engineering. Probably 60% of the job is politics, compulsory meetings, e-mail, paperwork and reporting out to others.

The hard thing about working in a fast-paced engineering environment is that meaningful breaks are hard to get. After working 50+ hours per week for years, a two or three day weekend is not enough to get recharged. I finished undergrad more than 20 years ago and I have been on the proverbial treadmill ever since. I know teachers who get summers off, nurses who work three 12 hour shifts and others who have "built-in" breaks to keep them from getting burned out. There are no such breaks in the electronics industry and it contributes to that burned out feeling. However, I never lose my enthusiasm for engineering because I like it so much. It's just all the other stuff that goes along with it.

 

[RHOSU06]

I feel much the same as most of you. I start to feel restless after working for the same firm for about 2 years. And the feeling is starting to hit me again. Previously I was a futures broker on the floor of the largest futures exchange in the world and got bored with that after 4 years. Went back to school, got an engineering degree, passed the PE and now am casually looking outside of engineering. I think that I would enjoy owning my own business, but it is a little hard to get appropriately capitialized in our current economy. Going back to get a masters degree is also a possibility, but I always get hung up on what the hell to study.

I am encouraged by a segment I heard on Wisconsin public radio about microbreweries in the state. The author of the piece discovered that a majority of the brewers who started these microbreweries are degreed engineers, who apparently felt the same as a number of us. Owning a brewery would be great, but I'm afraid that my profit margins would be significantly diminished by me oversampling product.

 

[mizzoueng]

I looked into opening a micro/brewpub. In all honesty a brewpub these days is the way to start out. You get the added income of the restaurant and in most states there are antiqued laws about serving on Sundays, so you will need to food revenue to serve on Sundays.

There are a couple engineers here in STL that quit their day jobs and opened a totally unique beer bar with a couple buddies. In under 1 year of business they made enough income to open a second location. I talked to one of them and they said they just got burnt out on engineering, but still do some contract work to get additional income.

 

[Matt-NM]

I feel much the same as most of you. I start to feel restless after working for the same firm for about 2 years. And the feeling is starting to hit me again. Previously I was a futures broker on the floor of the largest futures exchange in the world and got bored with that after 4 years. Went back to school, got an engineering degree, passed the PE and now am casually looking outside of engineering. I think that I would enjoy owning my own business, but it is a little hard to get appropriately capitialized in our current economy. Going back to get a masters degree is also a possibility, but I always get hung up on what the hell to study.
I am encouraged by a segment I heard on Wisconsin public radio about microbreweries in the state. The author of the piece discovered that a majority of the brewers who started these microbreweries are degreed engineers, who apparently felt the same as a number of us. Owning a brewery would be great, but I'm afraid that my profit margins would be significantly diminished by me oversampling product.

I have toyed with this idea in the past as well. Like you said, however, my profits would take a major hit due to my own actions. I would be lucky to break even!

 

[EM_PS]

April issue of PE magazine, readers letters were presented on topic of 'would you recommend a job in engineering to a young person, & if not, which career you might'. Out of 8 selected letters, only 2 said they would recommend engineering. The fields recommended were health care, law, physics / math, and investment banking. Every letter presented was from a P.E. - lot of career burnout / despondency going on i would say

 

[Dark Knight]

April issue of PE magazine, readers letters were presented on topic of 'would you recommend a job in engineering to a young person, & if not, which career you might'. Out of 8 selected letters, only 2 said they would recommend engineering. The fields recommended were health care, law, physics / math, and investment banking. Every letter presented was from a P.E. - lot of career burnout / despondency going on i would say

There are many dissapointed engineers. It is hard to come to work day in and day out with the intention to do your job to the best of your capabilities just to find knuckleheads making stupid decissions. They do not listen to you and when the starts, they look the other way as if the problem will solve by itself. When they realized how deep in sheat they are, then come to you with a crazy deadline to solve the problem and you have to bust your rear end for the good of the company.

Do they learn from their mistakes? No Sir. They do not because there are no analytic but PAK skills. They are just hot air balloons that have talked their way instead of working their way. If you ask one of those idiots the question about recommending engineering to a young person...How can they know? If you ask at the engineer at the other end of the deal, like me right now, I would not recommend engineering to a young person. Heck...I do not even recommend to take the PE. It is completely worthless.