Short interview

[kingsgamibt]

Hey everyone

I am new here and took the time to lurk around these forums and see the type of people you are. From what it seems like, the majority of you seem to be in your early to mid 30's.

I am a student at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and seeking a degree in Computer Engineering. To get a better understanding of what kind of duties an Engineer must undertake, I prepared a list of interview-style questions. If you take the time to answer the following questions, preceded by your Name [optional] and Title [preferred], then much appreciation. If not, then that is also alright, I understand you may be stressed and it seems that I am adding an additional burden to some of you. I would like to thank you for looking through this.

[SIZE=14pt]Questions[/SIZE]

What is the work setting like?

What do you like about your job?

What kind of hours do you work -- do you have any flexibility in your schedule?

What does the typical career path look like?

What positions come after entry-level jobs?

How common/difficult is it to move up the ladder?

What skills and/or personal characteristics are important to do well in this job?

What should I do before I graduate to make myself marketable?

What's the best way to look for a job/internship in your company/industry/field?

Do you have any special advice?

 

[pelaw]

I picked only the following questions to answer, as I find them most pertinent:

What does the typical career path look like?

There is no typical career path. Each person has their own path in life. Look for your own path to the extent that you can shape it. Remember, you can not have everything you desire, so you have to make wise choices when presented and make the best of those opportunities.

Remember, the specialized field you enter after school will determine your expertise at next job search. You will be largely limited by this choice or fortune.

What positions come after entry-level jobs?

Less and less engineering work, and more and more consulting, if you do it right. If you don't do it right, then you basically remain at entry level.

How common/difficult is it to move up the ladder?

It's difficult because there are many who want to move to few designated spots. Imagine 10 musical chairs and 100-200 players fighting to sit down.

Moving up the ladder generally means moving up in the corporate ranks. You move up the ranks if you are good for the company. You are good if the boss likes you and clients like you.

What skills and/or personal characteristics are important to do well in this job?

There are so many specilized areas in electrical engineering. It is hard to say anything in general terms. Everything is important.

What should I do before I graduate to make myself marketable?

Get a good GPA and try to get some experience in a form of internships or part time work.

What's the best way to look for a job/internship in your company/industry/field?

You can do it privately or through your school's placement office. Privately, google "top 500 engineering firms." Go to each firm's website and look up careers. Search for internships. Apply for summer internship. Or, google firms in your local area and do the same.

Do you have any special advice?

Any profession can be synthesized into being a restaurant chef. It's all about the customers, making them feel comfortable, have fun, and giving consistently superb product, without invading anyone's privacy or decency.

 

[kingsgamibt]

Your answers, pelaw, have helped me gain a tiny window of insight into my potential field and path for the rest of my life. This does leave me with one question however, what does this 'consulting' work involve?

(yeah .. I noticed I spelled my name wrong...)

 

[Elbert]

Well come to the board!!! arty-smiley-048:

 

[BryGuy]

What is the work setting like?

Cubicles and a workstation with a lab if needed. Typically with a CAD able workstation. Windows are optional (luckily my job today has them compared to my second job).

What do you like about your job?

I like seeing a design move from a my own idea through to production and eventually being important or necessary to somebody. If you don't love creating, you'll never love engineering.

What kind of hours do you work -- do you have any flexibility in your schedule?

I've always had flex time as in flexible starting/ending times as long as they include standard 9am-3pm core hours. Its pretty rare to work 40 or 80 hours a week, but in generally expect something around 50 hours if you are a salaried employee.

What positions come after entry-level jobs?

Every new job is entry-level, you will not have the same experience as the person that vacated it and will be less productive as the person before...what will make you valuable is how fast you go from entry level to experienced. Once you have an "entry-level" position you typically get more and more tasks and responsibilities until your position is no longer entry level.

How common/difficult is it to move up the ladder?

In position promotions (associate engineer, engineer, senior engineer) are not that difficult if you don't screw up. Moving to a supervisor position is not easy at all. Remember engineering and supervising do not have the same skill-set. Being a good engineer does not mean you will make a good supervisor. Some places have a technical specialist path, but those are typically limited as well and you will have to obtain advanced degrees and prove your value to the company (does the company need that level of specialization - e.g. not every hospital needs a neurosurgeon)

What skills and/or personal characteristics are important to do well in this job?

Reading/Writing. Writing is the #1 skill every engineer should have. To be successful you will have to know how to read codes, specifications, requirements and you will have to know how to translate and write your own specifications and requirements. On top of that you will have to write reports, memos and proposals.

What should I do before I graduate to make myself marketable?

Keep a good GPA. The less well known the university the higher the GPA (i.e. a 3.0 from MIT is worth a lot more than a 3.5 elsewhere). Extra curriculars that show off your innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership go a long way.