Engineering career choices& what skills are needed?

[Jschroet]

Do you think that Engineering is a good career choice.considering outsourcing and the decline of industry?Do you think it is a "good job"

Also...

I was wondering what skills I need to be an engineer.You see I am very

curious and like to know how things work.I am very good at math and

also at science.I love all types of science esp physics and math I can grasp concepts quite quickly and am very analytical. However I am not very hands-on or into tinkering.I still like to be practical though.

My family doubts my ability to be an engineering student for three main reasons 1.I am not detail -oriented.2 I am not a hands on tinkerer.3 I am theoretical all true.However I can do details just not very well.I like know how things work and also i am very pratical as well. I also took a look at an article saying that the main skills are structural visualization and Math/Analytical Reasoning and I am very good at those!

 

So what do you think!

[coquina]

I own a machine shop. The bain of my existance are mechanical engineers who have never been in a shop before. You can draw anything on paper - it takes a working knowledge of how parts are made to be a really great mechanical engineer.

 

If you are interested in the field, I think it would be good for you to learn the hands on part first.

[Douglas]

There are numerous fields of engineering. What type are you interested in.

 

I'm a EE, an electrical (electronic) engineer.

[RICHARDBATTY]

I'd say steer clear. If you must, aim at networking computers and the like. Theres little respect for electro mechanical engineers these days and not much money either. If you were born to do it, you'd be doing it already as best you could. In which case you may find it fulfiling but thats about all and, that is dependant on the employer you get.

[Dapthar]

Do you think that Engineering is a good career choice.

Yes. For example, let's consider Electrical Engineering. There are EE jobs available everywhere, so if you don't like a company, you can always pack up and leave. The average starting pay (in the US, anyways) is pretty decent. A person with a B.S. in EE in 2003 was getting $49,794 a year to start. (Source: http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos031.htm)

 

I would just like to take a moment to mention that the above source is an excellent resource for salary data for almost every profession imaginable. (And no, the Man did not pay me to say that.) The alphabetical index of jobs located here: http://stats.bls.gov/search/ooh.asp?ct=OOH

 

For the most part, the hierarchy of pay for people with a Bachelor's degree in a tends to go as follows (numbers listed are average first year salaries): (Please see inset graphic below)

 

(Source: http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/15/pf/college/starting_salaries/ )

 

considering outsourcing and the decline of industry?

Both are grossly exaggerated by the media.

 

Do you think it is a "good job"

Most engineering professions are rather stable career choices, so yes, I think they are good jobs.

 

I was wondering what skills I need to be an engineer.

You have to be comfortable with Math before Calculus. Most engineering professions use Calculus I, II, and Multivariable Calculus, along with Linear Algebra and Differential Equations. In addition, each field of engineering has a penchant for some subfield of Mathematics. For EE it is Complex Analysis and Fourier Analysis. For Aerospace Engineering, it's PDEs. However, everything beyond and including Calculus is taught during the course of a B.S.

 

Aside from the Math prerequisites, you just have to have a genuine interest in the material, and a desire to learn.

 

However I am not very hands-on or into tinkering.I still like to be practical though.

The 'tinkering' aspect is not universal among engineering disciplines. For example, most fields in EE have very little 'hands-on' interaction. The same goes for Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Computer Engineering.

 

My family doubts my ability to be an engineering student for three main reasons 1.I am not detail -oriented.

You don't have to be. You learn to deal with the necessary details during the course of your study.

 

2 I am not a hands on tinkerer.

You don't have to be.

 

3 I am theoretical all true.

Most of the difficulties in engineering lie in understanding the theory, and knowing how to appropriately apply it.

 

So what do you think!

I think you should give it a try, take an introductory course or two in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or Computer Engineering, and see if they interest you. Alternatively, you could just do some research online into each of these fields, and see what sparks your interest.

[flash]

I am doing my Computer and Electronics engg. from IIT Mumbai, India.

It's one of the best institutes in the world.

 

I just love my subjects and enjoi studying them.

 

There's no skill reqd. Only requirement is INTEREST and HARD LABOUR

that's it . don't say "THAT WAS'NT EASY"

[Guest Suborbital]

I'd say go for it. I'm an engineering student right now, and it's cool as heck. I also am not very detail oriented, nor was I originally very good at the hands on machinery. However, like it's been stated here not all of it is theoretical.

 

If you're going to be a mechanical engineering designing pipe systems or tools or something, then yeah, if you aren't hands on, you might not be good, and you'll definetly be bored with what you're doing.

 

However, there are plenty of areas of engineering that require the abstract, theoretical thought you are talking about. Take control theory for instance. In case you don't know, control theory is the study of how to make a system do what you want. For example, say you have an airplane that is blown from stable flight by a wind gust, you might want something that puts it back on course without pilot input. You would use control theory to design it.

 

When you get deep into controls, you find that you need a lot of theoretical & abstract capabilities, and a shop-type hands on knowledge of the system you are trying to control is not really neccessary, because other engineers and/or technicians deal with those specific details.

 

So I would say go for it, engineering is SCIENCE, and you can really make a change with it, whatever your particular skill set is.

[vrus]

I want to do Aerospace engineering in Toronto Univ. myself. And then get a job in India in DRDL. But then after thinking about it, I felt I should do a degree each in Aerospace and Engineering Science, as a backup as there aren't that many Aerospace jobs available. My Dad's an Instrument/Computers engineer ME.