**The Official Engineers/Engineering Thread V2**

[the_individualist]

Ideally, I'd love to work for Stryker working on hip or knee replacements (powerlifting is the motivation lol). I'd like to start out in Quality and eventually make my way into Product or R&D and eventually management over time.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to convince their internship program to take me this summer. If I got called in for an interview, I am confident I would have nailed it.
Keeping myself busy this summer by working on my own start up.

Fellow powerlifter here so I know where you're coming from haha- I also wonder how much more we could lift with engineered tissues and prosthetics. What are you doing in your start up? Is it a sole proprietorship?

[the_individualist]

My dude I feel you.
Let me tell you right now, BioE/BME internships are arguably the hardest engineering internships to land (you're competing against MechE's and EE's and all other BioE's). There is maybe 1 internship listing per 10 job listing in my experience.

Thanks man.

And yeah I have definitely encountered the lack of internships. There is nothing out there. I would say it is far less than 1/10 of internship versus job listings where I'm at, and at the moment it is literally 0/10 as far as I can tell.

I went to a cheap state school undergrad for BioE and now an ivy league grad school for BME and even here, the only people that got internships this summer either knew someone at the company to push their application along or were able to find work with some obscure local start-up. It's bizarre because the entry level BioE/BME jobs almost always prefer an M.S. now.

That is unreal. I will most likely have to do what your classmates did and create my own internship somehow by contacting local companies.

That being said, all of my friends from my cheap low-tier undergrad eventually found jobs. For some, with 3.0 gpas and minimal extracurriculars it was a demoralizing 6 months before they caught a break applying to on average 3 jobs a day (10 a day in month 5, 5 a day in month 6). So, just know that it is possible as long as you have a decent personality, but it is going be very depressing until you catch a break. FYI everyone applies to the R&D positions, so definitely consider applying to something like quality (I have heard starting in quality actually makes you a better R&D engineer later).

I will keep that in mind about being open to quality positions. But wow- only 6 months? I wish it had been that quick for me after undergrad. Not to downplay your friends' struggles- I'm sure those 6 months were filled with despair and uncertainty, and that they worked hard to finally find a job -but that sure beats being shut out for years and then forced to go back to shoveling horse poop like someone who doesn't even have a high school diploma.

Unfortunately, I don't have a decent personality from the standards of our society/culture: extremely introverted, very shy/quiet, socially anxious, can't relate to most people, etc. That is probably a major factor that puts me on the far right of the bell curve of time spent finding a first career job, even if current economic and social conditions have shifted that curve to the right and so affected almost everyone else to one degree or another. I force myself out of my comfort zone and attend networking events, talk with people, be friendly with classmates, etc., but I am just so deeply wired this way that no amount of forcing myself or training is ever going to turn me into an extroverted superstar, so my efforts have thus far proved ineffective. Maybe I'm selling myself short though...after all, I do alright in interviews.

Also, recall what I said about just how powerful "knowing someone" is. Definitely go to every networking opportunity you can or any conferences (BMES regional or national conference, EMBS conferences, etc.) That's how you get into the "secret club" you were frustrated about. Now that you're in grad school, definitely make friends with the people graduating before you so that they can be your way in (and I mean genuine friends not using them for a job).

Indeed, this seems to be the key. Unfortunately I have found that networking events are useless for someone with no prior connections and experience. Do you think something like a BMES conference would be a better environment for connecting with people in industry?

[the_individualist]

Most of the chem E grads I knew who didn’t get a job right away switched to programming. The market is fairly decent right now, but it depends on what you know. I had multiple offers in a couple of months after things slowed down at my current position. Have you considered sales?

I've thought about programming. I've coded in Basic as far back as middle school, and a couple years after graduating I taught myself C++ and made my own brain-training program using SDL 2.0. Also, my fellowship right now basically involves coding an Android app in Java and making php server-side scripts, so I'm gaining some experience there as well. I don't think I'm marketable on that front yet though- I have too many holes in my basic knowledge (like what the different data structures are useful for, for example) and don't have enough experience yet to be productive from a company's point of view. I would probably bomb those notorious technical interviews involved in getting a programming job.

What do you do in the field? If I were to completely switch over to programming, what would you recommend I do to bring myself up to speed enough to be marketable in the field? Work through CS textbooks and do more programming projects?

I know if I go into machine learning I'll most likely have to learn Python anyway.

As for sales, I did apply for sales positions after broadening my search early on, but if I'm being honest with myself, I would be absolutely terrible at sales. I am a socially anxious introvert that couldn't sell water to a dehydrated person, and talking to people for too long literally makes me physically fatigued. I mean, I'd be willing to suck it up and try it, but I doubt an employer would keep me on in sales for very long lol.

[the_individualist]

General update: I finished the rest of my coursework (and aced it all), so I literally just have to do my Master's thesis/project now. The problem is that the project still hasn't been solidified- I've been trying to set up a meeting with a professor who specializes in machine learning to discuss the project and ask if he would be willing to be on my committee, but he hasn't even responded back; another professor who has agreed to be on my committee has said she'll discuss things with him, but I haven't heard back from her about that either...Kind of frustrated right now. Is it normal for professors to blow off grad students like this? Or is it me?

I've been keeping my eye out for networking events. They are really sparse this summer, but there was one back in May that I went to: I talked with a couple people and a couple days later followed up inquiring about internships or other positions they might be aware of, or of anyone within the company that they could refer me to to discuss these things. I haven't heard anything back since. Apparently, not only do you need experience to find a job, or even just to get an internship, but you also need experience just to network with people! Otherwise nobody wants anything to do with you- after all, it's not like you're a practicing engineer in the field, why should they talk to you or refer you to anybody? Unless you are already in the field with a history of experience and a wealth of connections to draw upon based on this previous work, networking is a joke. /rant

I attended an internship workshop through the university and had a meeting with an internship advisor, who hooked me up with the university's internship listing service and other resources- but there is literally nothing listed anywhere right now that is bioengineering-related. So I will have to contact companies directly and try to make my own internship opportunity with them. As far as jobs go, there is also nothing out there, unless you already have 5+ years of experience.

I am literally one step away from saying "F%&! it", just finishing my Master's, and then working ranch, technician, and odd jobs while I start my own company in my spare time. There is literally nothing else for me to do if I actually want to put my mind and skills to use! I have just about had it. Does anyone have any advice as far as engineering entrepeneurship goes?

[cncman]

General update: I finished the rest of my coursework (and aced it all), so I literally just have to do my Master's thesis/project now. The problem is that the project still hasn't been solidified- I've been trying to set up a meeting with a professor who specializes in machine learning to discuss the project and ask if he would be willing to be on my committee, but he hasn't even responded back; another professor who has agreed to be on my committee has said she'll discuss things with him, but I haven't heard back from her about that either...Kind of frustrated right now. Is it normal for professors to blow off grad students like this? Or is it me?

I've been keeping my eye out for networking events. They are really sparse this summer, but there was one back in May that I went to: I talked with a couple people and a couple days later followed up inquiring about internships or other positions they might be aware of, or of anyone within the company that they could refer me to to discuss these things. I haven't heard anything back since. Apparently, not only do you need experience to find a job, or even just to get an internship, but you also need experience just to network with people! Otherwise nobody wants anything to do with you- after all, it's not like you're a practicing engineer in the field, why should they talk to you or refer you to anybody? Unless you are already in the field with a history of experience and a wealth of connections to draw upon based on this previous work, networking is a joke. /rant

I attended an internship workshop through the university and had a meeting with an internship advisor, who hooked me up with the university's internship listing service and other resources- but there is literally nothing listed anywhere right now that is bioengineering-related. So I will have to contact companies directly and try to make my own internship opportunity with them. As far as jobs go, there is also nothing out there, unless you already have 5+ years of experience.

I am literally one step away from saying "F%&! it", just finishing my Master's, and then working ranch, technician, and odd jobs while I start my own company in my spare time. There is literally nothing else for me to do if I actually want to put my mind and skills to use! I have just about had it. Does anyone have any advice as far as engineering entrepeneurship goes?

Smaller programs are disorganized chaos from what I've seen. Paper mills. 90% of the kids I went with were terminal masters who wanted to get jobs. Grad school was just AIDS and I don't recommend it for anyone. Networking cold and alone is a job. Its like going to a bar by yourself while you're single trying to mingle.

[SolidPaul]

I've thought about programming. I've coded in Basic as far back as middle school, and a couple years after graduating I taught myself C++ and made my own brain-training program using SDL 2.0. Also, my fellowship right now basically involves coding an Android app in Java and making php server-side scripts, so I'm gaining some experience there as well. I don't think I'm marketable on that front yet though- I have too many holes in my basic knowledge (like what the different data structures are useful for, for example) and don't have enough experience yet to be productive from a company's point of view. I would probably bomb those notorious technical interviews involved in getting a programming job.

What do you do in the field? If I were to completely switch over to programming, what would you recommend I do to bring myself up to speed enough to be marketable in the field? Work through CS textbooks and do more programming projects?

I know if I go into machine learning I'll most likely have to learn Python anyway.

CS jobs are pretty competitive right now, I do NOT recommend going that route unless you can call yourself a solid programmer. I started working at a company right out of high school. I've been programming and working on hardware since middle school. You need to demonstrate extensive knowledge of CS concepts, have a strong portfolio built up on GitHub/work experience, and/or have connections. When I say concepts, I mean things like OOP, scripting, operating systems, source control, algortihms, UI, and design patterns. A company I worked for hires PhD, MS, and BS just for an entry-level position. Imagine the competition. Not to discourage you, but a lot of people I know who recently graduated still haven't found a job.

A MS in CompSci might help you though. Aware of computational chemistry?

How does your resume look? Python is essential.

source: I'm a software engineer that graduated with a computer engineering major (not the same as CS).

[axiom15]

By the grace of zyzz

I have a phone interview Wednesday for a job in Colorado, been brushing up on interview questions, etc.

Didn't get job, I'm giving up on engineering roles. legit wasted the past 7.5 years for nothing.

Good luck to you all

[Crazy_Desi]

major/industry?

I may be able to help if anyone is in power


That sounds awesome. What type of company are you looking for after grad school?

Hey man. Been reading your posts for a while, and have some questions.

For the past 6 years I’ve been working for a power engineering consulting firm. We pretty much do everything, but 5 years ago I got tasked witha major oil/gas client. Since them I’ve been doing the power systems analysis for this client usin SKM (all new electrical modifications go through me). I’ve even had some involvement in design, but more of a supervisory/liason type kind of role.

On top of that I take care of communications between my company and the client, proposals, managing budgets, invoicing, technical reporting, meetings, etc.

Gonna be honest, being over there solo has eroded my social skills.

Nonetheless, I’m being dragged into design and I’m being asked to produce, and I hate it.

My ideal role is to move into something economics/finance related - away from the pure technical side of things. Can you advise on my options? I’m in the midwest but would really like to move to the east coast. Looking for something that is a much more social job, not full of incels and nerdy dudes and no women.

My greatest strength is my attention to detail. Willing to learn software if needed.

[SouthDakotaBrah]

Hey man. Been reading your posts for a while, and have some questions.

For the past 6 years I’ve been working for a power engineering consulting firm. We pretty much do everything, but 5 years ago I got tasked witha major oil/gas client. Since them I’ve been doing the power systems analysis for this client usin SKM (all new electrical modifications go through me). I’ve even had some involvement in design, but more of a supervisory/liason type kind of role.

On top of that I take care of communications between my company and the client, proposals, managing budgets, invoicing, technical reporting, meetings, etc.

Gonna be honest, being over there solo has eroded my social skills.

Nonetheless, I’m being dragged into design and I’m being asked to produce, and I hate it.

My ideal role is to move into something economics/finance related - away from the pure technical side of things. Can you advise on my options? I’m in the midwest but would really like to move to the east coast. Looking for something that is a much more social job, not full of incels and nerdy dudes and no women.

My greatest strength is my attention to detail. Willing to learn software if needed.

It sounds like you have good supervisory experience, you could look at other firms in our industry and look for a role more along the lines of business development or project management (it sounds like you've been going down the route of project management already). Most engineering firms in this industry should have opportunities for project managers/business development managers with engineering experience, where you'd be doing less technical work and more of the business/finance type of work you seem interested in.

will send you a PM

[DrinkingBull]

Looking to hear some opinions on a situation at work..

We're wrapping up our first development cycle of a new product for one of our customers and are supposed to show off some capabilities this week. Last friday was the development cut-off point, we were supposed to integrate what we've built so far so we could do an in house prep run today.

Well one of my coworkers took off early on Friday and it turned out that his code, for whatever reason, didn't play nicely when I pulled the changes. We needed it to run to validate some data that another one of our other developers was producing from a separate tool. I took a look at what he had written and decided that it was better off to re-write it than to try and debug his spaghetti code. My boss ok'd me to pull the trigger. It took me less than an hour to do a complete re-write and test the data that my other coworker was outputting so he could get feedback to help wrap up his work.

Dude got totally bent out of shape over it today. He didn't say anything but he basically went non-verbal and spent the rest of the day pouting.

I feel bad he took it personally and get that I probably made him look bad. He probably spent a week working on it. At the same time I feel like I was justified in stepping in his lane, especially considering that he took of early before a big demo and didn't make any effort to make sure his stuff integrated smoothly.

Thoughts? Could I have handled the situation better or was I in the right?

[Ownster8932]

Looking to hear some opinions on a situation at work..

We're wrapping up our first development cycle of a new product for one of our customers and are supposed to show off some capabilities this week. Last friday was the development cut-off point, we were supposed to integrate what we've built so far so we could do an in house prep run today.

Well one of my coworkers took off early on Friday and it turned out that his code, for whatever reason, didn't play nicely when I pulled the changes. We needed it to run to validate some data that another one of our other developers was producing from a separate tool. I took a look at what he had written and decided that it was better off to re-write it than to try and debug his spaghetti code. My boss ok'd me to pull the trigger. It took me less than an hour to do a complete re-write and test the data that my other coworker was outputting so he could get feedback to help wrap up his work.

Dude got totally bent out of shape over it today. He didn't say anything but he basically went non-verbal and spent the rest of the day pouting.

I feel bad he took it personally and get that I probably made him look bad. He probably spent a week working on it. At the same time I feel like I was justified in stepping in his lane, especially considering that he took of early before a big demo and didn't make any effort to make sure his stuff integrated smoothly.

Thoughts? Could I have handled the situation better or was I in the right?

Going purely based on what you wrote, I think you handled it fine, mostly. I don't know how the company/group dynamics is generally. Do you usually get along, usually not get along, or just neutral (professional and it's fine, but not like work buddy)?

The one kinda grey area, I guess, would be that you could have sent a message or called to let him know and give him an opportunity to come in to fix it, if he wanted to. You say left early, like it's a negative thing, but was it him about to go on vacation, an appointment, or was it just that he had "seemingly" finished his work for the week and decided to leave a little early on a Friday? Those types of things matter, IMO, to an extent.

I do think you could have maybe given him a heads up about the situation and what was going on (not some long email or anything, just a hey, wanted to give you an update that we ran into some issues when we tried to integrate your code, so we had to do some rework to make it work.). Nothing attacking or confrontational, just letting him know so that he wasn't surprised when he came in to find that his work was not used and eliminates the possibility of him interpreting it as an affront/snaking him and trying to make him look bad. This can also be more or less important depending on the type of relationship you have with him.

At the end of the day, the team as a whole has a job to do. It sounds like you guys were kinda under pressure to get a job done and didn't have a lot of options. The priority is getting the job done, which it sounds like you did. It seems like his ego just got bruised, and I would argue a lot of issues that come up between people (whether work, social, or otherwise) is bruised ego/pride. I personally think this could have been avoided with a little heads up message or call (based on the information given). No way he could interpret that as snaking (unless he has mental issues). He might still be a little butthurt today, but it would probably be more of only an insecurity of him feeling like he is incompetent with no chance for interpretation of any "snaking". Cuz if he left early cuz he thought he was done, well he might have been willing to come back in, or at least then you're giving him the chance to. If he went on vacation/appointment/non-negotiable, then he ain't coming back in, but the heads up helps let him know you weren't snaking. But I understand, it's crunch time, you're just trying to get your **** done so that the rest of the team can do their **** and you can also go home and enjoy the weekend.

[DrinkingBull]

Going purely based on what you wrote, I think you handled it fine, mostly. I don't know how the company/group dynamics is generally. Do you usually get along, usually not get along, or just neutral (professional and it's fine, but not like work buddy)?

The one kinda grey area, I guess, would be that you could have sent a message or called to let him know and give him an opportunity to come in to fix it, if he wanted to. You say left early, like it's a negative thing, but was it him about to go on vacation, an appointment, or was it just that he had "seemingly" finished his work for the week and decided to leave a little early on a Friday? Those types of things matter, IMO, to an extent.

I do think you could have maybe given him a heads up about the situation and what was going on (not some long email or anything, just a hey, wanted to give you an update that we ran into some issues when we tried to integrate your code, so we had to do some rework to make it work.). Nothing attacking or confrontational, just letting him know so that he wasn't surprised when he came in to find that his work was not used and eliminates the possibility of him interpreting it as an affront/snaking him and trying to make him look bad. This can also be more or less important depending on the type of relationship you have with him.

At the end of the day, the team as a whole has a job to do. It sounds like you guys were kinda under pressure to get a job done and didn't have a lot of options. The priority is getting the job done, which it sounds like you did. It seems like his ego just got bruised, and I would argue a lot of issues that come up between people (whether work, social, or otherwise) is bruised ego/pride. I personally think this could have been avoided with a little heads up message or call (based on the information given). No way he could interpret that as snaking (unless he has mental issues). He might still be a little butthurt today, but it would probably be more of only an insecurity of him feeling like he is incompetent with no chance for interpretation of any "snaking". Cuz if he left early cuz he thought he was done, well he might have been willing to come back in, or at least then you're giving him the chance to. If he went on vacation/appointment/non-negotiable, then he ain't coming back in, but the heads up helps let him know you weren't snaking. But I understand, it's crunch time, you're just trying to get your **** done so that the rest of the team can do their **** and you can also go home and enjoy the weekend.

Yeah your right that it would of been the more diplomatic thing to text him that his stuff was broken. I made the call not to though because it was getting late and I knew it would be faster for me to redo it than to wait for him to reply and get back in the office and try to debug his code.

Also he didn't make any effort to make sure his code integrated properly before he took off which sort of left the rest of us hanging. He didn't have an appointment or vacation or anything, he was just probably already at 40 hours for the week and decided to take off. I don't have a bone to pick with people not wanting to put in over 40 hours especially if they're not getting paid OT but at least make sure your ****s working before you take off for the weekend so that other people with more skin in the game aren't scrambling.

We have a new team with a new PM though so all the kinks are getting still getting worked out. Hopefully we learn and move on and the next development cycle goes more smoothly.

[Rayaarito]

Haven't posted in a while. Only been in the field for 6 months. Still not a fan of Systems Engineering but i realize that some of the skills required to be a systems engineer are things I need if I'm ever to own my own business - for ex: public speaking, organizing the team, managing, etc. So that's kept me going. In fact, I actually am presenting something in front of the highest ranked positions in my company in a month and I'm ****ting bricks. But once again, I realize that public speaking is a skill I should have at 28 so I'm looking forward to it but I'm still bugging. So if anybody has any tips for public speaking, that'd be great lol.

Main reason I posted in this thread is to give back. Since you've guys helped me so much. If you have any questions about systems engineering, ask away and i'll do my best to answer

[RockyIV]

Haven't posted in a while. Only been in the field for 6 months. Still not a fan of Systems Engineering but i realize that some of the skills required to be a systems engineer are things I need if I'm ever to own my own business - for ex: public speaking, organizing the team, managing, etc. So that's kept me going. In fact, I actually am presenting something in front of the highest ranked positions in my company in a month and I'm ****ting bricks. But once again, I realize that public speaking is a skill I should have at 28 so I'm looking forward to it but I'm still bugging. So if anybody has any tips for public speaking, that'd be great lol.

Main reason I posted in this thread is to give back. Since you've guys helped me so much. If you have any questions about systems engineering, ask away and i'll do my best to answer

I used to be scared of public speaking until I started doing my homework on what I was speaking.

If you prepare adequately, then you are the smartest guy in the room on that topic and that will take a ton of the anxiety from the talking part. Just remember to speak slower than you think you should. When I'm nervous I tend to talk faster in an attempt to get it over with. Just speak slowly, clearly and follow your outline or whatever you are using. Don't write a script because if you get off track it's hard to get back on without it looking like a major stumble. That's why I like an outline but practice the speech out loud and in front of others if you can.

Good luck bro

[ichBinBerliner]

I must be slow...never saw this thread before. Good to see other engineers that actually lift.

[Rebuilt3]

Hello fellow engineers, i have a question for yee guys. I'm a subsea engineer, have been working in industry for about 4-5 years. Decided to recently go back to school and work on my mechanical engineer, which will take me another 2-3 years to complete. I decided to go back and widen my education to open more opportunities down the road for future employment. Recently, i have been offered two different positions over the last month that both seem quite good. Salaried, with benefits, etc. Have any of you guys got your dual tickets or degrees? I'm having difficulty debating on taking one of the positions recently offered or continuing another 2-3 years and having more education.

On a side note, i have a lot of credits that transfer over so it won't be expensive to pick up the secondary education.

[GrammarNaziM8]

If I do a co op I will be graduating one year late.
Should I go for co op or nah?
Srs answers only thanks.

And, I am planning on writing actuary exams after my mech eng degree.

[SouthDakotaBrah]

If I do a co op I will be graduating one year late.
Should I go for co op or nah?
Srs answers only thanks.

And, I am planning on writing actuary exams after my mech eng degree.

Just get two summers of internships while you're in school and graduate on time

I'd assume especially if you plan on going into a field not related to engineering (actuary)

[GrammarNaziM8]

Just get two summers of internships while you're in school and graduate on time

I'd assume especially if you plan on going into a field not related to engineering (actuary)

I wish I could brah.
I transferred from another province and it basically is either graduate in 3 years or 4 years with co op. That's just the uni's schedule.

As of now, I've opted for the co op option since I've heard it's brutal out there without any previous experience

[SouthDakotaBrah]

I wish I could brah.
I transferred from another province and it basically is either graduate in 3 years or 4 years with co op. That's just the uni's schedule.

As of now, I've opted for the co op option since I've heard it's brutal out there without any previous experience

Good choice in that scenario. The co-op is worth staying an extra year if its your only work experience. It would be brutal graduating with no experience.

[narak1]

Just got my first electrical engineering job with no prior internship or engineering exp.

The job is mostly revvit/cad design. how phucked am i? i asked about learning the software on my own free time and they said its something that they will teach me.

what do misc

[M0hi]

Just graduated with my M.S. in BME (went straight to MS after B.S. in the same field).

Applying to jobs right now and kind of trying to figure out a game-plan.
I have heard wherever you get your first job tends to "anchor" you into the similar field or work and wanted to know if you guys felt this is true?

I love orthopedics and ideally would be in R&D or product engineering for Stryker. But if for example, I got a job as a quality engineer at Stryker how easily could I move on to R&D/Product Dev later? Would it have to be within the same company?


I have 6 months before loan payments kick in, but graduation is in May so I'd like to have an income by April so I can fly out to attend the ceremony with my family.
For those that don't know, BME is like learning a mix of mechanical engineering (ME) and electrical engineering (EE) curriculum and based on my electives I am 70% ME and 30% EE. So basically I have the skill set for entry level mechanical engineering and BME roles, but I wouldn't be any competitive applying to EE jobs.

This is my game plan feel free to critique:

First two months I am generally applying to my most desired/competitive positions AKA the exact job I want. So Orthopedic R&D/Product dev positions at Stryker in Florida/Illinois, Texas, Arizona (in order of preference). But I'm really open to anywhere except Northeast and Cali (side-business conflicts).

If nothing is working out starting March I'll be applying to quality engineering positions with the same company/location criteria. I have no beef with quality engineering, the skillset would actually be very useful to my side-business. Priority is location and work that I am confident at and enjoy (anything to do with bones/joints and/or medical devices).

And if nothing has worked out by April, I'll suck it up and apply for anything and everything I can.

Am I going about this the wrong way?

[SolidPaul]

Just graduated with my M.S. in BME (went straight to MS after B.S. in the same field).

Applying to jobs right now and kind of trying to figure out a game-plan.
I have heard wherever you get your first job tends to "anchor" you into the similar field or work and wanted to know if you guys felt this is true?

From my experience, yes. Was an EE and started doing software engineering work, went to career fairs and applied to companies. I got questions about why I want to do power systems when I have a strong programming background. Your first job matters to future employers. You don't want to be working in communications if your goal is power systems. You can always switch fields but it won't be senior level (think entry-level) unless the work was similar.

You can move teams/roles within a company pretty easily, but outside of a company it's difficult since they want relevant skills/experience you obtain from a previous role in the same field.

What about national labs or working as staff/engineer in university research labs?

[M0hi]

What about national labs or working as staff/engineer in university research labs?

Not to sound like a broken record, but if the work has ANYTHING to do with bones, joints, soft-tissues and fits my ideal location criteria I've got no issue.

Thank you for your response. So it seems like I'll stick to my game-plan.

[joofdisciple]

Fuark barely a sophomore with good grades in all my stem courses, planned on going ME or EE, but I can't even imagine myself on the level some of you guys are at... very discouraging

[cncman]

Fuark barely a sophomore with good grades in all my stem courses, planned on going ME or EE, but I can't even imagine myself on the level some of you guys are at... very discouraging

once you finish you wonder wtf you can even do lol. grad school was even worse for my faith in education

[joofdisciple]

The only thing that gives me some faith is that I can probably get internship opportunities here in California, and I have family support to not worry too much about $$

[Ownster8932]

I have heard wherever you get your first job tends to "anchor" you into the similar field or work and wanted to know if you guys felt this is true?

First two months I am generally applying to my most desired/competitive positions AKA the exact job I want. So Orthopedic R&D/Product dev positions at Stryker in Florida/Illinois, Texas, Arizona (in order of preference). But I'm really open to anywhere except Northeast and Cali (side-business conflicts).

If nothing is working out starting March I'll be applying to quality engineering positions with the same company/location criteria. I have no beef with quality engineering, the skillset would actually be very useful to my side-business. Priority is location and work that I am confident at and enjoy (anything to do with bones/joints and/or medical devices).

And if nothing has worked out by April, I'll suck it up and apply for anything and everything I can.

Am I going about this the wrong way?

IME, this has not been the case. Here is my work experience:

Internships: 2 Summers at a defense contractor where the majority of the work was big switched-mode power supplies
Job 1: Oil & gas working on downhole sensors.
Job 2: Defense working on tactical equipment (x-ray source controllers, cameras, etc)
Job 3: Commerical marine working on multi-function displays and transducers

Wildly different fields on wildly different types of products. Of course, all jobs required me to know/understand analog electronics. However, I'm currently doing a lot of work on transducers. I never would have thought I would be working on something like this, but they asked me if I would be ok with helping the main transducer engineer and I said yes. I literally knew close to nothing about transducers (other than the basic stuff that most EE/ME would probably know). This has been a pretty common theme in my jobs where I also actively seek and say yes to learning new technical skills that are not "in my wheelhouse", so to speak (I actually wouldn't say I have any wheelhouse, other than broadly analog electronics). I've never had difficulties getting interviews in any kind of field I wanted to, so IDK. Maybe as you get further in your career it matters or for very specific/niche things.

All of my job roles have been R&D/design (because that's what I like), but I've applied, interviewed, and received offers for anything from test engineer to sales engineer to marketing. I've tried to build a pretty broad set of skills as well, which probably helps. I am an EE, but I took a lot of ME classes as well (8 of them). In my first real job, part of the reason i was hired was that I had so much ME stuff (and I ended up getting to use some of it). I also did a lot of self study on my own as well when I was in school and when I got out and started working. I'm also a fairly well-rounded individual (very good in social situations, etc), which helps as well, I'm sure.

So basically, no, I don't think you have to worry about being pigeon-holed to an industry, job role, or whatever else you may be worried about if you don't want to be. That doesn't necessarily mean it will be easy, though. BME is a bit "niche", even though (as you said) it is basically a mash up of EE/ME. But if other industries can hire a full EE or ME, you might find it a bit more difficult if you were to try and go to another industry, at least initially.

As far as starting out in QA and switching to R&D, I certainly think it's harder to go into R&D than from R&D to another job role (I think it's generally harder to go up in technical difficulty, which would be the case here). With that being said, it's your first "real" job, so it's not the end of the world. Where it starts to get trickier is if you get caught a little flat footed and end up doing QA for 5 years or something. At that point, you might find it more difficult. In general, the sooner you can start building the type of experience that reflects how you would like your career to be constructed, the better. But a first job out of college, I wouldn't worry too much, just make sure you work towards getting the job you do want.

As far as switching from QA to R&D within the same company, I haven't seen these types of things generally play out well, unless you can make the switch early enough. I know guys who were techs and got a degree who then switched job roles. They were always called on for old job related things because they had so much experience in their old roles. I think it would probably be a better idea to try and get a fresh start at a different company. With that being said, every company and culture will be different. If you get the opportunity, ask about and try to talk to other employees within the company who made the change and see what their experience has been like.

I think it makes sense to apply for a broader range of jobs when you're first coming out of college. As you gain more experience and develop a sense of what you like/don't like and where you want your career to go, you will likely develop a preference and be pickier in where and what positions you decide to apply for.

I was typing between games of Overwatch, so sorry if it doesn't read smoothly or my thoughts not coherent, but hope it helps! Good luck!

[15thPeak]

Anyone else take the PE exam in April?

Took the Civil Construction exam, wondering how others felt about their exam.

[colonelcross]

I'm thinking about taking the FE. I graduated with my master's in Geological Engineering in 2015 and haven't used anything since, but now I'm out of the Army and looking at Construction Project Manager positions. There isn't too much demand for geological engineers here in Colorado, it seems.