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  • LAVA Moderator: Shinji Ikari

Engineering Fields

I got a EE degree last May with a concentration in CE. I've screwed around a little since then (too many drugs), but hopefully with the economy picking up I'll get back into something that's in my field instead of temp work. I did have a nice stint with a company programming a computer game though.

It all depends on what you want to do with the degree. I started out with chemical, but moved to electrical engineering after I discovered I didn't like the chemistry part so well. I've done projects developing chips and even entire PCB boards, and even with the long hours it took I wouldn't trade the degree or experience for anything.
 
EE is the best way to go IMO. You can go a ton of places from there for sure, like others have mentioned you won't be tied down to designing circuits the rest of your life.
 
designing circuits is awesome, great fun.


I'm totally serious. I really enjoy. the way EE majors go about it is retarted though, working on damn equations that are needless when you can just solve it with a computer program.
 
Ummm... spice? not too sure, but the thing is you need to understand the background theory otherwise whats the point.
 
I do understand the background theory, but my point is that the way EE are taught to design circuits is as impractical as it can get. It's extremely time consuming. why do you need to spend hours running through calculations when the accuracy of 1% is all you need. a simple approximation will suffice, especially when considering that with circuit components you are lucky to find ones with that much accuracy. I recommend that anyone interested in analog circuits read "the art of electronics" by horowitz and hill. It's absolutely the best book out there on electronics (although my physics professor is writing a book to replace it).
 
It depends. I have a duel BS in ChemE and Mat Sci E. Jobs are pretty easy to come by, but you have to work your ass off in school. The curriculum is really difficult, but at the end, IMO, worth it. Like Chaos Butterfly said, ChemE's do not take that many chem courses. General chem, o-chem, physical chemistry. That's about it. All basic stuff, nothing really advanced. Most of chem e is about reactions and reactor/plant design. This can be used in variety of fields as most manufacturing companies all have some sort of chemical plant design need. Or, as lots of friends did, couple your chem e with bio-chem background, and you can get into a hugely developing field of pharmaceutical plant design.

Mat Sci is an interesting field, and one that I enjoyed immensely in college. There is a whole world out there where mat sci plays a prominent role. The only thing about mat sci is that most companies want to hire mat sci people with at least a masters degree (phD is preferred). I can kind of see why...it just seems like after all the courses I took for mat sci, I am still not confident in my abilities to survive as a mat sci engineer. The field is just too big to cover with an undergraduate major. It's much better to specialize and get an advance degree. I have a friend who's doing his masters in nano-technology right now, he loves it, and NASA has been sort of bankrolling his advanced degree. But if you want a growing field with tons of potential, mat sci might be right for you.

The good thing about engineering fields is that there is always a shortage of engineers. This is because compared to other majors, engineering curriculum is ridiculously tough.

Ultimately though, I guess it comes down to what you want to do. If you want an office job, this may not be for you (computer sci notwithstanding). Most engineers are hands-on, out in the field, running day-to-day operations. But if that is what you like, then this could be for you.
 
for those that already have their engineering degrees. did you take the FE??? did you go on to take your PE??? what is your opinion on people with PE's and those without? what are the differences in job opportunities and types of jobs that you can get? this is somethin i was pondering earlier today, would like to get other people opinions/input on the matter.
 
Just a little confused... what is an FE, and what is a PE? This could just be a locational difference in terms but I've never heard of these :)
 
I'm a fourth year EE student and I feel that circuit theory is emphasized in order to further weed out weaker students. When I went to my coop job as a control systems designer, the manuals for the equipment being used in the system were what helped me get the job done - not my controls systems class. Some of the tech school grads I was working among were very aware of the fact that a university grad or student doesn't really have the immediate ability to get a job done. But they hated that the EEs got paid more. Personally, I'm just proud that I know a little theory...no matter how much dope it took for me to learn it.
The theory classes seem to be proving grounds..."If you get this bs, you'll have no problem with the product manuals." My solution: 4 year tech schools???

Do any other engineering students or grads dis/agree with this?
 
in america heh forgot we are international

FE = fundamentals of engineering test
PE = practice and principles of engineering test

basically the FE is a test you have the option of taking after you get your bachelors. its a stepping stone to the PE, which if you pass will dub you a Professional Engineer, in your respected field. The requirements are tough as i hear these tests take all day to complete. And also hear that only the top 10% that take the PE get it awarded, as to not flood the market.

Basically to my understanding if you wanna open your own business/company/firm/etc you'll need to have a PE. if this isnt the route for you then you dont need one and will be workin for other companies. its importance varies from person to person. opinion to opinion.

feel free to correct me if i'm wrong. i'm just sharing some info an my opinion. and would like some feedback as well.
 
Ah hah... that sounds sort of like the process that you take over here to become Chartered i.e. a chartered engineer... although I don't know exactly what the process is, I'd imagine that its kinda similar...

Over here it really isn't stressed at all. In fact I didn't hear a thing about it during undergrad, I can only assume that if you are in a firm that cares about that sort of thing they will tell you about it and push you in the right direction.

I wouldn't mind becoming chartered, but I'll finish my PhD first :)
 
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