I'm so lost... Mechanical vs Civil.. help?

aibarr
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:32:29 +0000

I wonder if I could talk to College Mom and have her sticky a new post for me, the title of which will be “Mechanical engineering is NOT just engines and gears.” It doesn’t even have to have any text in the thread.



Ditto with “Structural engineering is the study of how forces affect materials, and you can get a job in aerospace, civil, structural, submarine, or automotive design with a structural engineering degree.”

Coastal protection works, you say…? Just turned in a 609 page report on how to protect UTMB-Galveston from future hurricanes. Also looking at a few jobs where we’d be doing work to try to reverse the coastal wetlands erosion that’s going on in the Mississippi Delta area, planting cedar groves and using wastewater to fertilize and reestablish the area. Two years ago, as most people around here know, I got job offers to do dynamic analysis on rockets, to design the new manned spacecraft with a major aero contractor, to design dead-silent submarine turbines for a government contractor, and to design skyscrapers and stadiums. Tuesday, I got promoted to project manager (oh thank you thank you THANK YOU gods of continued employment!!!) within the civil group, and I’m working on master plans for museums and hospitals, and becoming a floodproofing expert like I said, and other cool things.

You never know where you’ll land. Don’t dismiss structural engineering because you think it’s too narrow. Both structural and mechanical engineering deal with how FORCES affect MATTER, which, as you’d imagine, is infinitely applicable. If you become at all familiar with finite element modeling, you’ll end up as a hot commodity. They really do hire structural engineers for structural design of non-buildings/bridges.

Caveat: civil will get really difficult really quickly if you decide to go into structures and aim to get a worthy masters degree that will take you cool places.