<p>If you’re interested in doing more “interesting” stuff, then it might be a good idea to get a Ph.D and work on research projects that way.</p>
<p>It sounds like a lot of what has already been said applies to MechE, ChemE, AeroE, CompE. Does any of the type of work mentioned (mostly by PurdueEE) apply to Civil Eng? If not can anyone provide info on what types of jobs a Civil Eng would get right out of college?</p>
<p>Agreed with InPursuit on aerospace. That job market typically is a roller coaster that peaks and drops every ten years or so, along with the industry.</p>
<p>My dad was a Nuke and drove Navy carriers for six years, but he went civilian like six months after Three Mile Island, so no jobs in that field. He ended up working on Pampers diapers. Work is work, but an engineering degree will make sure you at least have a job.</p>
<p>Glamorous or not, the reason I am in engineering is to get a job/that is the reality of the world I grew up in. Although I do enjoy the field of engineering, if I had no pressure to get a decent job upon graduating, I would have seriously pursued becoming a professional or collegiate tennis player somehow.</p>
<p>Sorry for bringing this thread back to life, but it’s a real eye opener. Most people (including myself) who want to go into engineering think they’ll be doing interesting things like Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne. That being said, it seems like entry level engineering jobs don’t really use much of the advanced knowledge and concepts learned in school. So my question is, what percentage of the undergraduate engineering curriculum is useful for entry-level engineering jobs? Are the advanced courses just a waste of time since they won’t be touched in entry level engineering work?</p>
<p>@OCCENADE1 - Chances are the advanced courses will not be used unless you go for a Masters.</p>
<p>Passing these advanced classes demonstrates an ability to learn and grasp advanced concepts (a rite of passage).</p>
<p>My entry position was with the DoD. Six months after graduation I was riding in the back seat of a fighter jet looking down at my old school.</p>
<p>Not all entry engineering jobs are dull.</p>
<p>[BSME with 30+ years, and a PE]</p>
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<p>Private and DOD jobs are different. Yes, certain jobs require you to know upper-courses.
DSP,E&M,Microelectronics Analog/Digital design. At the end of my Soph year i knew nothing about these topics as they were all upper level. On job interviews nobody asked me about first or second order RLC circuits which are lower level topics. </p>
<p>For me the upper level classes mattered most. They asked about “stack overflow”,“MISO” “A/D conversion questions” and “PID controller”.</p>
<p>Hope someone here could give me there opinion. I work in the Technology Field, I’m a Network Administrator for the past 4 years. Also, I’m 27, and the technology field hasn’t been all that challenging to me. I’ve been extremely interested in going back to undergraduate and getting a degree MechanicalE or ElectricalE. I’m always reading books on Physics on my own time. Anyone that is an engineer do you get fulfillment from you job? Knowing you could be apart of a project that could change the world or is that wishful thinking? Just not sure if I should spend the time and energy going back to just stay in Tech. Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>So a friend of mine got an entry level job for the past couple of months and it’s more or less getting paid a lot to browse the web all day / looking over some paperwork and checking designs / basic office work.
Great salary for nothing too complicated</p>
<p>dg1…I read thru this thread. I worked in industry as an EE for several years before returning to grad school. The old comments by PurdueEE are not that far off. I did not find much fulfillment in the technical work I did. However, in my PhD research, I did find some fulfillment in my technical work. Many people who worked as engineers with a Bachelors or Masters degree eventually changed careers. A number left to pursue business degrees, some pursued PhDs (like me), a couple of engineers I knew ran for and won “small-scale” political offices. </p>
<p>The engineers who stayed in industry often tried their hand at being a manager. Many pursued a part-time business degree in the process. Being a “1st line” manager (basically manages engineers in the trenches) in industry is a tough gig. Many just don’t succeed and end their career as a project lead or in customer support.</p>
<p>I actually have heard of students in their late twenties that go back get a EE undergrad and go on to get a PhD. That is an option.</p>
<p>This thread is a real eye opener. As a undergraduate studying ME, what steps can I take to increase my odds of not having a dull desk job. </p>
<p>Last summer I did an internship where part of the time was on a job site working with mechanical systems, and part of it was in an office doing design. The time on a job site was many times more stimulating and interesting. </p>
<p>Thank you for any input.</p>
<p>“what steps can I take to increase my odds of not having a dull desk job?” - I imagine most jobs will have at least some desk work. But if you prefer less, make that an important factor as you research job opportunities. </p>
<p>In my field, much of the “true” industry design work requires a PhD. This is partly what motivated met to go back to graduate school. You sometimes can get design work if you have a Masters degree and over 10 years of experience (some of which is already design work), but many of the engineers with this background started their careers in the 90’s. It really was a different economy back then.</p>
<p>C_mom above is right with the basic advice. Try to get as much information about the job when you interview. The issue is that some companies will be “put off” when they are asked too many specific questions about the job description. Only now that I have a PhD will I ask these questions and politely say in an interview that I’m not interested if it is not research and development. I guess I feel secure enough to do this now. Even though I will say I’m not interested very nicely, some people I’ve interviewed with are taken aback when I do this. </p>