Reviving an old thread, but this is something I was looking at.
Sakky is 8746598764359643 % on-point and hits the nail on the head.
I’m a non-traditional student (32) finishing up my undergrad in Materials engineering, so I have a bit of real world experience under my belt. He’s 100% on point. Nobody in engineering really does ANYTHING that a typical person off the street can’t learn on the job.
Now, that being said, engineering school brainwashes you into a sort of train of thought and way of thinking, that you don’t/can’t really learn outside of school. I.E. it’s a problem-solving-risk-assessment state of mind. That’s all engineering school is good for. Sadly, graduates don’t see it that way. Engineering school just shows you really know how to solve problems and know how to learn. That’s it.
Now, that being said, that brainwashed way of thinking REALLY takes away any “normal person” way of thinking. An example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c19kn3drdFU
The prototype performs well supposedly. It’s a PERFECT example of engineers designing ■■■■ without ever wrenching on anything. Oh, you want to change spark plugs? Here, you have to take off your front end. Oh, you want to change a head? Well, good luck with that.
This is the kind of ■■■■ that exists to geek out about, but NO MECHANIC would ever want to work on one because everything is such a pain in the ass to get to or work on. Basically, it’s what engineers do: make cool ■■■■ that’s impossible for a normal person to work on (if it works well at all) without wanting to kill the person who designed it. Making ■■■■ far more complicated at the expense of simplicity to boost an ego and flex some brain muscle, whether they want to admit it or not. The aforementioned is precisely the reason why I’ve looked at getting an MBA…I don’t like being sucked into that mind-set of mental muscle flexing…I enjoy the problem solving…but I can only take so much of it.
And FWIW, after talking to a couple hiring managers, nobody really cares what school you went to…it might get you the interview, but if you’re an idiot, you’re an idiot. Nobody wants an anti-social or incompetent person to work with. People skills are far more valued these days…