[Frontenac]

Environmental scientist here. PhD in environmental sciences acquired last year.

On contract, but hoping to be a prof at some point.

[jake1720]

(05-25-2015 09:29 PM)redbeard Wrote:  

Chemical Engineering master race checking in.

I'll be dropping a datasheet soon about how I managed my school work...it'd be cool if yall who have difficult degrees could sound off in it.

edit: I now know that whenever I get surprised by rain in houston I will send curses CleanSlates way

Stimulants. Lots and lots of stimulants.

[BIGINJAPAN]

Civil Engineer. Graduated about 12 years ago. Spent 2 years working in the field for a multinational industrial conglomerate out of school. After that worked for myself in real estate and now I am a trader dealing in futures, swaps and options.

Couldn't handle working in teams with guys that couldn't think for themselves. Also having 10 different bosses telling me what to do and contradicting each other. The forced after work socials because without them most of those guys would never talk to the opposite sex the rest of their lives was probably the worst aspect of it all. I thrive in a high risk high reward, fueled by testosterone, money and pride environment. Something you will not find in most work engineering environments.

[jake1720]

(05-31-2015 05:02 PM)BIGINJAPAN Wrote:  

Civil Engineer. Graduated about 12 years ago. Spent 2 years working in the field for a multinational industrial conglomerate out of school. After that worked for myself in real estate and now I am a trader dealing in futures, swaps and options.

Couldn't handle working in teams with guys that couldn't think for themselves. Also having 10 different bosses telling me what to do and contradicting each other. The forced after work socials because without them most of those guys would never talk to the opposite sex the rest of their lives was probably the worst aspect of it all. I thrive in a high risk high reward, fueled by testosterone, money and pride environment. Something you will not find in most work engineering environments.

How did you go into trading for futures, swaps, an options. Is this freelance? Or do you do this on your own?

[BIGINJAPAN]

(06-01-2015 12:55 AM)jake1720 Wrote:  

(05-31-2015 05:02 PM)BIGINJAPAN Wrote:  

Civil Engineer. Graduated about 12 years ago. Spent 2 years working in the field for a multinational industrial conglomerate out of school. After that worked for myself in real estate and now I am a trader dealing in futures, swaps and options.

Couldn't handle working in teams with guys that couldn't think for themselves. Also having 10 different bosses telling me what to do and contradicting each other. The forced after work socials because without them most of those guys would never talk to the opposite sex the rest of their lives was probably the worst aspect of it all. I thrive in a high risk high reward, fueled by testosterone, money and pride environment. Something you will not find in most work engineering environments.

How did you go into trading for futures, swaps, an options. Is this freelance? Or do you do this on your own?

I originally just taught myself how to trade futures and options. I have only been doing swaps for about a 1 1/2 now. Although 1/2 of the pricing on swap is based on the futures market. After that, getting hired at a firm had a lot more to do with who you know than actual qualifications. I work with guys that have MBA's, CFA's and no degrees period. No exaggeration but all our best traders are the guys who don't have a degree at all. Since our president never went to college and was one of the best traders in company history, he has a different philosophy over new hires than perhaps a wall street firm. I also had a detailed, audited log of my trades over the past several years that helped me get my foot in the door.

[fiasco360]

(05-27-2015 08:53 PM)Engineer Wrote:  

OP, I'm curious why you're asking?

Just curious to be honest. I'm finishing my graduate degree in mechanical engineering.

Pretty awesome so many people here are engineers/scientists.

[Engineer]

(06-01-2015 10:53 PM)fiasco360 Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 08:53 PM)Engineer Wrote:  

OP, I'm curious why you're asking?

Just curious to be honest. I'm finishing my graduate degree in mechanical engineering.

Pretty awesome so many people here are engineers/scientists.

Congratulations! Structural/mechanics or thermal/fluids? I've got a PhD in Mech Eng (thermal) and work with lots of engineers and scientists every day; I'm currently a systems engineer many years after graduating.

[ClintTalks]

Structural Aircraft Engineer

[Seadog]

Mechanical Engineering degree here, worked field based petroleum engineering last 7 years, laid off in Feb, taking a nice long break now. Really don't have much of a plan beyond a few big trips in the near future i've been putting off for years.

[Frostbite]

Mechanical Engineering degree. The reason why a lot of men do hard sciences, it because it ties in with our desire to want to know how things work / build things. However you don't need a shitty degree. Everything I learnt at uni is freely available on the internet, and will save you £30,000

[fiasco360]

(06-03-2015 07:28 AM)Engineer Wrote:  

(06-01-2015 10:53 PM)fiasco360 Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 08:53 PM)Engineer Wrote:  

OP, I'm curious why you're asking?

Just curious to be honest. I'm finishing my graduate degree in mechanical engineering.

Pretty awesome so many people here are engineers/scientists.

Congratulations! Structural/mechanics or thermal/fluids? I've got a PhD in Mech Eng (thermal) and work with lots of engineers and scientists every day; I'm currently a systems engineer many years after graduating.

Thanks man! My program gives me a leniency on direct focus, but I have been working with control systems. However my 2 main projects for my masters include combustion analysis of bio-fuels and construction of a gas generator cycle rocket engine. (The later is a group project and I'm responsible for modeling the control system)

I've considered a PhD but I'm not sure if I want to do another 4 years of school.

[philosophical_recovery]

Yup. I got my degree and chased interesting work at the bleeding edge all over the country. I've worked in several industries now, with experience going deep, meeting some of the best minds in the fields. Sorry if that sounds vague, as I am not going to give out details.

I am planning on eventually using my professional contacts to leverage a strike out on my own, but I haven't made that switch yet. I have done some moonlighting, but I have not pursued it actively. Worried about IP issues with my employers.

I may generate material about the field in book format and see if that sells. I have a few ideas, and I have noticed failings in the industries I have worked in, a better way to explain things, etc. That may skirt IP issues.

[philosophical_recovery]

(06-08-2015 08:09 PM)fiasco360 Wrote:  

Thanks man! My program gives me a leniency on direct focus, but I have been working with control systems. However my 2 main projects for my masters include combustion analysis of bio-fuels and construction of a gas generator cycle rocket engine. (The later is a group project and I'm responsible for modeling the control system)

I've considered a PhD but I'm not sure if I want to do another 4 years of school.

Get experience and money first. Then later on, decide if you want a PhD. Read the fundamental groundwork of your field that most technology is now based on, understand where the math/theory stops working and you have to do something else, and you'll be ahead of almost all of the PhD holders I've met in my professional career.

I've consistently seen highly educated men make very fundamental errors, for years, without being corrected and millions wasted.

[djk100]

I will graduate with a BS in Biomed this fall. Basically, it involves with clinical laboratory testing in hospitals after 6 month of internship at a hospital lab. Pay I'm told is around ~50k beginning but can go up to 80k if the specialty is blood bank. What do you guys think about this? The plus is that there is shortage of workers since the workforce reaching their retirement age, which would allow plenty job opportunities as long as you're certified.

[Il Bersagliere]

Is anyone here in the pharma or biotech industry?

[Engineer]

(06-08-2015 08:09 PM)fiasco360 Wrote:  

(06-03-2015 07:28 AM)Engineer Wrote:  

(06-01-2015 10:53 PM)fiasco360 Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 08:53 PM)Engineer Wrote:  

OP, I'm curious why you're asking?

Just curious to be honest. I'm finishing my graduate degree in mechanical engineering.

Pretty awesome so many people here are engineers/scientists.

Congratulations! Structural/mechanics or thermal/fluids? I've got a PhD in Mech Eng (thermal) and work with lots of engineers and scientists every day; I'm currently a systems engineer many years after graduating.

Thanks man! My program gives me a leniency on direct focus, but I have been working with control systems. However my 2 main projects for my masters include combustion analysis of bio-fuels and construction of a gas generator cycle rocket engine. (The later is a group project and I'm responsible for modeling the control system)

I've considered a PhD but I'm not sure if I want to do another 4 years of school.

PM sent

[newbgold]

My educational background is an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering. This was a extremely stressful experience for me, and in some ways a humiliating one. I did not choose the major or the undergrad program wisely, and I regret it to this day.

[windersan]

Industrial physicist (mostly petroleum exploration)

"you don't need a shitty degree, everything is available online"

I agree with this statement, however I believe that a GOOD degree from a decent school is certainly valuable. To elucidate: Learning is something we were instructed to do on our own anyway. Class was never to learn anything. It was for: review, filling in knowledge gaps, consolidating our knowledge, asking questions, having a reference in the form of professors and other students to whom we could ask questions to if needed.
The internet certainly was helped a significant amount though, I agree that the face of education of changing. One must realize that our current educational system, especially in the sciences, is a relic of centuries past, especially the early 20th, where there was no internet or even mass communication, so back then there were no forums or search functions.

[JonboyUK]

Petroleum Engineer here, I also have a BSc in Geology and an MSc in Petroleum Geology, currently "Working" in the oil industry and by working I mean unemployed waiting for work to return...........

[MarshalZhukov]

Mechanical engineering undergrad here

[Stonk]

Electronic Engineering undergrad here..

[sterling_archer]

Bachelor degree in mechanical engineering

[flanders]

Physics undergrad, saving money a few years to go back to school and finish a degree that's marketable. Learning computer science in my spare time to get a job since paying 20-30k for more education is not high on my list of things to do.

(06-05-2015 04:24 AM)Frostbite Wrote:  

Mechanical Engineering degree. The reason why a lot of men do hard sciences, it because it ties in with our desire to want to know how things work / build things. However you don't need a shitty degree. Everything I learnt at uni is freely available on the internet, and will save you £30,000

If you could drop a brief datasheet, that would be nice (Edit: 3 year old post ... still maybe somebody will chime in). I saw so many kids go into mechanical engineering with high hopes only to see the material and be gone by first semester. Some exposure to the material might educate enough to give them an advantage in classes or convince a few to change course before spending tons of money.

[KC4]

Second year mechanical engineering undergrad. Won
Wondering how the market is looking in that field.

[MarshalZhukov]

(05-10-2018 03:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

Physics undergrad, saving money a few years to go back to school and finish a degree that's marketable. Learning computer science in my spare time to get a job since paying 20-30k for more education is not high on my list of things to do.


If you could drop a brief datasheet, that would be nice (Edit: 3 year old post ... still maybe somebody will chime in). I saw so many kids go into mechanical engineering with high hopes only to see the material and be gone by first semester. Some exposure to the material might educate enough to give them an advantage in classes or convince a few to change course before spending tons of money.

In the states, in California at least there is financial aid for those of low income, so for those with low income you can finish with minimal or no debt if you play your cards right and keep a good GPA.

I would definitely recommend some exposure to the material in order to get a feel for the difficulty level. Also , reading the textbook or watching videos before starting a class really helps. yes , a lot of people quit when they don't realize what they are getting into or are unwilling to put in the work necessary.

I would recommend getting a solid background in Math before beginning the more advanced engineering classes. If you can master multi variable calculus, differential equations (ordinary and partial) , and linear algebra then the most difficult undergraduate classes like fluid mechanics, vibrations and heat transfer are reduced to being entirely conceptual (aka a LOT easier)

if you want a feel for the field before sinking money into an engineering degree, go to a community college first (i dont know if they have this sort of institution outside the US). take all of the math and physics courses (they will be needed for your engineering degree anyhow) . if you can handle (and I mean understand , not just pass with a C-) these you should not have a problem with engineering courses.

(05-10-2018 05:59 PM)KC4 Wrote:  

Second year mechanical engineering undergrad. Won
Wondering how the market is looking in that field.

There are a lot of jobs out there in engineering in the US right now, however, I have some friends who have been a year out of college with a ME degree and haven't found a job they like.... but I can honestly say they aren't looking hard enough..

If you have good soft skills (game aka social skills), and apply the mindset of this forum to your academic career, you should have NO problem finding work in engineering.

(06-05-2015 04:24 AM)Frostbite Wrote:  

Mechanical Engineering degree. The reason why a lot of men do hard sciences, it because it ties in with our desire to want to know how things work / build things. However you don't need a shitty degree. Everything I learnt at uni is freely available on the internet, and will save you £30,000

In the USA in computer science, self taught programmers are hired, but in mechanical, civil, electrical engineering, as far as i know you need a college degree. and for most undergraduate courses, all of the material you need (textbook pdfs, videos, etc) is easily found online.