Any Engineers here?

[fishmommy]

well, I can't speak at all about chemical engineering, but as a mechanical engineer, I've had all sorts of cool jobs.
I have my PE license, which allows me to be self-employed as a consultant. I've designed all kinds of products and the machinery that makes products. I've also done a lot of manufacturing engineering, process engineering, and industrial engineering. That's where you design the process to make something and optimize it for low cost, high quality, and peak efficiency of the production line. I've designed entirely new factories from the ground up (of course a civil engineer had to design the building to go around it)

I recently begin getting into being an expert witness. That's where you get hired to figure out what happened and how it happened in something like a product failure, an industrial accident, or a car crash. In fact I spent half of yesterday examining a crashed car to figure out the accident sequence.

So, as you see, it's a huge field. I specialize in design, so what I've described is just the tip of the iceberg for mechanical engineering.

if you're interested in mechanical design, I really recommend those shows on cable 'How it's Made' and there's another one also. Most of my career has been conceptualizing the process and designing the equipment like you see on the show. Truth is, I have trouble watching those shows because it gets me all wound up like work.

[Gloryhound]

I work as an electrical engineer and that is what the company I work for puts on my business card even though I only have a 2 year degree and had to work up through the company from a technician to get the title on the business card. My schooling was probably a lot different than yours! I work beside full 4 year degree engineers and actually train EIT's that have full engineering degrees. All the theory is neat, but when your on the spot the customer doesn't want theory, they want the answer. I work in the power production field as a Generator Specialist Field Engineer. See home about 2 months a year. Average about 800-900 hours of OT a year. Work pretty much 12 hours a day 7 days a week in everything from nice clean nuclear power plants to little rat hole Kansas dirt burners. Have been exposed to asbestos, mercury, lead, and a bunch of other chemicals that I couldn't even begin to spell in liquid, solid, and vapor forms. I come out of some coal fired plants and have more coal dust on me than a West Virginia coal miner. All and all it is fun trying to spin an 80 ton electro magnet at 3600 RPM and make electricity! Ok the big nukes generally only spin at 1800 RPM. You have all the factors you have to account for from electro magnetic fields, eddy currents, bearing vibration, seal oil clearances, lift oil pressure, balance of the spinning field (electrically and mechanically), heating, windage, hydrogen gas pressures... When everything goes together well its a good day. When things don't fit well lets just say it is a bad day and keep it out of quarantine. I generally clear over 6 digits which isn't bad for a farm boy with an associates degree. I have to do a lot of computer work so I get to check in on forums as long as we are not critical path and everything is being rushed.

On a positive note I normally get a new laptop every 3 to 6 months as they keep overheating once the coal dust builds up to much on the mother board and fan circuit.

[daniel1983]

I work as an electrical engineer and that is what the company I work for puts on my business card even though I only have a 2 year degree and had to work up through the company from a technician to get the title on the business card.

I don't know about your state laws, but in Louisiana you can not refer to yourself as an engineer in any aspect without having a professional license. I always have to refer to myself as EIT instead of engineer. In our state professional magazine, they always publish the 'law breakers' that use 'engineer' in advertising, business cards, etc. without having a license. I remember one where a person refered to themself as a 'botanical engineer' on a landscape company and was fined $2000. Crazy stuff.

I also have a buddy that has an Electrical engineering technology degree......he always has to clarify technology at the end...ha ha.

Just a little bit of info.....Louisiana is a crazy place, so I wouldn't be surprised if we were the only state with such laws.

[Gloryhound]

I don't know about your state laws, but in Louisiana you can not refer to yourself as an engineer in any aspect without having a professional license. I always have to refer to myself as EIT instead of engineer. In our state professional magazine, they always publish the 'law breakers' that use 'engineer' in advertising, business cards, etc. without having a license. I remember one where a person refered to themself as a 'botanical engineer' on a landscape company and was fined $2000. Crazy stuff.

I also have a buddy that has an Electrical engineering technology degree......he always has to clarify technology at the end...ha ha.

Just a little bit of info.....Louisiana is a crazy place, so I wouldn't be surprised if we were the only state with such laws.

I've worked in Louisiana. Used the same business card. I work for a major world wide corporation that is second only to General Electric, particularly in the power industry. I get an engineering position offered to me normally once every year or two from GE.

Unlicensed practice
Since regulation of the practice of engineering is performed by the individual states in the U.S., areas of engineering involved in interstate commerce are essentially unregulated. These areas include much of Mechanical Engineering, such as Automotive Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, and Chemical Engineering, and may be specifically exempted from regulation under an "Industrial Exemption". An industrial exemption covers engineers who design products such as automobiles that are sold (or have the potential to be sold) outside the state in which they are produced, as well as the equipment used to produce the product. Structures subject to building codes are not covered by an industrial exemption, except small residential buildings often do not require an engineer's seal. In many jurisdictions, the role of architects and structural engineers overlap.

Many private companies employ non-degreed workers in technical positions with engineering titles such as "test engineer" or "field engineer". Such position may not require an engineering degree at the discretion of the company. It is important however, to make a distinction between a "graduate engineer" and a "professional (or licensed) engineer". A "graduate engineer" is anyone holding a degree in engineering from an accredited four-year university.

I don't use Graduate or Professional in my title. Actually I use Field or one of the specialist functions my company has determined I am qualified for such as Excitation Specialist or Generation Specialist as a prefix to my engineering title. I am currently applying for work with another company and while I am the top canidate for the position of "Plant Engineer" the companies policies will not allow them to give me that title. If they hire me I will be listed using my main speciality which is Generation Specialist.

[Schlyne]

I work as an electrical engineer in research for an aerospace company. There are days where I use a lot of what I learned in school and then there are days where I feel like I need to know more.

Since I work in research, most of the people I work with have a Master's or a Ph.D. Eventually I will probably get my Master's in power electronics. We do create some new designs, we modify old designs to do different things, run tests, write research papers, work with the government, read research papers..etc. Since power electronics is more of a specialized area of EE, there's still a lot to learn. (Power electronics is working with generators, inverters, power lines, high voltages..etc. I could easily kill myself with high voltage/current if I was careless while running some tests). Also, there are going to be some considerations depending on the products of the company you work for. For example, I work for an aerospace company, so the weight of one our products can be a big deal. (More weight = less fuel = less space for passengers on a plane = less money for the airline).

The company I work for does have chemical engineers where I work, but from what I was told by one of the chemE co-ops, the work is more like a what a chemistry major would be doing. I know that one of the things they work on is different processes, like to reduce using more toxic chemicals...running some material testing..etc.

I would highly recommend that you get an internship or do co-op sessions. You get paid, you get on the job experience for your profession, it looks great on a resume,..etc. It's a good deal. I was a co-op and ended up getting hired full time by the company I work for.

One story I heard about a ChemE was that he worked for DOW chemicals on the scrubbing bubbles. Exactly what he did, I have no idea. I understand that it paid well, but he was working on the same project for a long time, so it may have not been quite so interesting as some other areas.

The only other ChemE I know works at some company that basically makes the equivalent of Telfon for houses..what he does there exactly I don't know.

[mxrider42]

I am a Civil Engineering/ Surveying Major. I work for a Geotechnical Engineer. I learn what to do on the jobs and learn why we did it that way in school.
I have done two co-op rotations with GE Energy. I would highly suggest doing a summer co-op/internship and find out what is out there.
I also agree with daniel1983, join the NSPE and any other student clubs you can. They offer free food at meetings plus you get to network with a lot of companies.
Trey

[fishmommy]

I'm in NSPE - in fact I go to their national meeting every summer - this year it's in Oregon

Every state has the law about needing a PE license to call yourself an engineer when selling services. So, if you are employed by a company that wants to call you an engineer, that's perfectly fine. Heck they can call you the Pope and that's fine too, but if you try to go out on your own you cannot use the word Engineer without a license.

Lot's of people do violate these laws. It burns me up because it's difficult and expensive to get and keep a license active in each state you work in.

[Repti-Rob]

Network engineer here. Licensed Electrical Engineering but have my MCSE from Microsoft. Work for a medical supply company as a Network Admin/Infrastructure Engineer.....so basically I sit in front of the computer all day playing on BP.net

[WaRocker]

Mechanical / Structural engineer..
School then work that was about it. Takes some tome to get to know your job but I have been doing this for 10+ years now.
I do drafting etc etc etc..
I make thing ranging from ships - trains - bridges - buildings - kats - military stuff(I cant confirm nor deny that)
You name it I probably have had some hand in building something in your state..

I am at a Steel company. We have burning machines that cuts from guage plate up to 14" thick material. All types of grades of steel and also structurals.

Basicly what ever engineering with maybe 1 or 2 exceptions. Expect tons of math....