Engineers

[nissangirl74]

It's a good day to be an engineer

Experienced engineers are being offered sky-high salaries and are taking regular calls from headhunters as the booming shale gas industry fights for scarce talent, snapping up engineers from other sectors.
"It's an all out war for talent," said Houston-based Gladney Darroh, president of Piper-Morgan Associates Personnel Consultants, a specialist in recruiting oil and gas engineers.
"Right now the hardest individuals to recruit are people who have anywhere from five to 15 years of experience. That's a real sweet spot right now," he said.
It's a simple case of supply and demand: there aren't enough experienced engineers to go around, and global demand for engineers is growing, especially as the U.S. shale gas industry balloons.
Recruiters say it now takes twice as long to hire engineers compared to other jobs, and salaries are spiking.
"Salaries can reach as high as $200,000 to $350,000 for engineering professionals in senior, but not executive, managerial roles," said Dane Groeneveld, a director at engineering recruitment firm NES Global Talent.
The severe shortage and competitive dynamics may also slow economic growth as some companies delay big projects due to a lack of skilled workers.


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/engineers ... 00912.html

Just in case you're an engineer or if you're in school trying to figure out what you want to be. Makes me kinda wish I was better at Math.

[Dattebayo]

The reason for the "rarity" of engineers is because it seems like they are talking about senior engineers, the guys with 10+ years experience under their belt. No matter how you cut it, that means a minimum of 15 years of school and solid employment invested in just getting to the point where they'd really consider you for something like that... Not to mention the controversy going on with shale gas right now.

I know it says "individuals with 5 to 15 years experience", but as if they really consider 5 year exp. applicants for anywhere near that kind of pay... That was just thrown in there like all the other BS from job listings.

[Hijacker]

This also depends on your discipline in engineering. As a licensed engineer, you can only work on projects pertaining to your field (as an electrical, I couldn't design and sign off on a mechanical thing, etc). The one thing the article doesn't mention is what specific fields are being sniped. If it's petro-chem, which would make sense for big oil to go after, I could see why the salaries are so high. Petro-chem is one of the lower populated disciplines. Granted, they'll need all the other flavors of engineers to design and set up derricks, pipelines, control systems, safety systems, etc. But those salaries in the article aren't too far off the 2012 median salaries per the Labor Bureau.

[Looneybomber]

Here in KS, as an electrical engineering student, internships normally pay $20. Petro guys get $20-25, but a buddy of mine, with a 3.8GPA gets $37 at his internship. Once you get into the field, you get about twice your internship rate. Different states will have different rates, but when houses cost 80-120k, a $40/hr job certainly pays the bills!

[krash]

Yea in memphis, some of the internships in Memphis pay around the 30k/year range. But in my opinion, engineering isn't a field that you can go into just to chase money. You have to be interested in and and you have to want the knowledge. If I didn't really want to do this I'd have quit a long time ago lol.

[Hijacker]

Yea in memphis, some of the internships in Memphis pay around the 30k/year range. But in my opinion, engineering isn't a field that you can go into just to chase money. You have to be interested in and and you have to want the knowledge. If I didn't really want to do this I'd have quit a long time ago lol.

I agree whole heartidly. I've met some students who don't necessarily show a desire to want to learn about engineering, and it's really evident in their performance. I'm having a difficult time deciding if I want to keep focusing on electrical or dive into mechanical. ABET doesn't have an institution listed for mechatronics, which would be more up my alley. I'm going to see what it would take to push for an electro-mechanical avenue at my 4 year when I get out of the 2 year school.

I know I surprise my engineering professors when I tell them I'm going EE and then start asking them questions regarding high level mechanical kinematics.

But the monetary compensation ain't a bad deal for getting into a field I really like. Jefferson Labs had some internships for ME that were well in the 30k/year range. NASA had an EE internship that was 25k/year I think. I figured NASA was low balling because government.

[PEZi]

Damn... maybe I should have stayed at the School of Mines...

[PapaSmurf2k3]

yeah us Engineers pretty much wake up and piss excellence.

In all seriousness though, I know my phone has been ringing a lot with head hunters. Most, if not all jobs have been side-steps though. Not really anything I would call a major improvement. Stuff that really isn't worth it when you factor in a move.

I was very recently told I was a "perfect" fit for a certain German manufacturer. They were prepared to offer me well over 30% more than I'm making now, and I turned it down. Mostly because this company has burned me twice in the past.
I feel like I've pretty much reached the point where I don't need to accept another job unless its exactly what I want.

[elwesso]

Yea in memphis, some of the internships in Memphis pay around the 30k/year range. But in my opinion, engineering isn't a field that you can go into just to chase money. You have to be interested in and and you have to want the knowledge. If I didn't really want to do this I'd have quit a long time ago lol.

I agree whole heartidly. I've met some students who don't necessarily show a desire to want to learn about engineering, and it's really evident in their performance. I'm having a difficult time deciding if I want to keep focusing on electrical or dive into mechanical. ABET doesn't have an institution listed for mechatronics, which would be more up my alley. I'm going to see what it would take to push for an electro-mechanical avenue at my 4 year when I get out of the 2 year school.

I know I surprise my engineering professors when I tell them I'm going EE and then start asking them questions regarding high level mechanical kinematics.

But the monetary compensation ain't a bad deal for getting into a field I really like. Jefferson Labs had some internships for ME that were well in the 30k/year range. NASA had an EE internship that was 25k/year I think. I figured NASA was low balling because government.

The school I went to actually had a mechatronics minor for both EE's and ME's. If you were in ME you'd take a select group of EE classes, and vice versa...

I agree with James though. Right now I'm a design engineer, and that's not really what I want to do forever I don't think, but I keep getting calls about being a design engineer.. I probably won't make a move until I get my PE sometime next year..

[Bubba1]

yeah us Engineers pretty much wake up and piss excellence.
.

Then you gotta shower to remove the pee smell. j/k

Two engineering students were walking across campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?"
The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want."

The second engineer nodded approvingly, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fit."


FWIW, my brother, now retired, was a civil engineer, loved doing it. He had a little sign that read "engineers do it with precision."

[Hijacker]

LOL. I always hit the same place within 0.002" every time.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

FWIW, my brother, now retired, was a civil engineer, loved doing it.

Mechanical engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets

[Dattebayo]

Mechanical engineers build the conveyance, not the boom. It's not a weapon without the boom!

[Jesda]

What you -really- want is a minor in music theory. With that kind of power, you can argue with people on the internet.

[krash]

I haven't experienced all that much yet, but right now it seems like design is where I'd love to be.

[nissangirl74]

Do engineers design airports or do architects? the logistics of that always blows my mind

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Generally a person that wants to do something that big has been promoted to that sort of decision making position from somewhere else. They very well could have started as an engineer. Generally once they propose their idea, they'll get feedback from Engineers (among other groups) on how it can be done/why it can't be done/roadblocks they'll run into, etc.

Once they go back to the drawing board a few times, a design that everyone can more or less agree on gets hammered out.

[asoomal]

Anyone familiar with Ferris State's automotive engineering program? Thinking of transferring there by next year...

[Bubba1]

Do engineers design airports or do architects? the logistics of that always blows my mind

The answer is both.

[krash]

Any of you guys that are working feel free to chime in here (I'm just a young padawan), but from what I can see so far, engineers work in teams. A project would be divided into seperate parts and each "team" would design their part. So as far as the airport, what bubba said is right. A team of people would all contribute.

[Bubba1]

A Engineer returns home from work and finds a note on the fridge from his wife. The note read, "this isn't working, I'm at my moms". He opens the fridge and checks the light. He grabs a beer and feels that its cold. Opening the beer, the engineer then thought, "Hmmm, the fridge works fine".

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Any of you guys that are working feel free to chime in here (I'm just a young padawan), but from what I can see so far, engineers work in teams. A project would be divided into seperate parts and each "team" would design their part. So as far as the airport, what bubba said is right. A team of people would all contribute.

It varies. Like that Mr. Andrews guy designed pretty much the whole Titanic, minus maybe the engines themselves (which were just bought from a supplier).

My previous job at BorgWarner, there was pretty much 1 "father" for a solenoid design. Different people were responsible for different designs though.

The teams you're talking about are usually all to achieve a common goal, like say "achieve this run rate or scrap rate by this date". Once the goal has been established, you can either keep working as a team on each project, or divide and conquer.

[MinisterofDOOM]

What you -really- want is a minor in music theory. With that kind of power, you can argue with people on the internet.

Or health and fitness. Seems like that's the equivalent of being an "art major" these days. A degree for which there are no job prospects.

[Looneybomber]

What you -really- want is a minor in music theory. With that kind of power, you can argue with people on the internet.

Or health and fitness. Seems like that's the equivalent of being an "art major" these days. A degree for which there are no job prospects.

You're not kidding. A friend of mine is a dual major, theater and history. Guess who makes less than me (without a degree) and is going back to get a third degree?
An acquaintance of mine is getting his degree in "film making"...yeah 'nuff said.

[nissangirl74]

I had a friend who majored in "women's studies". Even she couldn't tell me what she was qualified to do after she received her degree.

[Bubba1]

I had a friend who majored in "women's studies". Even she couldn't tell me what she was qualified to do after she received her degree.

Hmmm. That's a very good question about what to do with a major like that. I think most of us guys studied that in college as well, though I think our educational method was much more "hands on".

[elwesso]

I had a friend who majored in "women's studies". Even she couldn't tell me what she was qualified to do after she received her degree.

Hmmm. That's a very good question about what to do with a major like that. I think most of us guys studied that in college as well, though I think our educational method was much more "hands on".

Indeed, I never missed the lab to that!

I think a lot of what you do depends on where you work. I work for a fairly small company (<200 people), and I'm one of (3) degreed engineers, so most of the work that I do is pretty independent. I can always consult with others, but most the stuff I design ultimately comes down to my decisions, unless I get overridden.

[Jesda]

I took a couple womens studies courses as electives. It is mostly academia for academia's sake.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

^Can't tell if serious or talking about boobies.

[Looneybomber]

I had a friend who majored in "women's studies". Even she couldn't tell me what she was qualified to do after she received her degree.

Psychiatrist?