mechanical engineering

[underground57]

Underground. Race development is not something to go into this with as a goal. Its just gonna drive you nuts. Go in to learn, become an engineer, and then pursue the opportunities as they arise because they are extremely few and far between. Tell me what school your looking and i will see what they have in terms of ASME if your interested.

Why shouldn't I have that as a goal to work towards? I have no illusions (or very few) about what it takes and the likelihood of an opportunity like that. I'm not going into engineering soley for that, but that's just where I'd like to get to eventually. I already graduated once and worked and decided that what I was doing was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I won't make that mistake again. I already have "backup" jobs lined up, and the way I see it is if I aim high and fall short, I will have gone farther than if I had settled to begin with. Ideally after I graduate, I would work for a while and then go back to complete my masters, before pursuing the race aspect head on. I know it may seem a bit lofty, but like I said, my plans are still fluid and I'll adapt to whatever life decides to throw at me.

I will be attending NCSU next semester, and plan on getting involved with their FSAE program as well.

[skylndrftr]

our formula program (which is like the best thing to put on a resume for racing) graduates about 8-10 students a year. We are almost perpetually top15 and somewhat regularly top 10. In the 14 years they have been doing it. The school has placed one person (who stayed to do a masters in vehicle dynamics) with Mitsubishi WRC. the next closest would be a kid who works for honda R&D. I can't be totally sure on those numbers because not eveyone keeps in touch, but they are pretty accurate.

You need to consider what racing is like in this country. The opportunities are in NASCAR, and they are just becoming accepting of engineering as a major really. It has made huge strides but doesn't use engineers as much as other racing series (yet). Most of the opportunities are in europe. If you can swing it, its definitely possible, heck I would love to, but the opportunities really lay in Europe (there are several racing specific programs). Most of the people here are run customer cars.

I'm not tryign to disuade you just to provide a realistic viewpoint of someone who has been trying for a long time already. If your familiar with Xtrac...I almost got an internship there then they decided they couldn't afford it. I would have been one of approx 40 engineers. And thats a major name in racing.

[underground57]

What school do you go to (if you don't mind me asking)? I don't recall you mentioning it.

I am aware of what The States has to offer in terms of racing, or lack thereof. The working before my masters is so I can afford to study abroad. Don't worry, I don't take what you say as offense or dissuasion. Its good to get your perspective out there as I think it is a very common one that people just starting out might not be aware of.

[skylndrftr]

Rochester institute of technology

I love it here I must say. Actually I am on campus right now...been here since about 7 am.

the trick to racing is to have a specialty that they need...depending on your interests. Do you have a branch of Meche that interests you? Mechanics (stress/strain), Fluids (heat transfer/aero)? Systems engineering (what I may be getting a masters in here)

I'm willing to answer just about everythign about engineering with the caviat that I am very wierd but ask away i'll give you my opinion

check out cranfield university in england...I believe they offer an MS in vehicle dynamics/other racing related fields

[elwesso]

Well about 25 mins ago i got back from the ASME Early Career fair...

Overall, im glad I went but it wasnt what I was expecting.. in theory it was great but due to time restraints it made other things suck... There were 2 speakers and a panel discussion. The first speaker was pretty boring, and I cant really say he said much of anything that was terribly obvious... What sucked is he went over by about 20 mins at least, and that kinda screwed up everything.

Second guy was a big wig in Johnson & Johnson... He was a great speaker, he setup a workshop and i gained a lot of knowledge.

The last thing was a "panel discussion". There were 3 speakers, one was a ME grad who was currently working as a writer for ESPN, the second guy was a Ph.D who started his own R/D company, and the last one was a woman with a Ph.D and she was head of R/D for a company, and taught at Virginia tech.... What sucked about it is that each one gave a 10 min presentation, which was all good, but we didnt have any time to ask but 2-3 questions.. Kinda sucks and defeats the purpose of a panel decision....

The career fair wasnt too bad. I gave my resume to Toyota and Vetco (they are in the oil/gas business... they make regulators for oil and gas things)...

So heres what I learned today1. If you dont have a 3.0GPA, you better have some pretty kickass resume for people to give a rats arse about you.. Toyota wont even talk to you without a 3.0.. and most others wont as well.. I lied about my GPA and said I have a 2.9, and the lady i talked to basically took my resume and threw it in the trash (the chances of someone else looking at it are very slim IMO)..

2. In todays market, these career fairs are great to get information to figure out what company you want to work for, but most of them (at least at this convention) wont take your resume and give a damn, they tell you to go online and register... I went and took every brochure, folder, pen, and other free things I could get... I would plan on just grabbing brochures and asking questions, and havinga couple copies of your resume on hand JUST IN CASE they ask.... but you definitely dont want to walk in there without a copy...

So for anyone thats reading this, if you have a 3.0 your gravy and anything above that is bonus points... dont let your GPA get below 3.0, or at the very minimum in your engineering classes.... however all the other stuff should be cake compared to engineering classes..

JOIN ASME!

[redtop91]

Got your PE or EIT yet? was it hard?

[elwesso]

Im still in school dude still got 2 years to go... but I did listen to a lecture about that, and they say its best to take the EIT as soon after you get out of college as possible, rather than going back 20 years later, since a lot of it is theory... Then once you get hte required experience you can then apply to get your PE.

The guy bsaically said, its going to be a lot easier for you to solve a differential equation 2 years after yuo graduate compared to 20 years... so if you think thats something you want to do, its probably a good idea to just go ahead and take it while your still in school.

basically what you do is take the EIT (now called FE), go work for 4 a certain period of time, and then you can take the PE test.

A PE + Masters degree + some sort of business degree= CASH MONEY

[elwesso]

heres a quote from a website i found

The Engineer-in-Training Test: The Engineer-in-Training (EIT) test is the first part of the professional registration examination for engineers in the various States. The EIT test is a test of engineering fundamentals generally taken by engineering school seniors or recent graduates. Those who pass are certified as Engineer-in-Training. The second part of the registration examination, covering practice in a branch of engineering, is taken after a specified period of experience required for registration as a professional engineer.

The EIT test is used under this standard to determine whether competitors without a degree in engineering or other qualifying education have a knowledge and understanding of mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences required to perform professional engineering work in a specialty field of engineering. This test is not to be considered as being in lieu of the requirement of at least 4 years of experience and/or education that might be regarded as providing such knowledge.

The EIT test is developed and administered by the State Board of Engineering Examiners in each State or comparable jurisdiction. The test is not administered by the U. S. Office of Personnel Management. Persons who desire to take the Engineer-in-Training test should direct their inquiries to the Secretaries of the appropriate State Boards.

[redtop91]

whats teh average salary for a mech eng? Skyline money or no?

[skylndrftr]

Im still in school dude still got 2 years to go... but I did listen to a lecture about that, and they say its best to take the EIT as soon after you get out of college as possible, rather than going back 20 years later, since a lot of it is theory... Then once you get hte required experience you can then apply to get your PE.

The guy bsaically said, its going to be a lot easier for you to solve a differential equation 2 years after yuo graduate compared to 20 years... so if you think thats something you want to do, its probably a good idea to just go ahead and take it while your still in school.

basically what you do is take the EIT (now called FE), go work for 4 a certain period of time, and then you can take the PE test.

A PE + Masters degree + some sort of business degree= CASH MONEY

I am taking the FE in the spring I just registered about three weeks ago. In NY I believe its 4 years under a certiied engineer before taking the PE.

Wes how was the rest of chicago. I couldn't go as its leading into our last week of classes, but I plan on going to seattle next year for a number of reasons including a more significant role I hope to have in ASME.

average salary?SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO variable. for my co-op next summer, the offer letter was for a salary of $47,865 a year. that was before bonuses and overtime, and without any actual degree. The average range coming out of RIT last eyar ranged from about 38K-68K the 68k being some of the masters students.

[redtop91]

yeah that sounds about right to me. I actually wish it was more. I hoped that when I get married my wife wouldnt have to work but I guess not. What about with the business degree like elswesso mentioned?

[elwesso]

Todd, I only went to the early career forum... we also sat in on the design competition. We are doing the design competition this year.. we have to use thermodynamics, enthalpy, and heat transfer to boil water with only human power to distill water.... if you dont mind me asking, whats your GPA? ANd what are you focusing on?

Im glad I went, but i definitely have a better idea of what to expect at these things... I too want to take advantage of being a better part in ASME, they guy I talked to said you can really get a chance to talk to a lot of people you wouldnt otherwise get ot talk to (CEOs of major corps)... plus if you want to start teaching, they have a program to let you do that sort of thing (on the high school level anyway). It overall wasnt too bad, i think however as far as CO-OP's go, im going to set up something through the school, so i dont have to deal with as much bullcrap...

The average salary of FEMALE engineering students graduating from Tri-State is like 45k or something... Not sure where that stat came, but remember that is STARTING... That is pretty damn good, for someone that just got out of college. You can surely live on that.... And youll make a lot more than that as you go on.... They told us in our general engineer class that the average salary of someone with just a BS and about 10 years experience is somewhere in the neighborhood of 100k.... If you have some sort of other degree, your gonna be making that probably in half the time..

Now the question remains- if you want to be more on the management side, then MBA is the way to go... Actually, Tri-State offers a program called "engineering Administration", wihch is basically an ME degree with business classes... You just dont go into as much detail in the engineer, you focus on a little bit of everything...

If you want to be on the business side/management, you need an MBA... If you want to do more research related stuff, or be the head of research, youll want a graduate degree in some sort of engineering.... BELIEVE ME, we need more people in upper management that actually have technical background. if we expect engineering to get anywhere, we can have someone with a 7th grade science level running engineering firms!!!!

Personally, i think I am going to go into our masters program if my credientials allow... Might as well tack on another year while im at it, its "only" 32 more credits... I may try and find a job first, and see if i can get them to pay for it instead of my parents having to pay for it... but I really want some sort of graduates degree.... Ideally, id really like to go back and go for a Ph.D but that woudl really be a ways in the future.... But im not sure if thats wishful thinking or not....

[skylndrftr]

Todd, I only went to the early career forum... we also sat in on the design competition. We are doing the design competition this year.. we have to use thermodynamics, enthalpy, and heat transfer to boil water with only human power to distill water.... if you dont mind me asking, whats your GPA? ANd what are you focusing on?

Im glad I went, but i definitely have a better idea of what to expect at these things... I too want to take advantage of being a better part in ASME, they guy I talked to said you can really get a chance to talk to a lot of people you wouldnt otherwise get ot talk to (CEOs of major corps)... plus if you want to start teaching, they have a program to let you do that sort of thing (on the high school level anyway). It overall wasnt too bad, i think however as far as CO-OP's go, im going to set up something through the school, so i dont have to deal with as much bullcrap...

Don't laugh, but its 1:30am and I am answering this from our system dynamics lab.

My cummulative GPA is on the range of I believe 2.8. My Engineering GPA is around 3.3. If a company won't talk to me because of my GPA thats not a company I want to work for. The interview lady from Intel asked me what my GPA was and I honestly didn't know. She laughed and asked why and I told her I didn't really care because I've taken classes where i got a C and learned an amazing amount, and classes were I got an A and learned next to nothing.

Honestly the design competition this year kinda made me groan...my only immediate though was do you have to boil the water by the application of heat theres more than one path to thermodynamic glory.

As for the coop bullcrap, do it on your own it shows initiative and your not as relint on the school. Trust me on this my school requires them and I do them on my own.

As for focusing on...huh...I am focusing on what interests me . That lately has seemed to range slightly. I kind of have an underdamped mind I went in with the definite goal of working in the Auto industry, specifically high level auto racing. I am honestly to the point though that I don't care where I work, just what I do. I have had two classes with a professor who I really enjoy, and who likes me. I am taking a composites design class with him now and our final project (me and two other kids) is basically what he is doing as research. I am trying to get up the courage to go talk to him about possibly making that a masters. I have also done some really interesting ceramics work with another prof who is a really good friend/drinking buddy. We are doing carbon reinforced ceramics stuff which I am working on a project for for senior design next year.

Long term...I am probably going to stay for an MS. my girlfriend/fioncee is a year behind me so she'll be here plus I really do enjoy this place. RIT may not be the most prestigious, but I love the feel I get here, community and all. I am also leaning more towards doing research and possibly teaching long term. i like being able to just dive into something.

[FratGuyBelushi]

I hope this thread isnt already dead, because i too am in need of some schooling guidance. I've recently decided what i'm looking for in college and i've managed to determine that i'll need an engineering degree to do what i want in life: working in a field that applies to the work i do in my garage.

I figured i'd go to a nearby university, MSU (Minnesota State University, Mankato) and apply for their AET program while making sure to get into their FSAE program which i hear is pretty good. While in the program i'd look to find and work with as many automotive involved projects and professionals as possible as i look for job placement. I figure that by that time, if im not getting where i want to i'd seek a masters in ME just to add to my resume.

The website of the school i plan to go to is http://cset.mnsu.edu/aet/ So i was hoping you all could give me the needed insight into all this.

what i'm wondering is how doing AET as an undergrad with ME masters compares to doing ME for both degrees. the facility at the school looks awesome and seems like what im looking for, but am i mistaken?

[elwesso]

Honestly getting such a specific degree is stupid.... I would NEVER EVER recommend going for a degree like that...

The automotive industry sucks major wang, because everyone and their brother who is into cars wants to work for a car company. I think its a much better idea to ASSUME you wont work for a car company and if you can find a job with one, then more power to you.. Toyota is very active with recruiting people, however they wont accept you unless you have amazing credentials.... Basically if you dont have a 3.0 GPA they dont look at your resume.... They can suck my johnson for all I care...

The fact is theres tons of jobs for ME's all over the place, just not in the automotive industry. ME's can do just about anything, and its one of the best things about being an ME is being able to do about anything with not much more for a crash course.....

With an ME degree you have just as good of a chance of getting a job in an automotive area, and if you dont end up getting a job in an automotive area then you will be fine because you wont have limited yourself to that!

Remeber schools are businesses. If they can give you a degree they've done their job, they dont give a crap if its worth anything... you'd hate to think about it that way but its true, especially with huge universities....

[skylndrftr]

Hey Wes are you going to the student conference at University of Michigan?

[elwesso]

No I wont be going to that one, I MAY be going to the student conference at Purdue at the end of march...

[Lynxkcg]

I'm in my second year of Mechanical Engineering at the university of memphis, and it sucks...hard.There are no teachers actively in fourmula SAE, just one guy that keeps telling us to do a Baja car. If I ask about cars, all the teachers try to talk me into something else. I started taking automotive classes at the local community college, and I love it. I know it's not gonna get me into racing, but I've been here at memphis for 2 years and we rarely do anything interesting. I don't mind sitting in a classroom all day, but atleast show us some practical application for this crap once in a while.I can't stand spending 55 minutes in engineering computation, but I don't mind my 5 hour automotive class one bit.

[skylndrftr]

Just as a general point...the purpose of FSAE is for the students to do the work not the professors. FSAE teams will be like any other job, you earn your stripes through effort and proving yourself

[RBbugBITme]

Jumpin in a little late here but what the who....

FSAE is the best thing I've done since I started my MEM program 3 years ago. Theres always crappy times because most engineers don't know jack about managing people or a large project but I've learned more in the past 2 months about manufacturing, design processes, suspension geometry/kinematics, chassis engineering, etc. etc. etc. than I ever have in class.

The post above me is correct though, professors/faculty have no involvment what so ever and who cares really? I don't learn from them, I learn from the guys that came before me and the awesome books in our office.

I would also say don't expect to be working in the automotive industry and anyone declaring themselves an "automotive engineer" (which my school doesn't even offer) I think is foolish. Any ME can take engine theory and dynamics classes that are relevant to cars but I think the projects you chose to do and the clubs you join are more important not only cause it looks good on your resume but you always learn more than you do in class.

[Betonthego]

WOW. well its 2007 and ive decided to finish college. I took a 1 and a half year break to do the automotive tech school this. I am currently trying to get into FAU ME program from a community college. Thank you for your insight its been very helpful in answering some of my many questions.

[nikl240]

I was browsing the forums at 1:00 AM when noticed the thread "mechanical engineering." Being just recently accepted to RIT's ME program myself I clicked on it out of pure curiosity. Curiosity may kill the cat, but 1 dead cat is trivial compared to the havok wreaked upon my ambitions. It is now 2:49 AM and my perspective upon the life I am about to lead has been drasticaly altered. I would like to thank each and every one of the individuals who posted in this thread for the priceless insights you have shared, although I regret to inform you that I probably wont be sleeping tonight, as I have much thinking to do to calm my now restless mind.

[skylndrftr]

Welcome to our program and to NICO...if your posting at almost 3am you will fit in very well at RIT.

I am currently on coop but will be back next winter to finish. If you have any questions about rit feel free to email me.

[sinfiniti]

wow, never really venture in to this forum till today...

Being from Australia i have a few questions and comments.

a)wow you guys seem to have it so hard over in the States, GPA having an effect on your possible future employment etc... here in Aust, no one (employers) really care what u got in University, the only thing that they look at is you work history for the last 3+ years.

b)how do you convert a GPA to like a % scale?, we dont use a GPA we have pass 50-59%, credit 60-69%, distinction 70-79%, high distinction >80% with some variation from uni to uni but abouts that.Ie: hwat would a 85% average be as a GPA?

c)being a 24y/old who went back to uni after working for some years, i find it quite interesting how people see uni etc, in that i mean specifically some people (>65% of students) are happy to just pass, is this the case in the US?

d)I work in the (mining) Mechanicla Engineering world and am quite luck to be doing so without a degree yet, however all my work is checked off by certified MEng's before being approved for client. Having said that we have graduate engineers earning $90k AUD which at current exchange rate is ~$72kUSD (based on a 40hr working week, in metropolitan area) with those of us willing to work at site (at the mine etc) up around the $110kAUD.....so, if it's money you are chasing why not do mechanical engineering but work in th minin gindustry?, that is where all the big $$ are (well here in Australia at least)

....thoughts guys?

[duffman1278]

Never really thought about the mining industry even though I'm an ME student. But than again there are alot of fields in ME which do make really good money but people arn't aware of. The only issue I've seen with ME's is that they basically just sit down in an office all day. Basically every engineer i've job shadowed or worked with has done this. This info is very good though lets us see what else is avaliable in this field

[skylndrftr]

I think your conversions are just about right sinfiniti.

Our scale is to some small extent set by the professors but the standard is>90 = A80-90 = B70-80 = C60-70 = D<60 = Fail!

The mining industry here is a good resource for mechanicals. You sometimes gotta be creative with where you work but mechanical engineering gets involved wit ha lot of stuff. Currently I work in the semiconductor industry for example (I work in a FAB). Your salary range also sounds about right for a mid level ME or an high end entry level MS graduate.

duffman, my day conists of probably a 50-50 split between office nad non office work. I do process engineering (making commputer chips) and an average day could range from doing design or math in my office, to statistic work on our measurements or actualy performing measurements, or adjusting or observing tools, sometimes testing on the machine. Often times I am working on troubleshooting or repairing the tool itself which is a totally different way to spend my day. It kinda depends on the job you have. A design engineer however would spend a lot more time at a computer. Nowadays a lot of the work is computer based using design tools like solidmodelling programs or mechanical analysis programs.

[sinfiniti]

...x LINK x...

that link is inactive, so me thinks it was a)overly offensive b)someone with net power is too easily offened...

what was the video anyways?

(curiousity...)

[duffman1278]

Thanks alot skylndrftr, I'm always trying to get feedback from people in the field and the designing is more of what I'm into, for some reason I can pick up those programs really fast and easily, solidworks,catia, inventor and such. So I'll lookin into that. Still got like 3 years till i graduate

[crzycav86]

i just read this whole thread, so i've got a couple of comments.

i'm in my 3rd year as a M.E student at texas a&m. i would say that my motivation was to get into the automotive field, but not necessarily for one of the big automakers. however, if that doesn't work out, my backup plan is to work for any company for a couple of years and then start a business making aftermarket parts(i have a design for a bolt-on sequential shifter ala ikeya formula) and other ideas.

i would say engineering is just now starting to become what i thought it would be with the design and physical elements, instead of plain physics and calculus. if you hate physics and calculus, ME is the wrong career path. try mechanical engineering technology instead.

if you really want a job in the auto industry, one of the best ways is to attend a school with a GOOD formula sae team, such as a&m. we won 2005 and 2007 fsae west competitions(and some others before my time), and haven't placed less than 5th since we joined fsae in 1999. one of our '07 grads on the design team got a job working for GM r&d, which is usually reserved for higher degrees. he didn't have any automotive experience- just fsae, good grades, and a hell of an interview.

[Eddie]

Skylndrftr really makes some good points about mechanical engineering. With any job or career it's as good as you make it.

Go to your engineering career counselor asap if you are an engineering student. They really open your eyes to all the different companies that are out their needing engineers and help you get your foot in the door with internships and such. I should have gone sooner, but it's never to late to begin. Getting involved with organization like SAE and ASME also look good to employers and help you become a better engineer.

I am 25yr old senior in M.E. It is good to have a high gpa, but don't let it bum you out if yours is not as good you would like. I know some people that copy their homework from solution manuals and are well versed at the art of test taking. Those are the people trying to take the easy way out. There gpa may be better, but it doesn't mean crap if you don't know your stuff. You will be delivering pizzas in no time when your employer figures out you don't know anything.

I was never considered smart by my pears growing up, but I am a hard worker. Anyone can be an engineer as long as you are willing to work hard at it.