[Chris Fultz]

Wow - this thread certainly took off!

Regarding engineers and engineering education - my view is the most important part of an engineering education is that you learn to think and learn to solve problems. You answer one question and find another.

A professor once told our class: "You don't know what you don't know - and that’s what will bite you in the a**". The more you learn, the more you realize you don't know. Every answer has two more questions.

An engineering degree opens doors. It is a requirement in many companies and many disciplines. Where the degree is from may also be a factor – some companies only recruit from the top schools because of the costs of recruiting. After a few years out of school, your performance and demonstrated knowledge begin to outweigh the value of the institution that granted the degree.

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Regarding the initial reason for the thread – my info is below. A little long, but my career path has been somewhere different from most of the others in this post.

BS Mechanical Technology, Purdue @ Indianapolis
MBA Finance and Marketing, Indiana University
MS Program Management, Penn State (complete mid-2005)
I hold 1 US Patent for a Valve Lock Design

I have a Mechanical Technology (best described as more application oriented and less theory oriented than pure engineering) degree from Purdue at Indianapolis. I was a Co-Op at a small metallurgical company. Exceptional opportunity. I graduated with about 2 years of ‘real world’ experience. I began life at Allison Gas Turbine (now Rolls-Royce) as a Reliability Engineer, focusing on field problems and analyzing trends in failures. This helped identify where engineering resources should be applied to fix field issues.

I moved into project engineering where I was responsible for the development and certification of a new model of helicopter engine. I defined test plans, coordinated with the customer and the FAA, wrote summary and compliance papers and got more into the integration and management of the program (cost and schedule). I had to learn a little about a lot, instead of a lot about a little.

About 5 years ago, I became a Program Manager. My current role is Program Manager for the Model 250 engine line – the engine that powers most light helicopters you see flying around (Bell, MD – like the news and police helicopters that were at the IRI if you saw them). I am responsible for determining budgets, agreeing on what engineering work will be funded, making sure engine and spare parts schedules are met and coordinating with aircraft & helicopters manufacturers. I am becoming more of a “business person” and less of an “engineer” everyday, but it is still important that I know and understand the engineering issues and technical challenges to make safe and sound business decisions for a very technical product.

An engineering education can open many, many doors to other areas of a business. If you look at the leaders of many major corporations (especially manufacturing, aerospace, hi-tech), you will see a lot of engineers at the top. The skills you learn are transferable across businesses.

Hope this helps ----