Attention engineers...What type are you and why?

[Paul H]

Well the topic pretty much says it all. What kind of enginner are you and why did you choose that?

[jpsaul7usa]

Chemical Engineer. Betcha didn't see that one coming. ;p Strangely enough, our second driver (there's only us two) is also going into chemical engineering. Weird, huh?

[Rafi A]

yes, but how/why did you choose chemical?

[Madison]

Originally Posted by jpsaul7usa

Chemical Engineer. Betcha didn't see that one coming. ;p Strangely enough, our second driver (there's only us two) is also going into chemical engineering. Weird, huh?

You are not an engineer yet.

[Astronouth7303]

Software. It's what my dad does, and it's my hobby (and probably career too).

Who said you needed a degree (or even get paid) to be an engineer?
[edit]IMHO, it's the achievement.[/edit]

[Madison]

Originally Posted by Astronouth7303

Who said you needed a degree (or even get paid) to be an engineer?

Being part of an organization that's expressed purpose is to raise awareness and respect for engineers and their work, I find it amazing that people are so quick to minimize such achievements and elevate themselves to similar, "iconic" status.

If one doesn't need a degree (or a salary) or, say, experience to be an engineer, what is it exactly that makes people like Dave Lavery more admirable than the video store clerk down the street? I bet that clerk has seen MacGyver or something, so what makes Andy Baker more qualified as an engineer than they are?

A season in FIRST does not an engineer make. Not even six seasons will do it.

[Andy Baker]

Originally Posted by Astronouth7303

Who said you needed a degree (or even get paid) to be an engineer?

What the heck, I'll say it. In my opinion, yes, you do need a degree to be an engineer. Don't trivialize the process, tibulations and effort needed to get an engineering degree. I know very few engineers who do not have an engineering degree. They are few and far between, being exceptions, not the rule. What you said here pretty much insulted the engineers and engineering students who visit these forums.

As for me, I enjoy being a mechanical engineer. Luckily, I knew it early in school. I liked art, math, mechanical drawing, physics, and building things. I really did not understand electronics and computers at an early age, and I had no desire to learn about them... so I gravitated more toward mechanical systems.

Two of my uncles are mechanical engineers, and I was always enthralled with what they did. One worked for Hughes Aircraft (LA), and the other worked for Cal Tech at Edwards AFB. As they told me what they did, I just knew that being an ME was for me.

For college, I decided to go to the University of Evansville. They had many programs that appealed to me at the time. While in college, I got a co-op job at General Electric Plastics, working as a production and process engineer. I REALLY did not like process engineering (analyzing and tweaking the process for improvements), but I liked the odd jobs I got while designing mechanisms to improve the production line. I recall making a simple linkage that released pellets into 50 lb. bags. It was a simple design, but I really enjoyed creating it.

After college, I got a job at Delphi (formerly Delco Electronics) and I have been working in the same department for 13 years. It's a fun job. I get to sit behind a computer and design automated machinery for Delphi's production lines. Our design department works with a UAW skilled-trades shop right across the hallway, and we make some pretty neat stuff. These designers and tradesmen have been making neat machines for many, many years. Many types of automated machines that are on the market today (Scara robots, circuit board screen printers, automated handlers, flip chip placement machines, etc.) were developed for Delphi's in-house use by this department, many years before other companies started selling them as standard equipment.

So, my usual day is this:

• check email
• do CAD design work (Unigraphics), both design and drafting
• do engineering investigations and evaluations (search for parts and suppliers, make calculations, specifications, etc.)
• check on project build status in the shop
• converse with boss and co-workers (numerous, informal design reviews)
• talk to production people (my customers)
• talk to suppliers (negotiate, evaluate parts, etc.)
• do FIRST stuff when I can (TechnoKats, check CD Forums, etc.)... like today we had a demo during lunch

Anyway... that is what I do and why I do it. What I like the best is sitting down and creating a new mechanism to address a "problem" - just like designing a FIRST robot.

Andy B.

[Astronouth7303]

[quote=Astronouth7303]Who said you needed a degree (or even get paid) to be an engineer?[quote]
Before this gets really out of hand, let me explain that a little.

I did not mean degrade anyone's hard work (or cash) that is required to get any degree. But at the same time, there are many capable engineers who are not formally taught, are learning, and/or are just too young to have a degree or a salery (I'm sure quite a few people in FIRST fall into one of these three).

If I were an employer, I would hire the guy with a degree. But how much of it can be self-taught and/or mentored? I have 0 formal schooling in what I do, but as a software engineer I am capable and becoming more so every day. I may not measure up to the guy with a PhD in Computer Science, but I'm doing pretty well, I think.

[Cory]

[quote=Astronouth7303][quote=Astronouth7303]Who said you needed a degree (or even get paid) to be an engineer?

Before this gets really out of hand, let me explain that a little.

I did not mean degrade anyone's hard work (or cash) that is required to get any degree. But at the same time, there are many capable engineers who are not formally taught, are learning, and/or are just too young to have a degree or a salery (I'm sure quite a few people in FIRST fall into one of these three).

If I were an employer, I would hire the guy with a degree. But how much of it can be self-taught and/or mentored? I have 0 formal schooling in what I do, but as a software engineer I am capable and becoming more so every day. I may not measure up to the guy with a PhD in Computer Science, but I'm doing pretty well, I think.

But the fact remains that until you hold your degree in your hot little hand, you *are not* a real engineer. I totally agree with Andy. To see 15 year old kids going around the forums calling themselves engineers (Im not trying to pick on you or single you out) is pretty ridiculous in my opinion, and really does degrade all the work that they did to get where they are.

Heck, I know CPR and basic first aid, but I dont go around telling people I'm an EMT.

and personally, I would be VERY scared if I knew a building, car, or airplane had been designed by an "engineer" who possesses no degree, or has ever had formal training, and was "self taught".

$0.02

Cory

[GeorgeTheEng]

If you REALLY want to get technical... Legally, in most states and definitely in NJ, the only real engineer is one who holds a professional engineering (PE)license. There are certain implications to what a PE can do, and situations where a PE is required. That being said, I don't have one but have a bachelors and masters degree in engineering and think I can claim to be one.

On the original topic. I'm a Computer engineer by training, a Network and Telecommunications engineer by more training (i.e. Masters degree), and a Programmer by trade. I have to say my desire goes back to HS where I was luck enough to work in the local computer store in town. (in the days when a small 3 person store could exist before Best buy, the internet, etc) My boss was a person who enjoyed showing me things and getting me to help him. I have to credit him with fostering my enjoyment in electronics and computers that led to me study engineering in college.

[Collin Fultz]

So...not to be a party pooper...but in response to the thread topic

Andy Baker is a mechanical engineer (see post for what he does and reason why he likes it)

What type of engineer are you?

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

I really did not understand electronics and computers at an early age

They had electricity back then?

[Venkatesh]

"I have learned that engineering is not just creativity. It is not just tinkering with ideas, but rather, a system by which a professional product can be created and documented."

That comes from the esteemed Dr.Christoe's (aka Dr.Poe) PoE class. To those of you who know what Project Lead the Way is, you know what PoE is. Dr.Poe spent 23 years in engineering at Bell Labs, and before that he was a weapons engineer for a number of years.

At any rate, I can't call anyone without a degree an engineer. I can't even call some people with degrees engineers, as they would more properly fall into the categories of tinkerers and inventors. As Mr.Baker pointed out earlier, a lot of his time is spent in procedures supporting his inventing, not his inventing alone. I won't say that the video game guy down the street is incompetent. He might have incredible talents with, say programming. He might have drafted up parts of the Linux kernel. None of that is impossible or even unheard of. Or if you follow Slashdot, recently they ran a story on a 60-odd year old Afghan man, who had invented many, many things to help people around him. He had no formal training, and yet was able to design radios. I would be very impressed to meet him, but I still woundn't call him an engineer. I guess it all depends on how you define an "engineer".

Before I started studying to become an EMT, I had very little respect for the area. Not because I thought that their work was so easy. Because I didn't know the scope of the field. Now it is a completely different matter. I now realize how little I know. I know now that (in NJ) most of what I can do is, "oxygen and transport, oxygen and transport". I realize that Paramedics are awesome, for their heart rhythm monitoring, intubation, and narcane. (In NJ, we don't have any levels in between EMT-B and EMT-P).

Engineering is a professional field. Tinkering is a hobbyist one. Many FIRST teams I know of are engaged in the business of tinkering, not engineering. I don't say that that is a bad thing or a good thing. Its just that they are separate. One can lead into the other, a master mechanical tinkerer might become a mechanical engineer through schooling/training. But they are separated by the vast abyss of obtuse and painful subjects, like Rigid Body Dynamics, Mechatronic Systems, Lagrangian Dynamics, Ballistics, and other complex fields.

The one thing I always loved about computers was the fact that one guy in the corner of his basement could *theoretically* write programs just as well as a full professional team. After learning more of PHP and perl, and meeting a monster called PHPTAL, I discarded those notions. I can write programs, but I am by no means a programmer. I can use a sledgehammer, but I am by no means a carpenter.

[SuperJake]

So here is my two cents:

I am a Mechanical Engineer - graduated from Drexel University with my BS. I was recruited by Foster-Miller though a connection my Senior Design adviser had. Now I work on the TALON family of robots in the Future Robotics team. I do everything from field and production support to designing the next-generation robots. I chose mechanical because I really like figuring out how things work together. I like to be able to see things, hold them in my hand, and demonstrate how they work. It is this logical thinking that gives me the ability to understand computer logic, but I can't for the life of me learn how to talk computer. As far as I can concerned: as long as the magic smoke stays inside the electronics, my job is done. My day is just like any other typical engineer, but since I don't smoke, I spend my "smoke breaks" driving robots over our obstacle courses.

<edit>
So in casual conversation, one of my co-workers and I were talking about book smarts compared to engineering common sense. He said something that I thought interesting: "If you ask someone with a lot of book smarts how to solve a problem, you're probably going to get an answer that looks like the one in the book." Take from that what you will.
</edit>

[Tazlikesrobots]

Jack of all trades...Master of none!

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by Cory

...and personally, I would be VERY scared if I knew a building, car, or airplane had been designed by an "engineer" who possesses no degree, or has ever had formal training, and was "self taught".

$0.02

Cory

So, I have to pull out the white rabbit from this hat.
Would you trust your life to the heart dialisys machine Dean invented when he was about 20?

He has had no formal degree - (Dropped out of WPI remember), other than honorary ones. I know that is a stretch, but there are exeptions to every rule.

I mean no disrespect towards Dean either by mentioning that he has no degree, but you can be an engineer with no degree.
edit:I have to ask the question now. Do you consider Dean an Engineer or a spokesperson for engineering related fields?

Unfortunately in this world, if you are to work for a company and not become an independently wealthy individul from your abilities like Dean has, they do care about that piece of paper from your college...

I do agree with Paul that if you are in HS or your first years of college then you are not considered an engineer..
I mean I have been going to college for 7 years on and off now for an engineering related degree, and while I am very proficient in my skills as a CAD Draftsperson I am not by any means an engineer. I suck at math, and sometimes wonder why I am in the engineering field, but I do great things with CAD so that's what keeps my hope alive.

Ok, anyways.. I'm done ranting now.

For all of those HS students that plan on going into some sort of Engineering field, I wish you luck and hope that you achieve that goal and can be called an Engineer someday and have the respect and admiration that comes with that wonderful profession.