Engineering

>>1642768
I'm a Civil Engineer in the UK (Highways) , personally I think it's shit and I'd choose a different degree if I could do it again.

>>1642778
What would you choose?

I was thinking about aerospace but I feel like modern engineers are all depressed office monkeys who never get to see the big picture of their work anyway, even if they work at places they're passionate about.

>>1642785
Eh I dont know I was better at Science/Maths but didn't want to be an accountant. For what it's worth my mate did Mechanical Engineering and got to travel the world earning about 3x what I do. Although I think work has slowed abit since the oil pullback the last year.

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>>1642785
Aerospace engineer, can confirm

Just kill me now senpai desu

>>1642839
Can you tell me a bit about your work? What bothers you? What does your average day look like?

>>1642893
I do fatigue and damage tolerance analysis for a large commercial aerospace company. Basically, over time, even under normal flight conditions, metals tend to "wear out"; this called fatigue. If left alone, this will lead to a crack in the part, which will grow and grow until the part fails. To prevent this, planes are inspected on a regular basis so that any cracks can be repaired before they become dangerous. I basically make sure that the inspection cycle is good enough for the part (or, on the other hand, make sure that the stresses are low enough for the inspection cycle).

It was my dream job when I got it, since I'd be able to work with huge FEM models and use the stuff I learned in grad classes every day. Unfortunately, modern commercial aerospace isn't what it once was. There simply isn't enough time and budget to do much more than a "by-the-book" analysis on this stuff. I also hate how hands-off the analysis is - nearly everything is done by computer, you're just there to make the large-scale assumptions, and those assumptions usually just come out of a book or report that you're required to follow. Some days I'm more of a data manager than an engineer. On top of that, there are a lot of layoffs, because we've pretty much got designs for any size aircraft you could want. No airline really wants anything new right now.

>>1642998
That said, I'm a lucky one. I could be working on concessions. Those guys are on the assembly line for when a worker screws something up, and you just take the original analysis, use a couple of factors based on the mistake, and sign off on it saying it can still fly. No real analysis at all.

Also, I have to do a lot of report writing. For example, I recently finished certifying a part, and had to write a 200 page report detailing the entire analysis. It sucked.

If you want to go aerospace, my advice is to be really really good, well connected, and find a job at a small company that makes private jets or rockets or something. There aren't many left, but those are the places where you have real freedom to work on a variety of different problems, and to tackle them your own way. Once I get my grad degree, I'll be applying at Cessna and some of the space companies near the west coast - they're probably the future of the field.

>>1642998
>>1642999
Thanks for the insight man, it doesn't sound too bad. I actually went to a aerospace lectures for a day to check it out and we talked about this tolerance and fatigue stuff too.

>find a job at a small company that makes private jets or rockets or something
That's probably a good idea but I'm from europe and we don't have that many aerospace (especially space) companies here. I guess most people end up at Airbus or maybe ESA if they're more into research.

Working for ESA would be pretty cool but I think it doesn't get any more competetive since there are probably thousands of others applying for the same position.

>>1642778
You contracting?

>>1642768
Not chemical rn. Chemical engineering is soooooo fucked right now.

>>1643730
Why?

>>1643748
Oil glut so petro and energy upstream are fucked. Falling crop prices means agrochem is taking an ass beating. Both industries are HIGHLY capital intensive and VERY low margin. Agrochem pulls in no more than 1.2% net income a year. All these mergers means Chem corps are axing jobs left and right. Dupont fired 500 people in Delaware alone after announcing the merger.

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>>1642768
Engineering is a M.E.M.E.!

Mechanical Engineering graduate from the class of 2015 here. I found a job through a contract agency roughly 6 months after being out of school. I work at a large tool company that is a subsidiary of a massive company. Personally the experience has been great and I've been able to be a part of or sit in on a TON of thing related to what I actually learned in school. I make 24$/hr which should let me transition nicely into a 50-60k clear-cut entry-level position full time here or somewhere else (I work 40 hours a week but I'm contract). I have a brother who is an aerospace engineer for a contractor to people like Boeing and he complains he isn't really doing engineering anymore (think his position phased more towards management). I will say OP, if you want the most freedom with the job market take mechanical, the number of jobs and locations you can find are nearly limitless, and this gives you freedom to truly look for a job that isn't bitch work or you'd actually enjoy. I got lucky, this first job has been design oriented and has had a hands on approach in that I've gotten to directly set up or manage tests that vet design changes made by the main engineer for the project I'm on. My main purpose has been to design test fixtures and manage tests, but I've been immersed in the design process of a product and have taken a ton of experience from that.

>>1642768
>engineering
>posts an architect

>>1642768
Studying Civil engineering in the UK. Interned at a massive engineering consultancy firm and can honestly say its fucking shit. Other Civil engineers there pretty much laughed at me when i told them I was studying civil and advised I go into another field.

Although having a engineering degree is flexible as fuck in terms of getting a job. Can pretty much go into any field so I would recommend it if you've got the strength to study it. Its hard and tiring but its rewarding at the end as, I feel, you develop crucial problem solving skills.

>>1643879
>Other Civil engineers there pretty much laughed at me when i told them I was studying civil and advised I go into another field.
Why?

>can branch into any field
Is it possible to land a job for, say mechanical engineering, as a grad with a civil degree?

>>1643911
ME is by far the jack of all trades when comparing a lot of engineering degrees. A civil engineering graduate is far more limited to diversity in jobs than an ME. An ME guy could find jobs at a large number of companies that employ civil engineers, aerospace engineers, etc, but not the reverse. There are a lot of companies that hire mechanical engineers that would have no need for civil guys, aerospace guys, etc. Just my thoughts given my experiences. Mechanical is by far in my eyes the most diverse and broadly applicable. This doesn't mean its any better, easier or more difficult, etc.

>>1643911
>Why?
Because it very repetitive and salaries for Civil Engineers cap off at about 40K once you're chartered. Generally takes around 5-7 Years for chartership and in the same time you could probably be making more money in other fields i.e finance. If you do want to be an engineer, I wouldn't recommend you be one for the rest of you life, move laterally into sales then jump into management.

>Branch into any field
Say for a oil and gas company such as Shell, they have many interdisciplinary roles such as Wells engineering, Subsea engineering so they don't give a shit what engineering degree you have done.

Remember, the university you go to will also have an impact on job prospects. Don't go to a shit tier university.