Any (Civil/Mechanical) Engineers here?

[Jeepin_XJ_101]

I am looking into getting my Bachelor's in either Civil or Mechanical Engineering. I want to build stuff in a large way and be a part of huge projects. In any case I have been gathering all sorts of information on the subject. Anyone who went to school for this or has been an engineer for some time would you mind telling me a little bit about it? (i.e. difficulty, opportunities, why you like/dislike that chosen path, etc...)

[skullver]

Originally Posted by Jeepin_XJ_101

I am looking into getting my Bachelor's in either Civil or Mechanical Engineering. I want to build stuff in a large way and be a part of huge projects. In any case I have been gathering all sorts of information on the subject. Anyone who went to school for this or has been an engineer for some time would you mind telling me a little bit about it? (i.e. difficulty, opportunities, why you like/dislike that chosen path, etc...)

Graduated BSME in 2002, been working steadily with the family business since.
School was tough at first but gets much more interesting towards senior year.

Opportunities are plentiful and there are many different things you can do with your degree, it is a good platform to start with.

I like it because it is challenging and very rewarding most of the time, varies from customer to customer.

I don't really dislike anything about it.

Good luck
Chris

[Kyoseki]

Mechanical engineers build weapons
Civil engineers build targets

[red96jeep]

Originally Posted by Jeepin_XJ_101

I am looking into getting my Bachelor's in either Civil or Mechanical Engineering. I want to build stuff in a large way and be a part of huge projects. In any case I have been gathering all sorts of information on the subject. Anyone who went to school for this or has been an engineer for some time would you mind telling me a little bit about it? (i.e. difficulty, opportunities, why you like/dislike that chosen path, etc...)

well i'm going to maryland in the spring for civil engineering, (well hopefully, i got applied for engineering but only got accecpted for general admission so i plan to transfer to the engineering school once i'm in).

[Matt Gertsch]

Originally Posted by Kyoseki

Mechanical engineers build weapons
Civil engineers build targets

My brother is a Mechatronic engineer. He loves that saying.

[blake989]

structural here. During your undergrad you'll work twice as hard as most of your friends and meet half the women. When you graduate you'll make twice as much as most of your friends, and in five years you'll work twice as hard and bring home half the money as most of your friends!! That's no lie, but I do enjoy it, there are some other things I wish I would have done, but that is life.

If you plan on going the engineer route, keep in mind the accreditation body, known as the NCEES, recently ratified their Body of Knowledge (BOK) requirements....most states will soon follow. The BOK requires all engineers to have 30 hours course work (masters degree) beyond the undergraduate level before you can sit for the PE exam. If you chose structural the un-said rule has been masters minimum for a long time, but this will apply to all disciplines. You will grandfather in, 2015 is the activation date I think, but keep in mind that very soon into your career you will be competing with guys with more education....so count on graduate work.

[Rocky529]

I'm a third year Mechanical Engineering student.

So far I love it.. you can get any job pretty much all doing stuff that interests me. Working hands on is the best.

[Kyoseki]

Well, for the record, I graduated with a BEng. in Aerospace in 96.

I ended up as a visual effects artist, ironically I need to know more math to do this stuff than I ever did as an engineering student.

Had I known that I probably would have showed up to more classes

[Parky]

You may want to look into Construction Management. That is what I have my degree in and I am currently doing the entitlement and design of a 3000 home community, and the civil engineers work for me.

[JimenyFKrickets]

I initially was going for my mechanical engineering degree then switched to computers my senior year

The reasoning is that I wanted to stay in near my home base and there are more IT and programming jobs than engineering here.

I'd say go for mechanical. Working as a civil engineer in a govt job is too easy

[Dr. Internet]

I got my BSEE from Maryland (GO Terps!) a long time ago (OK, we still earned tube theory). Had no problem finding a job after graduation.
Blake is correct - you will work twice as hard, meet half as many women, and eventually end up working for some slack jawed bean-counter who you will make wealthy.
I did real engineering in data communications for about 10 years. Got certified by Novell, Microsoft, compaq, IBM, and HP. Then I went back to school for a masters in Project Management. Now, all the engineers do what I tell them to do.

If you build stuff that can fall down, you will have to be certified as a Professional Engineer, aka, PE. You should look into the requirements for this before you select your major. Also, if you do build something and some knucklehead doesn't use the right rebar, or uses the wrong concrete or whatever, you will get the blame.

Parky has a good point. I'd look into both Construction Management and Project Management.

[MTheMonkeyBean]

Originally Posted by blake989

structural here. During your undergrad you'll work twice as hard as most of your friends and meet half the women. When you graduate you'll make twice as much as most of your friends, and in five years you'll work twice as hard and bring home half the money as most of your friends!! .

I have to disagree...I met about 1/10 the women...other than that your spot on...and the 12 hour days aren't that bad

[Futhy]

Originally Posted by Kyoseki

Mechanical engineers build weapons
Civil engineers build targets

My degree is in polymer engineering. I don't build weapons. I make them lighter so you can carry more ammo. Our woman/guy ratio was 2/35 or so in college. Now they're a distant memory.

[Kyoseki]

Originally Posted by Futhy

Our woman/guy ratio was 2/35 or so in college. Now they're a distant memory.

If you want women, you need to do a psychology degree, at my place out of 100+ people, only 3 were men and 2 of those were gay.

...sadly my engineering class was roughly the opposite ratio.

[Grewe02]

I want to do some sort of engineering when my enlistment is up in a year, and don't really know what I want to do yet. Right now I'm an aviation electronics technician for the Navy, and could probably hold my own in any electronics / electrical engineering class.

What would you guys suggest for me?