Need career advice...

[golfdmb18]

I'll get right into it...this fall i am registered to attend the University of Cincinnati to major in ME and to also recieve my MBA. Prior to the past month I had no 2nd thoughts on my career. Lately i have been thinking about changing my career. I have an opportunity to apprentice with Al Canuck in Surrey,BC to become a licensed mechanic after 4yrs. I think this would be a great time and i would learn alot and get to work with BMWs everyday:) ...but its very far away from my friends and home. I also wouldn't make as much money doing this as i would engineering. Engineering is a job that pays well but it takes alot of work and in the end i would probably end up stuck inside doing boring things. I need everyone's input:) Thanks

anthony

[mikeedler]

your asking for career advice on R3V!!!
hahahahhahahahahhah

[DoriftuEvo]

I'm currently studying Mechanical Engineering and have also been working in co-op positions for the past two years. From what I've experienced, I can tell you that engineering can be boring. I can also tell you that it can be awesome. The trick is to find the right position and keep moving until you find something you really enjoy. I just got a job with the BMW plant in SC and love it.

The mechanic idea has crossed my mind. I've decided that I really enjoy working on my car, but not so much on cars that belong to other people. I don't get the same satisfaction. Plus now I can go tinker with brand new BMW parts if I want.

[golfdmb18]

i think im going to be too lazy in college to want to hassle with the numerous math classes that i will rarely use once i become an engineer. I did great in high school but high school is easy compared to college. If his shop was closer to me i would apprentice without even thinking twice.

[Garageaholic]

I'm a mechanical engineer 1 year out of school and am thinking of getting my MBA. I work for Lockheed martin designing and working on Planes.

Personally, if you'd rather work on cars, that's great. But to tell girls that you work on jets is a whole different story. I want to get into management, hence the MBA, I'm not too much into the technical. The money is good, yes. And the respect is there, like a doctor or lawyer or something. Unfortunately, the nerdy, geeky aspect of engineering is still around. I partied all the time and love to drink. I am FAR from nerdy, but what can you do.

Through school, engineering is alot harder than other majors and requires more work, but working, it's rather easy. "boring" is a term that's relative, so that brings me back to where I started. Whatever floats ur boat. You can't go wrong with engineering financially.....if you don't like it, then do something else. as long as you have that engineering degree, people will look at you differently than they will with somebody with a psych degree. You can EASILY do anything else after you get your engineering degree.

go M.E.!

[AndrewBird]

I'll get right into it...this fall i am registered to attend the University of Cincinnati to major in ME and to also recieve my MBA. Prior to the past month I had no 2nd thoughts on my career. Lately i have been thinking about changing my career. I have an opportunity to apprentice with Al Canuck in Surrey,BC to become a licensed mechanic after 4yrs. I think this would be a great time and i would learn alot and get to work with BMWs everyday:) ...but its very far away from my friends and home. I also wouldn't make as much money doing this as i would engineering. Engineering is a job that pays well but it takes alot of work and in the end i would probably end up stuck inside doing boring things. I need everyone's input:) Thanks

anthony

I was in the exact situtaion about 3 months ago. I went with mechanics. ASE Certification FTW!

[rwh11385]

The fact of reality is that we will always need people to work on our cars and trucks, or fix our plumbing, or work on our electricity. And BMW mechanics can make BANK with book hours and being efficient.

But then there is the joy of being creative, clever, a good problem-solver and fixing technical issues with automobile parts, airplanes, etc. Some may be designing interior door handles though... and you have to do a bunch of boring physics free-body diagrams, etc...

If you can't hunker down to do work and study your ass off... you will fail at engineering. Of course, you have to do manual service work at a dealership for 8 hours a day, for the rest of your working life...

On the job experience is much better than going to a BS automotive school that teaches you little more than how to change oil. Do your deal, or go to UTI. Maybe Wyotech.

[Digitalwave]

I'd say go to school for year and if its not for you, change your major or drop out. At least give it a shot. Don't be afraid of hard classes and resign yourself to being a grease monkey the rest of your life.

[MattE30]

Unlike most majors, ME gets harder every year. I was going to do ME, but decided it was not for me, and switched to industrial engineering.

Definatly try it out, though. If you put forth the effort it will be very rewarding. And every mechanic I talked too (I worked at a bmw dealer last summer) told me to stay in school, so I suggest the same thing.

[Derek89E30]

I'm just going into my last year of mechanical engineering. I am just finishing a 16-month internship with an automotive company that makes powertrain components. I totally agree that engineering is a lock for financial well-being in your life, you'll come out of school with a job, and a good paying job at that.

Sure engineering can be boring, but it all depends on where you're working. Personally, Im never going to get a job in the automotive manufacturing industry again. I wouldnt mind design, but manufacturing is shitty. I'm going to be focusing my classes in last year mainly on thermodynamics and fluids. I want to go into the nuclear industry, which in my view, is the best industry to get into right now, seeing that we are entering an era of energy shortage.

One thing that an engineering job does supply you with, as i stated above, is money. With this money, you could invest in a house with a really nice garage, and maybe even get a lift installed. You could have your own personal bmw haven for working on YOUR bimmers. As you said above, you only really get satisfaction from working on your car.

So my advice, get the engineering degree, graduate, makes shitloads of money, and use that money to create an army of bimmers. I plan on owning an e30, e36, e46, and maybe e90 in my life, all which have been modified to my liking by me. something to aim for anyways

[Derek89E30]

oh, some more advice...befriend a group of ppl who are willing to "work" on assignments together, aka copy or share. Engineering is about teamwork, teamwork is doing assignments together as a group, and getting through the 4 years of school together...upperyears always have old tests, and profs commonlu reuse tests

[Garageaholic]

Unlike most majors, ME gets harder every year. I was going to do ME, but decided it was not for me, and switched to industrial engineering.

Definatly try it out, though. If you put forth the effort it will be very rewarding. And every mechanic I talked too (I worked at a bmw dealer last summer) told me to stay in school, so I suggest the same thing.

ME DOES get harder every year, for the people that couldn't handle it, they went to ISE, so it's not an uncommon thing to do like Matt did. It's not copping out or giving up, because ISE is a challenging major, but it's definitely something to consider if you can't handle/don't like ME.

TRY IT!!

[rs4pro3]

I'm an Engineering student so I'll chime in, I've got 2 associate degrees in engineering so far. One in Mechanical engineering, and the other in Manufacturing engineering. I'm currently working on a Bachelor degree in Engineering Management, and am thinking of going ahead with a master's degree while I'm at it. I have alwasy been able to figure things out easily in my head, and know how they work mechanically when assembled. Many of my peers just don't have that knowledge and are in it as Engineering is a good job to have. They struggle in classes, where as I have almost no trouble. It all depends how adapt you are at figuring out how things work and interact with each other.
Before starting the Engineering management program I had thoughts of becoming a BMW tech, but you have to think if that is something I want to do every day. my friend became a tech and now has no desire to work on his car at all, and has left it neglected.

[Garageaholic]

my friend became a tech and now has no desire to work on his car at all, and has left it neglected.

Something to think about. You love to work on YOUR car, but what about working on other people's cars.... day in and day out.. it may kill your desire to work on yours....

[BimmerToad]

Try ME out at least. Sure it's hard and it sucks when you've got tons of work to do while the hot chicks in psych and comm classes get to go out every night and party, but in the long run you'll be glad you got a ME degree.

While a traditional engineering job sounds boring, if you've got an ambitious bone in your body you can crossover into business, management, consulting, etc.. With any engineering degree, you develop your analytical skills, and you're paid to think. With a mechanic certification, for most jobs, you're paid to complete a job that has been done time and again.

Try ME and if you find you can't tolerate the math, consider other options. It's a great feeling to get a BS in ME when you've realized how much hard work it took, and how many lucrative job opportunities become available.