Job Availability question
Job Availability question
(OP)
I'm not sure if this is a good place to post this, but it looks like the best yet. I was wondering how possible it is to get a job engineering components for internal combustion or turbine engines? I am really interested in this line of work but not sure if it is feasable. (sp?) Maybe it is just a pipe dream. I am planning to study mechanical engineering when I start college, but don't want to end up no where. thanks





RE: Job Availability question
What you'll need is good maths results from school, a good mechanical engineering degree from a reasonable university, an internship or two, and experience in an FSAE team or equivalent. If your uni does not run FSAE or equivalent then take that as a warning sign. Don't let FSAE spoil your grades. Make sure they have engine dynos for your lab work.
Cheers
Greg Locock
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: Job Availability question
The point is not that you will not end up _no_where, but that you could end up _any_where, so prepare for _that_. Get a good grasp of the basics, even the stuff you think you won't like, and the stuff your entire class agrees is silly, because you may need it.
<old joke>
A famous alumnus gave the commencement address at a famous medical school. It was short. He said:
"I have two admissions to make.
1. Roughly half of what you have worked so hard to learn will turn out to be either utterly useless, or just plain wrong.
2. NO ONE knows which half that will be."
</old joke>
The joke rings true for engineering school, too. Not necessarily because anything you'll study is wrong or useless now, but because the world changes. At least our understanding of it does.
If you haven't already, try to see James Burke's TV series "Connections" and "The Day The Universe Changed". You're almost ready to appreciate his revelations about how _everything_ is connected, and nothing stays the same.
It wouldn't hurt to learn a little Chinese, either.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Job Availability question
It'll be a sad day when all the combined knowledge about IC engines and gas dynamics in general becomes obsolete. I just can't seem to get excited about fuel cells and other potential future power plants.
Ok, back to the question. Greg's right. Focus on your maths, get some pre-university experience and choose the right uni.
RE: Job Availability question