Travel
Travel
(OP)
Hi,
I am a recent new graduate in Mechanical Engineering and wanted to get some of your opinions on traveling after completing an engineering degree. Would you recommend doing the travel thing or would you recommend getting some work experience behind me first? The reason why I ask is I have some buddies who are itching to go traveling and to be honest I share the same feeling. But they aren't engineers.
I recently accepted a full time position at an engineering firm because having been broke for the past 4-5 years I was itching to start making my own money and gaining experience towards my PEng. I still think that was probably the smartest thing to do, but I keep hearing all the "you won't be able to do it later", "this is the time you have the minimum responsibilities", "you shouldn't be in a rush to start work" kind of stuff, which I guess has some merit to it.
I wanted to ask other engineers what they thought because I think its a little different for engineer so dropping everything to go traveling could effect your competitivness in the job market when you are eventually looking for a job. I guess I should mention I dont have a whole lot of experience either-roughly 8 months as a summer intern.
Anyways, all opinions are welcome and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Thanks!
I am a recent new graduate in Mechanical Engineering and wanted to get some of your opinions on traveling after completing an engineering degree. Would you recommend doing the travel thing or would you recommend getting some work experience behind me first? The reason why I ask is I have some buddies who are itching to go traveling and to be honest I share the same feeling. But they aren't engineers.
I recently accepted a full time position at an engineering firm because having been broke for the past 4-5 years I was itching to start making my own money and gaining experience towards my PEng. I still think that was probably the smartest thing to do, but I keep hearing all the "you won't be able to do it later", "this is the time you have the minimum responsibilities", "you shouldn't be in a rush to start work" kind of stuff, which I guess has some merit to it.
I wanted to ask other engineers what they thought because I think its a little different for engineer so dropping everything to go traveling could effect your competitivness in the job market when you are eventually looking for a job. I guess I should mention I dont have a whole lot of experience either-roughly 8 months as a summer intern.
Anyways, all opinions are welcome and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Thanks!





RE: Travel
RE: Travel
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RE: Travel
Darrell Hambley P.E.
SENTEK Engineering, LLC
RE: Travel
Anyways, it seems like that ship has sailed anyways so I should just accept it for what it is.
RE: Travel
On another subject, please don't say 'anyways'; it makes you appear uneducated.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Travel
I supposed I have to agree with miningman. I'm not a flake and I hate people who are. I've accepted the position and it is what it is at the moment. I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed that an opportunity to travel will at some point show it's face. Thanks for the feedback.
RE: Travel
RE: Travel
I was going to make the same suggestion.
In my professional career, which spans 43 years, I've been to some 31 countries and have flown several million miles (3.3 million+ with American Airlines alone and that's just since 1986) virtually ALL of it on the company dime. Granted, they expect you to 'work' while you're out there spending the company's money, but if you plan it right and can manage to be someplace over the weekends, it's amazing the number of things tha you might get to experience. For example I've managed to walk around Stonehenge, climb the Effiel Tower, wonder thru Red Square in Moscow, visit the Emperor's Palace in Tokyo, drive down the Great Costal Road in Australia, visit Waterloo in Belgium and climb the 'Mount of the Lion', walk through (but only window-shop) the 'red-light' district in Amsterdam, sail out from a fyord in Norway to where there was nothing between me and the North Pole but a lot of really cold water, ride an elevator to near the top of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, drink Singapore Slings while sitting at the 'Long Bar' in the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, drive really fast on the German Autobahn, visit the original 'Legoland' in Billund, Denmark, eat broiled Raindeer in Helsinki, Finland, gamble at a casino in Macau, China, visit the Snake Farms in Bangkok, Thailand, rode across the Hong Kong harbor on one of those overcrowded ferries, took the Bullet Train from Tokyo to Osaka and back and the TGV from Lyon to Paris, and dozens of other 'tourist' type activities around the world.
Yep I could have never been to or seen as many places as I have if I had to have done it all on my own nickel.
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
RE: Travel
Definitely find yourself a job where you're expected to travel and then take full advantage of the opportunities that this presents. And with all those air miles, I've managed to take my wife on several of these adventures and in fact, we're already planning a trip to Roman later this year in conjunction with my attending and speaking at a conference in Torino.
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
RE: Travel
RE: Travel
RE: Travel
A) left uni, accepted job, went and worked at it for a couple of years
B) left uni, accepted job, didn't take it up and wandered off for a couple of years
C) left uni, wandered off for a couple of years
Big tom hanks, prioritise the order of likelihood that those people will prove satisfactory.
I think most of us would say B is a bigger risk.
Incidentally I think wanderjahr is an excellent concept, and the older I get the more of them I want to do.
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Travel
RE: Travel
RE: Travel
Do you have no skills or abilities that can earn you money on the way? Preferably legally? if not then that is very sad.
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Travel
RE: Travel
Why on Earth would you even ask such a ridiculous question after having accepted a job?
RE: Travel
Like I said, I'm going to try and stick it out for a year or two and revisit my options then. Any tips for a fresh new grad engineer trying to make his way in the industry for the first time as a full-time employee?
Thanks.
RE: Travel
I finished university, and naively thought that I could get a job, defer the start date for three months and travel. What happened; I waited, I applied for an ever widening variety of jobs, I spent days on trains travelling the country for 1 hour interviews, I opened the inevitable "No thanks" letters. When I eventually got a job six months later, the desire to travel had disappeared, I just wanted to work (not financially but I was bored and needed to use my brain).
I have been to numerous places around the work, both on holidays and through work. But I am always jealous of the back packers who are in control of their own time and get to experience things more like a local than staying in 4+ star cookie cutter hotels. Visiting things on work time is great and I have ticked some boxes that should be on people's bucket lists, but I always feel a slight emptiness that work is the master of my time and the significant other is not there witnessing it with me. But that is just me.
If I was interviewing you, I am sure that the stories of fruit picking in Australia, sailing up the Mekon, camping on the beach in Morocco, living with the Hmong for two weeks, etc, would impress me more and give you more life skills and make you more employable than the average Joe.
If you can afford to travel, do it.
RE: Travel
Suggest that you document yourself on travel first.
1. Start with "safe" countries (if there is any such thing). in some places, you could go to jail for kissing a girl in public and be accused of rape. Others can be expensive as hell, and so on.
2. In some other places, you will be a real nice kidnapping target. read a bit of politics before you leave.
3. Learn a few words of foreign languages.
4. check your vaccines requirements before you travel
5. for somewhat "dangerous countries" - try getting into Engineers without borders. Just a thought.
6. e-mail yourself a copy of your passport and birth certificate to replace your stolen passport - good chances that you will lose it. You will get robbed. Hold-on to that passport, you'd be seriously inconvenienced if you happen to lose it.
7. check your vaccines requirements before you travel
8. However exotic the places may sound - Avoid the third world.
9. If it bugs you, you should do it. Once the kids come out rolling, forget it.
and number 10 - Try traveling to a place where it is easy to get laid. It makes for a much better experience.
RE: Travel
For almost 5 years in a row I went to Europe with some deal I hashed out with my bosses. As and Engineer you should be making Enough bank that if your priority is traveling, you can handle traveling on your own. i.e. dont get a new car, new tv, and generally waste your money. WORK HARD...and you are normally rewarded.
Examples:
1.) Ask boss if you can add say 3 days to a Business trip to Dijon France, to stop in Paris.
2.) Ask boss if you can take a use all your vacation and sick time and maybe a week or 2 without pay to spend 4 weeks around Christmas Traveling, most companies don't get anything done around then anyway.
3.) When International guests visit your company, offer the show them around, take them out, do whatever. They will likely repay the favor should the opportunity present itself. I got discounted rail fair and lunch stipends from a partner company for treating their tech's to a good time on the US.
Good Luck.
RE: Travel
RE: Travel
(I swear I'd already replied but don't see it now.)
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Travel
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
RE: Travel
RE: Travel
Having them 15 months apart ain't much better, trust me!
RE: Travel
BTW, when I said we had "two babies less than a year apart", the reality was that they were only a bit over NINE months apart, early March to late December. And we had no health insurance at the time but my wife did work for the hospital so we got them 'at cost'. Our doctor felt so sorry for us that he delivered our second son virtually for free
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
RE: Travel
Or even 15 years!
RE: Travel
Or even 15 years!
RE: Travel
RE: Travel
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
RE: Travel
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
RE: Travel
As someone who absolutely LOVES travel, I take every opportunity to do explore and depending what airport you live close to, it's very feasible keep an eye out for whatever airfare deals come along and take weekend +1 or +2 days and beer taste in Belgium, sing and dance with the locals in Copenhagen, spend a romantic weekend in Paris, etc., and with your saved vacation days spend your nights in the dessert Bedouin camp in Jordan near Petra, all knowing you can afford it cause you have a job. Does it compare to take 1-2 years off to travel, no, this doesn't compare. But it does make you more financially prudent, and have enough experience to take 1-2 years off later in life and not worry as much about being able to find work after.
RE: Travel
RE: Travel
1) Avoid "lifestyle inflation" - if you can live like a college student while pulling down engineer $$, you can start piling up cash FAST.
2) Go read Mr. Money Mustache. Maybe you will want to keep working a long time - but if you pile up the resources to be financially independent, you can be a LOT choosier about where and how you work.
Lots of people in the MMM forums are saving at least 50% of their gross, and having a good time doing it. In the "bang for your buck" sense - if you keep your lifestyle down, you reach financial independence a LOT sooner.
RE: Travel
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
RE: Travel
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?