I feel quite jaded and hopeless and I would appreciate some advice and a new perspective 6

[song32]

I apologize for the long post. I would greatly appreciate any help. Thank you so much in advance.

Engineering is like the love-child of mathematics and science, blended together for the purpose of applying to the world via solving genuine problems to benefit our society. This sounds extremely noble. Engineers also need curiosity, a love of learning, an affinity for math and science, creativity and all the bunch. So far, this sounds incredible, and I would love a career in Engineering, true engineering that impacts the world through math and science. It seems to tick all the boxes for me.

But what really troubles me and truly disheartens me is the seemingly cold and unforgiving reality I get from browsing online. I don’t mean to sound corny but the reward for going through a grueling study seems to be starkly unbalanced. It seems like you are thrust unto the world into a dead corporate lifestyle, slaving away for the boss’s vision, solving meaningless problems for the sake of profit, and sitting in a cubicle all day with very little hands-on or design work. You are in corporate meetings, answering calls, or writing emails. Oh wait, I forgot crunching numbers on the excel sheet. How exciting.

Is this really the reality? Are there any jobs which are not like this within Engineering? I don't mind doing Excel, writing emails, or meetings as long as they all lead to something genuine. As long as they are a means to authentically solve some of Society's problems.

Some people may say “If you don’t want to work as an Engineer, don’t be one”, but would anyone want to work in a meaningless job, not making any real impact, and deal with corporate troubles? I don’t think anybody signs up for this. Is this really too much of an ask?

Then people say “your job should not be your passion” or “don’t try to find meaning in your job”, but is finding meaning in something that takes a third of my adult life also too much of an ask? The general perspective I get seems to universally incredibly cynical and I will be honest, I get quite disheartened hearing about things like this.

There just seems to be a disconnect between my ideas and reality. Maybe online is skewing my perception, but it also could be true.

I want to be an Engineer because I want to make a real impact through my love of Math and Science. But if I cannot do that with an Engineering degree as , and instead the reality is aligned with what I see online, then my only question is “Why bother then?”. What’s the point.
I would appreciate any support and guidance on this topic, I think I have become quite jaded. Thank you so much regardless.

 

[LittleInch]

Sounds like you need to be a construction engineer.

And choose your company wisely, not the big corporate entities if that's what you hate.

Ditto your line of work "Engineer" is as vague as it is long and there are many different flavours and versions. What are you looking for?

It has to be said its rare to get a design job where you do simulations, calculations and design something and then go and see it built and operating. It does happen, but usually only in smaller companies or if you change role within a project.

Most site people don't like offices much and many office people don't like site very much.

I'm mainly office, but like going out on site for a while and have managed to see more than a few project built as I designed them. But not many in 40 years.

Working for operations depts and construction depts you don't always get to do much "design", but you understand how something gets built and operated and can then take that into design.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[SwinnyGG]

Maybe online is skewing my perception

It is.

There are depressed, low motivation people that complain endlessly about their station while doing nothing to improve their lives in every single field; engineering is no different.

There are thousands and thousands of productive, happy engineers doing meaningful, important work in the United States; globally it's probably in the millions. Those people aren't posting on forums like this one about how great their life is - they're out there getting things done. Be one of them, it's a choice.

 

[rb1957]

"It seems like you are thrust unto the world into a dead corporate lifestyle, slaving away for the boss’s vision, solving meaningless problems for the sake of profit, and sitting in a cubicle all day with very little hands-on or design work. You are in corporate meetings, answering calls, or writing emails. Oh wait, I forgot crunching numbers on the excel sheet. How exciting."

yeah, don't trust everything you read on the internet !

These days there are very dynamic things happening ... like with UAVs and drones, not to mention SpaceX and all the other space endeavours.

But that said, yes, much of your work is somewhat tedious detailed calculations ... not really the stuff of dreams but this is needed to turn dreams into reality.
Most of the math I use is barely above HS, and, yes, spreadsheets are your friend. So you need a personality that sees this as being worth while (rather than "slaving away for the boss’s vision, solving meaningless problems for the sake of profit").

But if you work in a large aerospace company then you are generally a very small wheel in a very large machine. That said I know of on example who within a year of graduation was a lead in British Aerospace, and within 5 years (at another company) was in charge of a major engine project, and later (within a decade) a VP; truly astonishing !

And something you should realise (now) ... uni is just the beginning ... graduates are generally almost worthless in the workplace, and need about 10 years to learn things and be useful. Don't expect that people will hang on every word you say and look to you for guidance. As a graduate you are generally a "Jon Snow" (you know nothing).

"Hoffen wir mal, dass alles gut geht !"
General Paulus, Nov 1942, outside Stalingrad after the launch of Operation Uranus.

 

[BulbTheBuilder]

Truth, I am not going to try and discredit your concerns. They are real and extends to most industries.

And choose your company wisely, not the big corporate entities if that's what you hate.

This right here is key. Not to say all big corporate are like that but from my experience, the mid-size companies are mostly where the engineering and development of talent for newbies are. Once you've developed your talent then you can proceed to big corporate to work on bigger projects. The reason I say this, you might get lost in office politics and other redundant tasks at big corporate. They are mostly about profit $$$$ and might care less about your development.

Where you work at the start of your career in extremely important. Working in a smaller firm doing all calcs, reports, and site visits for 4 years possibly can put you above someone working in big corporate for 8years. Engineering is a practice.

I don’t mean to sound corny but the reward for going through a grueling study seems to be starkly unbalanced.

I think about this sometimes. The liability, the amount of work load, deadlines, certifications, and risks doesn't commensurate your compensation which we need to do better as industry but you can make some good money depending on which engineering you do (electrical, mechanical, and chemical) typically earn more...but you can also earn 6 figures and live a comfortable life balanced with a happy life of fulfilment, if that's what you seek.

Personally, structural engineering makes me happy. I had the window of going into the IT world where I could possibly be earning $$$$$$$$ but the thought of letting go structural engineering sadden me. At the end of the day, we can find purpose, $$$$, contribution to society, happiness, and good life in engineering. A perfect balance is what you should seek.

 

[IRstuff]

But what really troubles me and truly disheartens me is the seemingly cold and unforgiving reality I get from browsing online. I don’t mean to sound corny but the reward for going through a grueling study seems to be starkly unbalanced. It seems like you are thrust unto the world into a dead corporate lifestyle, slaving away for the boss’s vision, solving meaningless problems for the sake of profit, and sitting in a cubicle all day with very little hands-on or design work. You are in corporate meetings, answering calls, or writing emails. Oh wait, I forgot crunching numbers on the excel sheet. How exciting.

Is this really the reality? Are there any jobs which are not like this within Engineering? I don't mind doing Excel, writing emails, or meetings as long as they all lead to something genuine. As long as they are a means to authentically solve some of Society's problems.

There's nothing new about the concern of being an automaton in the corporate world; I refer you to "Metropolis" the 1927 brilliant silent film by Fritz Lang, where the world is run by a bunch of ivory tower elites directing the majority of world, who work mind-numbingly tedious and dangerous jobs in a bleak existence. However, reality is rarely that extreme, or utopian. There's a poster in this site that recently complained about their boring job of making minor and trivial changes to their company's gasket products. Nevertheless, there are companies that are at least doing some interesting and impactful things, such as the companies attempting to land a human on the Moon again, after nearly 5 decades. There are companies attempting to solve the efficiency problem of solar energy, etc.

Corporations are highly individualized; you have companies that still demand that you work until you drop from exhaustion or die at your desk, and then, you have the rest. Investigate the companies that promise work-life balance and verify that their employees agree. Note that meaningless problems don't actually make profit; although one might argue about the level of meaningfulness; engineering requires a certain level of investment, so chasing silly ideas is rare, but not impossible. Ocean Gates' Titan submersible debacle is an example of the latter, where a self-aggrandizer and 4 others were killed by his vision of cheaper, but not better engineering cast a dark stain on an already dangerous exploration industry; that said, the same industry, under better hands, has resulted in the investigation of the Marianas Trench and found and explored the wreckage of the Titanic.

Every job will be accompanied by a load of tedious tasks, but most will also come with the fun stuff, like designing and testing potential tools for space exploration, or monitoring the health of our only livable planet.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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[Gr8blu]

Concerns expressed by the OP are valid, definitely. I had them (perhaps to a lesser degree than expressed by the OP) when I started my engineering career nearly 40 years ago. I still have them sometimes today: it's part of human nature to look for validation by equating that to a sense of accomplishment.

I have been blessed (or cursed) by having worked for some very large companies - and some fairly small ones - during my engineering career. I work on the industrial side - designing, manufacturing, testing, operating, maintaining, and troubleshooting electrical equipment - primarily rotating machines. I've also picked up a lot about power generation and distribution (and protection), because they're all related. That means I learned a LOT of what I need AFTER I got out in the work force, because almost none of it was covered during my educational career.

Have I done things that make a difference? Absolutely. I work with electricity, which is one of the things that acts as a foundation for modern society as a whole. The machines (and their driven processes) provide all kinds of things for modern society; the machines and/or the processes they drive make life easier and safer.

Other branches of engineering might not have that immediate feedback loop (I say immediate, but in truth some of my "simple machines" take more than two years from concept to test, and then possibly another year to full-blown activation).

If I could distill down what I've learned thus far about engineering, it's this: engineering is like most other things in that a person gets out of it what they put into it. I love what I do, so I look forward to going in to the job every day. If there comes a time when that is no longer the case, I will consider changing to another career path . . . but not until then.



Converting energy to motion for more than half a century

 

[rb1957]

hey, you hit off on spreadsheets, but forgot that other invaluable thing we do for "work" ... ppts !

"Hoffen wir mal, dass alles gut geht !"
General Paulus, Nov 1942, outside Stalingrad after the launch of Operation Uranus.

 

[ChorasDen]

hey, you hit off on spreadsheets, but forgot that other invaluable thing we do for "work" ... ppts !

*shudders*

 

[rb1957]

I'd've settled for an LPS !

"Hoffen wir mal, dass alles gut geht !"
General Paulus, Nov 1942, outside Stalingrad after the launch of Operation Uranus.

 

[ChorasDen]

ah yes, I love the Live Poets Society