What do all the useless engineering graduates do for work? 7

[wdr36]

Apart from digging ditches, qa testing what else can one do with limited skill set?

 

[GregLocock]

I graduated 1982 and started work 1978. I worked 45 years, and every company I worked for was either bankrupted, sold off or mortgaged to the limit. But I was always working, except for 6 weeks of voluntary unemployment, and of course several years (in total) of rather fabulous holidays. Anyway, Mr No Attitude has had his 2 days of 'fame'. Byeeeeee! PSA there is now an ignore option for a given user.

 

[coloeng]

Don't knock digging ditches and qa testing. That is how many engineers got started, me included. I have spent 23 years as a civil engineer working my way from a lowly design engineer to a District Engineer with a major domestic water provider. All of that started with digging ditches, installing pipelines, fixing and repairing leaks, and generally learning how things work. It went a long ways to landing me my first job as an engineer. I was able to show a willingness to work hard and common sense knowledge that many entry level engineers don't have in their respective field.

 

[CWB1]

Regarding attitude and humility...

Engineering offices are difficult places to work. Not only is the work difficult, mentally tiring, and requires constant personal development/growth/training, but its an environment ruled by logic with little regard for emotion. You could be technically brilliant, highly motivated, etc but if you're not emotionally dead to criticism, second-guessing, or having your mistakes pointed out then you'll be run off. Design reviews are literally a group of managers/peers/colleagues spending hours poking holes in your work. Nobody will pussyfoot around, your work either meets every requirement or it doesnt, alternative designs were considered or not, analysis/testing has been planned and completed or it hasnt, etc.

The direct answer to every "I cant..." is usually "Keep trying or find another job," regardless if you're trying to find a job or design a rocket. That's not an engineer being unkind, just direct.

 

[dik]

I never encountered any of those problems in the dozen or so offices I worked in... guess I was lucky.

 

[Artisi]

Apart from digging ditches, qa testing what else can one do with limited skill set?

Post rubbish and alienate people on engineering websites.

 

[LittleInch]

wdr36,

You started this post with simple one line rather rhetorical question which we all thought was just a simple throwaway whimsical comment.

Since then you have failed to provide any background information requested by me and others by which we might be able to offer you some specific advice, but nothing is forthcoming, instead you seem to be (despite your protestations to the contrary) rather thin skinned and come across more than a little bit aggressive and angry. Maybe that's why you didn't get and internships. However moving forward it won't come across well and you may well need to do some digging of ditches or more lower level work in order to demonstrate that you can actually work with people without appearing to be a human hand grenade with the pin about to pop.

The next set of applications might yield something, maybe they won't, but I think we're not capable of doing much more here unless you open up a bit and lose the perceived attitude.

 

[georgeverghese]

Resist the tendency to become bitter, as justified as you would be. Hang in there. See if you can attend some job fairs for a range of companies you'd like to work for. Meanwhile, go through your Uni textbooks in your free time and pick up on skills that you think may set you apart from the crowd instead of drowning in despair - how about getting a self teaching text on engg differential equations ? Good luck.

 

[Gr8blu]

I graduated in electrical engineering quite a while ago - to put it into perspective, I was among the last few classes to use punch cards for computer programming, and there was no such thing as a "personal" computer, or unwired phone. The manufacturers were still ironing the bugs out of optical disc storage media.

However, there WAS a great interest in electronics - specifically those devices used in computers and their programming challenges. But there are also other areas of electrical engineering: antennas and signals, power generation and transmission, rotating machines, controls and protective devices, electromagnetics, bioengineering (all those little electrical doodads that help with prosthethics), etc. Our grad class had 680 students (and that's EEs alone, not counting Mechanical or Civil or Chemical or Geotechnical). Of those 680 grads, 4 of us had done a lot of work in rotating machines and power transmission. A handful followed the bioengineering path. 6 went straight to a Masters program. The other 97 PERCENT (660 students) were all in the computer programming and chip design group. The job market was pretty evenly spread, with roughly the same absolute number of jobs in each sector - so who do you think had a harder time getting hired? The 4 of us looking at 20 openings in machines or transmission? The 10 looking at 15 openings in the bioengineering field? Or the 660 looking at 30 openings in their area of "expertise"? Also recall that those 660 engineers were vying with another 480 Computer Science grads for the same employment opportunities.

And if you're not ready to go where the job (or at least the employer) is, that can affect how "employable" you might find a specific area of study, too.

Face it. Engineering can be a tough thing. If you're in it for the money or prestige, you're in it for the wrong reasons, IMO.

 

[human909]

Drafting. You can readily skill yourself up in drafting software and get a foothold in the engineering world. That is what I did when I graduated with horrendous marks a a GPA that was through the floor. (I wasn't stupid. I had other challenges. But I eventually graduated.)

I started out drafting. A few years in I took on more challenging structural design work and I've continued to do that ever since. Learn and improved and never stop. I've rapidly improved and I'm able to name my price in the job market.

 

[wdr36]

Lol, I see that I’m living rent free in your head since you keep replying to me even though I quit watching this thread. And stalking my profile apparently.

I like how you keep giving reasons why you don’t predict success for me, while I have a good career and you’re the one begging for help.

And there are obscure properties with electrical currents where scaling the size of the conductor doesn’t directly scale its ability to carry current. As someone with a mechanical background, I was trying to check with people with more electrical experience. It’s called being humble, and thorough. As professionals do.

And to say that you know you don’t have an attitude because you’re able to change personalities when needed, either you are trolling or you actually have mental issues. You have been off the rails from the get-go whether you believe it or not. If it’s my word versus your word, then that’s a fair debate. But when the vote is 20 to 1, safe to say that one is missing something

Feel free to launch more poorly thought out attacks, I am enjoying the show.

"Lol, I see that I’m living rent free in your head since you keep replying to me even though I quit watching this thread. And stalking my profile apparently."

Lol. I really don't care about you at all, you therefore aren't living rent free in my head. I don't know what world you're living in but it's certainly not in this one. I replied to you because you were speaking nonsense about me. I wasn't stalking your profile, I visited your profile just so that you can look at yourself in the mirror first before judging strangers like myself. You didn't come here to answer the question you came here to write gibberish just so that you can make yourself feel better about yourself while pretending to know my situation.

"I like how you keep giving reasons why you don’t predict success for me, while I have a good career and you’re the one begging for help."

Lol. Keep dreaming. I was not "begging" for help. I was just asking a question, asking a question about what to do next given my circumstances isn't "begging". I wasn't pleading anyone for anything nor was I pleading for help as I was selectively taking in only some advice. Are you mentally disturbed or something? Remember you made your "predictions" about me first. I can make predictions about you too. Maybe they are not correct at current state but they will be in the future. You didn't make any effort to answer the actual question but rather go off at tangents at things that don't even resemble me in reality in the slightest. So get off your high horse and come back to earth you're neither intelligent nor particularly successful. My predictions usually come true if you must know. Your mental disability, lack of perspective and mental illness will make you fail in the long term.

"And there are obscure properties with electrical currents where scaling the size of the conductor doesn’t directly scale its ability to carry current. As someone with a mechanical background, I was trying to check with people with more electrical experience. It’s called being humble, and thorough. As professionals do."

For that particular project there were no obscure electrical current properties. You didn't understand what you were doing in the first place and it was painfully obvious by the way you had written that post. This example perfectly exemplifies your intellectual limitations and mental issues.

"And to say that you know you don’t have an attitude because you’re able to change personalities when needed, either you are trolling or you actually have mental issues."

Lol. Keep dreaming. People have different personalities all the time. I behave totally differently with internet strangers than I would with real people. And if I'm working with people I treat them with the utmost respect. I don't care at all about internet strangers, they don't pay my salary they are nothing and nobody to me. It has got nothing to do with "trolling" or "mental issues". Your disabilities on the other hand are indeed real mental issues.

"You have been off the rails from the get-go whether you believe it or not."

Asking a question and being bitter about it from the get-go is not an example of "been off the rails". It's perfectly fine to be bitter and ask for useful advice that will benefit you. I couldn't care less about insulting some internet strangers here, if you even read carefully you would have noticed that I was not acting that way to all internet strangers only towards people writing useless retorts without answering the question like yourself. You didn't have to reply to this post at all if it offends you so much.

"If it’s my word versus your word, then that’s a fair debate. But when the vote is 20 to 1, safe to say that one is missing something"

The only person mentioning that I'm "off the rails to the get-go" is you buddy boy. Everyone else (the majority of people here) were giving advice and at least answering the question, there was no "vote" to begin with. The purpose of this thread anyway was to answer the question. It's not an invitation to pretend to be a psychologist "analyzing" the behavior of the person asking the question. So it's still your word vs my word and judging from your comment history you are a better suited candidate for the title "off the rails from the get-go". You are mentally deficient and have always been mentally deficient from the get-go judging from your questions and comments. And that is a strong prediction and guarantee that you will fail.

"Feel free to launch more poorly thought out attacks, I am enjoying the show."

I wasn't attacking you at all I'm just telling you the truth about yourself and they weren't "poorly thought out" because they are backed by evidence. You're the one who was attacking in the first place and your attacks were the true poorly thought out attacks.

Feel free to launch more poorly thought out attacks, I am enjoying the show. And if you reply to this comment I once again thank you for letting me live rent free in your head for I have stopped paying attention to your replies.

 

[ctopher]

wdr36,
Posting a negative remark

"What do all the useless engineering graduates do for work?"​

Expect negative replies. Your post implies most graduates are useless.
Until you get thick skin, you're not going to take it lightly.
If you're not happy with your work, or anything else, change it. Find the work you like.

 

[Stick.]

Note that OP appears to have been banned, so not much point in replying to the thread any further.

 

[lucky-guesser]

LOL

 

[Maui]

Those who lack basic engineering skills and couldn't engineer their way out of a paper bag invariably seem to end up in business school to pursue an MBA. After graduation they are put in charge of teams of engineers and tell them what to do and how to do it. Think I'm kidding? I'm not.

 

[mfgenggear]

Apart from digging ditches, qa testing what else can one do with limited skill set?

Not much, get a trade

 

[IRstuff]

Someone who can't problem solve isn't going suddenly going to be able to problem solve because an MBA or the program. The more likely answer is that they just didn't have the "knack" ala Dilbert.

 

[mfgenggear]

Wdr
If you came for an interview , and if I was the hiring manager, I would not hire you.
Attitude is very important.
Wanting to humble your self and want to learn
Is an other hot tip.
Your first post could be easily interpreted as a
Derogatory comment. That's not how you ask very experience engineers for help. Part of requesting help is to be very precise and articulate a Question.
I suggest drop this post and start over.
As other said we don't know you or your situation. A degree guarantees nothing.
It how you conduct your self. And and impress
The hiring manager.
You sound as all four of your tires where flatten.
We all have been there many times.
But we all have failures. But what makes us different. We learn, get experience and move on.
We don't give up. I been there many times.

 

[CWB1]

Those who lack basic engineering skills and couldn't engineer their way out of a paper bag invariably seem to end up in business school to pursue an MBA. After graduation they are put in charge of teams of engineers and tell them what to do and how to do it.

You're not wrong, but I'd add that managing is a very different role that doesnt necessarily require engineering skill.

IME having been in several, the ideal organization has separate "non-management" technical SMEs to coach juniors and make technical decisions. That leaves managers free to focus on non-technical decisions like juggling budgets/resources, long term business planning, and the inevitable HR/personnel issues. Managers in those orgs can succeed with questionable engineering skill/knowledge so long as they have the humility to not overstep into technical matters. The key to those orgs success/failure is that SMEs need to be treated (ideally compensated) as equals to management, and not ignored/overruled by management.

I've also been in organizations where engineering managers were expected to do everything and frankly, I've always felt it set up most for failure. In those orgs a manager needs both engineering and business skill but bc its rare to be great at both, those orgs often don't include engineering management in business planning or other necessary work which directly affects the company's success.

 

[Taicho567]

No one is useless until they decide to be useless. Make yourself helpful and you will learn a skill or two.

 

[michaelmiles]

As an employer l would not hire you. Your attitude is extremely negative and l'm sure is immediately evident to everyone you meet for the first time. People like you poison the work environment. You will not do better until you experience some crisis and become grateful for what you have, rather than resentful over what you don't have. The title that you chose for this thread shows this.

Throughout the history of civilization there has been a pool of jobs that need doing, and a pool of people who need work. Simple statistics says that you will get a job, in time. There is no perfect job, particularly in the mind resentful people.

I appreciate your perspective, even if I don’t agree with the tone. While it’s true that attitude plays a big role in any professional setting, it’s also important to acknowledge that not everyone’s circumstances are the same — and not everyone who’s struggling is ungrateful or negative.


Sometimes, frustration comes from real challenges, not just mindset. Assuming someone’s character based on a single post or thread title isn't entirely fair. Constructive feedback is always welcome, but personal attacks don't help anyone grow.