your job?

i keep getting new stuff thrown at me daily i mean its only been a month but man they like to keep me on my toes.

9/19/2006 3:59:57 PM

i keep getting new stuff thrown at me daily i mean its only been 2 years but man they like to keep me on my toes.




i could not stand doing the same things over and over again.

9/19/2006 4:02:14 PM

ohh i know that would be lame

but what i'm saying is i'm not even in the same ballpark from day to day and i just started so i'm somewhat co-dependent on everything i'm doing which frustrates me.

9/19/2006 4:25:44 PM

hmmm..yeah, mine are all definately in the same ball park.

for the first 18 months i rotated into different departments and did very different things. it was a good experience...its good to know a variety of different things, and not pigeon hole yourself into one expertise. but i can see how it would be frustrating at times.

but youve only been there a month....i wouldnt be too worried about it now.

9/19/2006 4:29:29 PM

I'm actually planning on keeping my machine design skills up on my own time even though i work in hvac/plumbing.

9/19/2006 4:46:04 PM

it probably took about a year before i was fully comfortable/independent.

9/19/2006 5:21:12 PM

Learn what my job responsibilities/duties are? About one month.
Learn/Master my jobs skillls? Never ... no end date.

There will always be something technical I can learn/do that would ultimately enhance my job performance. Non-technical items you can always use improvement in (e.g. communication), and thus always have the opportunity to better yourself.

9/19/2006 5:22:04 PM

i got put up to "50% billable" last month, my 3rd month at this job.

but i work essentially for a consulting division, so in my first 2 months i went to several training classes in houston, and read close to 3,000 pages of manuals.

that sucked, but houston was cool.

unfortunately, i still feel like a total dumbass around most of my co-workers.

9/19/2006 7:07:27 PM

I just changed jobs from commercial HVAC controls to the Nuclear Power plant (McGuire). Apparently I won't touch ANYTHING for at least 6 months.

9/19/2006 11:01:20 PM

Environmental Eng. here, and it took me a good year to get comfortable doing what I do.

But I still have stuff crop up weekly that I don't know how to do, or how to do well enough.

Constantly learning and improving, almost 2 years after graduation.

9/20/2006 10:45:34 AM

I SWITCHED TO SALES SO I DON'T HAVE TO REALLY KNOW ALL THAT TECHNICAL BULLSHIT....I JUST NEED TO BE ABLE TO ACT LIKE I DO....

9/20/2006 12:17:22 PM

ihatespida considered himself to be an engineer?

9/20/2006 12:20:13 PM

3 months

Although I do get new stuff thrown at me daily. Learn to adapt to change.

[Edited on September 20, 2006 at 1:37 PM. Reason : ]

9/20/2006 1:18:03 PM

^^CONSIDERING I GRADUATED WITH A 3.5 IN INDUSTRIAL AND ACTUALLY WORKED AS A MANUFACTURING ENGINEER FOR 6 MONTHS AFTER COLLEGE I THINK I COULD CONSIDER MYSELF AN ENGINEER....THANKS

9/20/2006 5:32:27 PM

i guess i never looked at your profile - i never imagined someone with your intelligence could have ever made it through an engineering major

getting back on topic - my job is so transient that it's hard to say - but typically very quickly - a week to a month

9/20/2006 6:10:47 PM

been at my new job about a year, i'd say i'm about 65%-70% to being on the same level as my co-workers. not that its an excuse, but they all finished grad school, i only went to undergrad. my previous job wasn't technical at all, so i was about 5 years removed from school and "real engineering work" before i got back into it at my current job.

9/20/2006 6:35:52 PM

hahaha thats pretty funny that an industrial engineer got all defensive about being a true engineer

oh wait, no i guess his sensitivity makes sense.

9/20/2006 9:20:38 PM

this thread has seriously made me feel like a big fuck up

9/21/2006 12:34:12 AM

Ten minutes.

9/21/2006 10:15:22 AM

cpe?

Civil p.e.?

or certified plumbing engineer? (or maybe thats designer)

9/21/2006 12:10:24 PM

cpe is computering engineering.

9/21/2006 12:27:39 PM

Quote :

"I GRADUATED WITH A 3.5 IN INDUSTRIAL"

EXCEPT THAT IT'S LAME AND USELESS TO HAVE YOUR GPA CLAIMED AFTER YOU'VE HAD A JOB

SERIOUSLY, NO ONE CARES

9/21/2006 12:38:31 PM

^NO SHIT ITS USELESS YOU MORON.....I'M NOT ATTEMPTING TO FIND A JOB ON HERE YOU FAGGOT SO IF I WANT TO INCLUDE MY GPA THEN I WILL....

I WAS JUST ANSWERING THE QUESTION BELOW SO FUCK OFF

Quote :

"ihatespida considered himself to be an engineer?"

9/21/2006 3:42:50 PM

if your job is monotonous enough that you stop learning new things after a couple of years, then you're not doing engineering work.

I've been with my company for 6 years now, and I'm constantly having to review over product literature and talk with vendors in order to learn new things, and I work in a field that most people claim hasn't had any major changes in design in the last 40 years. Those people are crazy for thinking utility design hasn't progressed just like everything else has.

9/21/2006 8:47:38 PM

including my GPA landed me a job after having worked in the industry for a couple years

then again, I'm not like you 2.5gpa kiddies who spare no effort in downplaying the importance of a GPA, then wonder why your jobs are so miserable or why the job market sucks

9/21/2006 9:34:29 PM

I essentially did two years of validation work on the road and I just landed a process engineering job in Raleigh. The amount of material I will have to learn and master is incredible and this job will keep me busy for many, many years.

I've been told it'll take a least a year to become intimate with the process.

9/21/2006 11:20:32 PM

^^GPA isn't shit unless you're actually good at what you do... but it is a good indicator. I'd trust a GPA more than a 2 hour interview. My GPA wasn't great (about average for my major), but i started out making in the top 10% of salaries that fresh graduates in my major were making.

9/22/2006 2:07:44 AM

I'll spend the first 12 months in training getting all of my certs. I'll still be considered an Associate-level engineer for another 6 or 12 depending on my own progress. So it'll take 2 years to get to full "Engineer" status, but technologies change, new products and features are released every week.

9/22/2006 3:37:06 AM

low pressure supply ductwork is sized at a pressure loss of 0.08 in wg / 100 ft

9/23/2006 11:28:22 AM

hahah!!!

HIGH PRESSURE STEAM IS WHERE ITS AT

2 7000hp steam boilers

9/23/2006 3:20:10 PM

We have landfill gas boilers that get up to 2000F inside. Shudder.

9/23/2006 3:58:12 PM

In progress.

9/23/2006 5:47:48 PM

haha i knew somebody would get that shit

9/24/2006 10:52:13 AM

at my first engineering job after college it took me about half a year to be fully independent. 2nd job about a year.

it really depends on work you do and with how many departments you interact. usually cross-departmental type of work has a bigger learning curve since you have to familiarize yourself with work not directly related to yours in order to complete the things.

in anycase, jobs are far easier that school in terms of understanding.

10/1/2006 10:26:41 AM

Quote :

"low pressure supply ductwork is sized at a pressure loss of 0.08 in wg / 100 ft"

on most jobs but North Carolina Research Center wants everything uber quiet so we're using some massive ductwork.

i'm actually going though it now...

(no velocities >600 ft/min)

[Edited on October 4, 2006 at 2:02 PM. Reason : .]

10/4/2006 2:01:50 PM

Quote :

"2 7000hp steam boilers"

Ha... try 2400 MegaWatts

10/4/2006 9:25:06 PM

yall use metric where do you work???

3,217,158hp

10/5/2006 11:08:49 AM

Duke Energy McGuire Nuke plant

10/5/2006 10:54:20 PM

Quote :

"Quote : "2 7000hp steam boilers" Ha... try 2400 MegaWatts"

haha. I help keep both of you guys going. Fisher Valves and Regulators

10/5/2006 11:29:06 PM

^I was just looking up Cv values yesterday for fisher valves.

10/6/2006 9:03:56 AM

WOW THIS THREAD GOT REALLY BORING REALLY FAST

10/6/2006 10:10:50 AM

^^ I don't do nuclear.

you're shit is too painful. 2" globe valve with 200 pages of paper work.

[Edited on October 6, 2006 at 7:57 PM. Reason : however for some basic info I might can help]

10/6/2006 7:56:36 PM

judging by the people around here... never. I say that because even the 10yr + poeple have "what the hell" moments about once a month. Just keeping up with technology means always learning.

11/27/2006 4:15:21 PM

Yeah we're using chilled beams on a job... talk about a bitch with moisture control

11/27/2006 8:40:17 PM

ouch, ihatespida..................

Quote :

" guess i never looked at your profile - i never imagined someone with your intelligence could have ever made it through an engineering major"

12/6/2006 7:10:07 PM

bttt

1/7/2008 8:11:15 PM

I had this bumped because I started a new job about 3 months ago (in HVAC) coming from an unrelated field, and I certainly feel overwhelmed.

I was asked today to come up with something "cool" and "teachable"

Kinda hard to do when you're still learning how to size and design ductwork, lol

1/7/2008 11:03:31 PM

^how hard is it to get into HVAC from an unrelated field? i've been kicking around the idea of trying to get a job with a EMP firm since that's all that seems to be advertising right now, but i never got my EIT. i've been in various flavors of the automotive industry since i got out school and didn't figure i'd ever need it.

1/8/2008 12:32:27 AM

^Next FE is in April, and I think you still have several weeks to register for it. You should have reasonable luck getting into HVAC from an unrelated field if you have your EIT, or are registered to take it. Without the FE, you're likely to take a significant pay cut by switching fields. A degreed engineer without EIT is considered a designer at my company. You need the EIT to be considered an engineer and have any career advancement. If you consider applying at larger firms expressing interest in also doing plumbing design would be a good selling point. My company traditionally sees degreed engineers doing HVAC and designers that aren't on the PE track doing plumbing. We have plenty of good plumbing designers, but very few guys who can seal stuff and do the more complicated things like medical gas design, because everyone who can get a PE is more interested in HVAC. Good luck if you decide to pursue a career change. I've found the A/E world to be much more challenging and fulfilling than manufacturing.

1/8/2008 2:06:04 AM

I'm much happier in a consulting type field than manufacturing, and this is the path I want to be on for my career

The hardest part for me was, like I said, just learning a new industry completely. I had taken the FE in school, so I didn't have to worry about that when switching. I took a slight paycut to come here, but have been guaranteed that once I get my PE (in my 2nd of 4 years right now until I can attempt) I will see a significant bump

I don't know about other engineers though, because I am one of two MEs here at this firm. It's an architecture firm with their own engineering department.

We do have a third guy that does the plumbing, but like ^ said, he is considered a designer because he does not have his EIT.

1/8/2008 7:52:42 AM