Would You Like to Do a Short Interview?

Post your questions then.

Given your previous question

"I have an interview I have to do for my career guidance class and I chose to open up my horizon in all fields of engineering. If you have a few minutes to spare please send me a message. Thanks"

What are you actually trying to accomplish? You cannot use our answers in your interview to decide your future you know, isn't the interview to gauge what you want to do and would be good at?

1) What was your undergraduate major?

2) What led you to this career?

3) What is a typical day/week for you?

4) Where can this career lead you?

5) what is the salary range for this type of work?

6) What skills are important to be successful in your job?

7) What do you most like about your job?

8) what do you least like about you job?

9) Does this job allow you to live the lifestyle you would like to live? Why or why not?

10) Does this job require specific undergraduate degree, advance degree, additional training, or certification? If so, what?

11) If you could do things differently regarding your career, what would you do?

1) What was your undergraduate major?

? Sorry I never undergraduated or over graduated. I graduated as Mining Engineer.

2) What led you to this career?

Geological interest

3) What is a typical day/week for you?

8 hours a day 5 days a week I need to show up at work. What I really do depends on whats going on. Working in the office means computer, mails, phone and lots of headwork when making up reports.

4) Where can this career lead you?

doing everything. I dont do what I learned and I can become manager if I want to.

5) what is the salary range for this type of work?

From the lowest grade to the highest depends on specialisation and negotiation skills

6) What skills are important to be successful in your job?

people skills, problem solving, general computer knowledge, if you dont have to worry about using a plotter you can focus on the drawing you need to design ...

7) What do you most like about your job?

working in a field that is unexplored and has all oppurtunities to make all the mistakes there is when starting up.

8) what do you least like about you job?

6 hours would do

9) Does this job allow you to live the lifestyle you would like to live? Why or why not?

you are responsible for your time. make what you want and you never have to ask if you lifestyle fits your work, but you fit work to your lifestyle

10) Does this job require specific undergraduate degree, advance degree, additional training, or certification? If so, what?

education can and will not end with an undergraduate. As the word implements it is the lowest of the higher education. get more do more higher education while you can. Training will never stop. Certification is necessary for specialist work. Get these things lined up with possible employers or line it up after you joined. Never stop to educate yourself.

11) If you could do things differently regarding your career, what would you do?

Dont want thinks to quick. enjoy what you are doing and take the oppurtunities when they present themselves. I never wanted a carrier I wanted a life. This is what I have but one could say I have a carrier. I know I want to live in 10 years as well - carrier will be the means to get there! If there was a choice I'd do the same thing again!

Do you know what you want?

Good luck with your start!

1. Mechanical Engineering

2. Oddly enough, I too thought that designing bicycles sounded like a fun job. When I was in ninth grade, reps from the U of Minnesota showed a video promoting their college of engineering, and part of the video showed people working at Trek and Raleigh Cycle companies. I enjoyed math and science and I loved bikes, so at that point I decided that I would become an engineer.

3. 9 to 11 hours per day. 5 days per week, but sometimes something happens that requires my attention on a weekend. I spend a lot of time discussing our processes and trying to make changes to improve them. I manage a lot of projects (big and small) through their entire life cycles. This means that I am involved with coming up with the idea (and this might include experimentation, designing equipment, designing layouts, working with potential vendors), getting bids on equipment, making a budget, justifying the expenditure/applying for funds, scheduling installations, managing installations, tracking spending, and starting up and trouble shooting new equipment or processes. I also provide engineering support for the day to day needs of the plant.

4. It depends where you want it to take you and what you like. I am a plant engineer and a manager at wood products manufacturing plant. I have engineering friends that have left engineering and went back to school to become doctors and lawyers. I know engineers that found a niche that they were good at so they struck out on their own to start a consulting firm to provide a particular service. I have a friend with whom I graduated and worked at the same company right out of school. His path led him to sales and marketing, and I stayed in engineering. I had a supervisor at that company that urged me to go back to school to be a pharmacist or something other than an engineer.

5. When I graduated, typical starting salaries were in the $45 to $50K per year range. I imagine that they are higher now (depending on the market/location in which you wish to live). As a plant engineer, depending on experience, salaries can range from $65 to $150K.

6. Communication, people skills, general computer skills - especially spreadsheets and CAD, math, observation skills, an understanding of your subject matter.

7. The challenge and seeing something in which you put a lot of time and effort become a successful reality.

8. Politics and dealing with union issues.

9. Yes and no. Yes because I truly like my job - it's varied enough that it's interesting and there is always a new challenge. No because sometimes it takes up too much of my time, and I have a life outside of work.

10. My current position required some type of engineering degree and experience. If you have a particular job in mind, I would try to get your undergrad first and get an entry level job and ask the employer what other advanced degrees/certifications they might like. Or ask some potential employers what would be required to get a position. In many cases, once you start working, your employer will help guide you to certifications or advanced degrees. I, myself, wouldn't recommend a lot of extra education right off the bat unless you find something that really interests you because you might specialize yourself too much to easily find a job and you may not see a good return on your schooling investment.

11. I might try to be more involved in some of the school engineering activities, like the solar car team. I might have taken a different job right out of school. Then again, maybe I should have become a doctor.

I'm not sure where you are in life/school, but if you are really interested in the bike thing, start calling companies now to ask about their engineering teams and how you can become part of one - see if they want an intern. I can tell from experience, these are not jobs that they just advertise on Monster or Indeed. I didn't start looking soon enough for my dream job working as a bike designer, so the opportunity passed me by. Be aggressive if this is something you want. Make a list of your favorite bikes or components and start talking to companies now.

And you have to be aggressive in school too. School doesn't necessarily prepare you well for the working world. Try to get on those small engineering teams that design a robot or a moon buggy or a solar car; that's where you get your experience. And once you get far enough in school, try to get an internship or a co-op position.

Good Luck,

Paul

5A) What is the difference in skill level for someone at the lower end of that range, and the upper?

Hey Jack, I have taken the results from several tests and combined them with my interests and skills to declare a career. At the moment, I am very convinced that I want to be in an Engineer. Yes, I know there are many fields in engineering and Just because I like one, it does not mean I will like them all. So, I'm trying to gather as much information as I can to help me make my decision. Thanks for asking and I hope I hear from you.

Well I'm in Electrical Engineering and about as far away from bicycle design and fabrication as you can get.

What you REALLY need is hands-on experience to see if you enjoy a particular field of Engineering. The best way to start is with hobbies, so go out, do a bit of research, design your own bike and try building it.

Sometimes the only way to know if you will like something is to actually try it. If this idea excites you and you are already thinking up ideas and concepts then this Engineering field may be right for you!

1) What was your undergraduate major?

mechanical engineering

2) What led you to this career?

I was going to be a tool maker, but was gifted academically and our teacher lined us up at the end of secondary school and nominated "mechanical engineer" for me!

3) What is a typical day/week for you?

I am retired now, In the beginning it was go to office, and do original design of a piece of military equipment against a design brief, but on another day, write a trial specification, or complete a drawing. In later years it was committee secretariat work on vehicle and other safety related regulation.

4) Where can this career lead you?

Anywhere with a technical edge up to the head of a company or public service department on the condition that you move away from purely technical stuff and into management of projects/systems at no too late a stage.

5) what is the salary range for this type of work?

I an out of touch but around $50k at the start and $120k at the end of your career, with double that if you get into some areas and or executive management

6) What skills are important to be successful in your job?

Depends on which bit of engineering - pure technical needs mainly maths, theory, the ability to read and write clearly, a good physical understanding of your subject, the ability to communicate and get on with people. At higher levels where management will be involved, then its seriously about communications, risk judgement, writing and people skills and contacts.

7) What do you most like about your job?

being very much on control of my day to day work load and decisions about the detail of the work. I was probably lucky in rarely having anyone second guess my work at a detail level.

8) what do you least like about you job?

I am having trouble recalling anything, but probably having to accept political decisions that went against my value set and or engineering judgement.

9) Does this job allow you to live the lifestyle you would like to live? Why or why not?

Yes it did, and I now am retired comfortably.

10) Does this job require specific undergraduate degree, advance degree, additional training, or certification? If so, what?

Qualifications are increasingly a requirement and including as a (continuously trained) certified engineer these days. I agree with the sentiment, but the reality can be a nonsense - which is pretty much what always happens when good ideas are implemented through a paper based process.

11) If you could do things differently regarding your career, what would you do?

Study other people's path to success, work harder at networking, spend more time on understanding and how to work with people and get the most out of them. Never underestimate the importance of appearance and the ability to articulate things and diction are in climbing the ladder beyond a certain point.

TrevorM, I thank you so much. With your help I was able to do this assignment and I would like to tell that you have had an impact in my decision for my future. I also think its great to have the perspective of someone who already retired because it means you have an general overall opinion of how your job was(accounting the good times, and the bad times), which is different from someone who is working because they can currently be in a rough patch or a having a great time and their views are going to be heavily affected by there present situation. Take care

To me, your questions seem to be more like a "Journalisim Course" class assignment more than some one trying to explore a future career!!

Don't worry, be honest (important) with yourself and others, and life will sort itself out.

Or, you can take a short, self assessment, test below: :-)

jt.

First question:

Q.1 You are a participant in a race. You overtake the second person.

What position are you in?

A.1 Answer :
If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong!
If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are in second place!

Try to do better next time.

But don't take as much time as you took for the first question, ok?

Second question:
Q.2 If you overtake the last person, then your position is ....?

A.2 answer: If you answered that you are second to last, then you are.....
wrong again.

Tell me, how can you overtake the last person?

You're not very good at this, are you?

Q.3 third question:
Very tricky arithmetic! Note: This must be done in your head only.
do not use paper and pencil, nor a calculator. Try it.

Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000 now add 30.
Add another 1000. Now add 20 .. Now add another 1000.
Now add 10. What is the total?

Did you get 5000?
A.3. The correct answer is actually 4100... if you don't believe it, check it with a calculator!

Today is definitely not your day, is it?
Maybe you'll get the last question right.... Maybe...

Q.4. Mary's father has five daughters:

1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini,4. Nono, and....?
2. What is the name of the fifth daughter?

A.4. Did you answer Nunu? No! of course it isn't.
Her name is Mary! Read the question again!
Okay, now the bonus round, i.e., a final chance to redeem yourself:

Q.5. a mute person goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush.
By imitating the action of brushing his teeth he successfully expresses
himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is made.

Next, a blind man comes into the shop who wants to buy a pair of sunglasses;
how does he indicate what he wants?

A.5. it's really very simple....
he opens his mouth and asks for it...
Does your employer actually pay you to think?
If so, do not let them see your answers for this test!

Sorry for replying so late, but I want to thank you for spending your time to answer my questions. I'm a week away from finishing my first year of college and I have a great sense of direction for my future. And I like to thank you for help and you have personally helped me make decisions in what my future will be like. Take care

It's ok. I only joke around. (well, some think so, the moderators not so happy about it)

Summation:

1. Be honest. With yourself and others.

2. Be true to yourself. Not try to be what you are not.

3. Work hard, play hard. (just do your best, no one can ask more)

4. Follow your heart. (the yellow brick road.)

5. Have a plan and stick to it until success. (unless proven in error.)

6. Have a joke or two on the way. (make the journey a pleasure.)

7. Don't take whatever too seriously. (no one gets out of this life alive)

8. Live life such that when you die, even the undertaker will cry.

9..... Do you really need any more (boring?)..... :-)

Hope this helps. jt.

I was recently asked, "Now that you are retired, do you still have a job?"

I replied, "Yes, I am my wife's sexual adviser."

Somewhat shocked, they said, "beg your pardon! But what do you mean by that?"

It's very simple.

The wife has told me that "when she wants my friggging advice, she'll ask me for it."

How do the bicycles you have built since you developed an interest in this field work? What lessons did you learn from that experience, what questions were generatred, and what education do you suppose would be required to answer such questions?

Racers who have heavy bikes call them "lead sleds". But only a few bikes are racers, and they are often quite fragile. Most, in fact, are not ridden....they carry loads along planks and down forest paths, as well as at construction sites around the world. Do you think you could make those work better, if so how? Of the ones that are ridden, many carry loads...the ice cream bike is an example. There is a huge demand for bicycle technology for such applications. What surveys have you done to determine what part of this very VERY big field has a shortage of design engineers?

The questions you request us to answer have NOTHING to do with design engineering. Well, maybe the compensation part...at least that is honest, but of course, you won't get an answer from this cagy bunch.