Engineering

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I am a Mechanical Engineer in the aerospace industry. My first job started with three weeks vacation. After 5 years I picked up a pension (not too many of those around anymore). I’m salaried and I’m paid for overtime. It’s common practice in the aero industry. I’ve traveled the world, watched my creations fly, worked major programs and worked those that flew but never left the research world. My first company gave the inventors who received patents a share of the royalties. I believe the share was very modest, after all you were paid to develop it (personally I never applied for one). I’ve been able to climb the ranks and even pass many with decades seniority. It basically comes down to how much effort you put in, how patient you can be, how quickly you learn, what opportunities you seize and whether you deliver.

Do I find time to dive, absolutely. One of the engineers I know who works in L.A. goes surfing every morning before coming to work. Work sent me to Seattle for a year and I lived several blocks from the ocean. I could be at the local dive site in 5 minutes. Living close to a dive site is going to be a requirement if you want to dive as much as you say. Personally I think the weekends work better but it’s your time.

Can I tweak or fix scuba gear? Sure, I have the skills should I decide to. Typically it takes more effort to design, create or modify gear than just having it done but I do have a couple potential projects that I think are worth it. The problem is that we tend to dream up more ideas than we have time to work on. Most of the things I come up with take millions to develop so I don’t tinker with them in the garage.

Every engineer is going to have a different story. Think of your degree as a passport to learn a trade. Even within the ranks of one industry there are many paths. I started on a path I hated for the first two years and then changed to one that I enjoy. I work with plenty of engineers who would hate my job and vice versa. An engineering degree is a ticket to ride any train in the station. You just have to pick one that is available and worth riding. Don’t be surprised if you start out on the wrong one.
 
I am a Civil Engineer with a local govt agency. I live in Monterey so life is pretty expensive here but on the other hand, diving is a step away. I make a good living but again, high cost of living takes its toll. Working for the govt gives me the chance to have a little flexibility and I work a 40 hour week. I travel to Brazil to see family once a year and I dive a lot there. Have gone to HI a couple of times. Can't believe I graduated 11 years ago, gasp!!!!!!!!
 
here is some advice:
go into the power industry, I just started at a nuclear power station as a mechanical engineer. Everyone in this industry is old and ready to retire, which means that 50 to 60% of the workforce will have to be replaced in the next ten years. translation: good opportunity. Everyone likes to flip a switch and have the lights turn on, no matter who they are. Energy is here to stay. As a diver, things will be getting better in a few years when companies have to compete harder to get and retain engineers. There are not enough coming out of school to meet the current demand and the demand is growing each year. So in 10 years engineers will be highly prized employees and they will be more generous about work hours, and if they do require overtime it will be compensated. Some of the old engineers I work with don't share this view, but my research showed me that soon engineers will be in high demand. Basic economics says that prices are driven by supply and demand.
 
I can give ya this as a current engineering Student. I'm finishing up my junior year at Ohio State in the EE dept. and I'll say this. There is a SCUBA club here and most the kids in it do have technical majors. It gives us all a good release because during your academic days I have to stress the studies but also stress finding a way to unwind when the classes are crazy. Find the dive club on campus and see what you can get into. At Ohio State we get the swimming pools once a week just to do confined water dives and work on boyeancy and stuff. You should definatly have enough time to be involved with something like that. During the spring/summer/fall we get trips around the state on weekends too.
 

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