Lauren
What do fresh out of college Engineer majors do?
Engineering is one major I'm considering but I don't know what I want to know.
I'm afraid I have a different idea of what actually happens after schooling.
I can see what classes those in that major take and what companies they may work for, but how different is the class work to an actual job?
And what types of projects are being assigned them?
#engineering #jobs
3 answers
Simon Robson
Simon’s Answer
When you start in engineering you will probably be paired up with s mentor or be part of a team. Engineers are problem solved do you will probably be asked to solve a problem and then explain you solution to a senior engineer of the rest of the team. Understanding technologies and installations is also important so you will probably spend a lot of time. With vendors and contractors. As a young engineer you should always have your work check by another engineer.
Scott Rompf
Scott’s Answer
This really depends on the type of Engineering degree you are looking at. There are four main categories Mechanical, Chemical, Civil and Electrical. Each one has many subcategories. I am not an expert in most of them but I could see Mechanical, Civil and Chemical engineers doing similar tasks as one would during their education. I am a Senior Engineer in the IT field and every day seems to be different. Entry level IT engineers generally work in a help desk environment until your skills get homed into a specific platform or product line. The great thing about Engineering is that technology changes so fast, your daily work will change with it.
Nicole Baillie
Nicole’s Answer
Thanks so much for your question. Many reputable companies, that are of mid to large size, will make attempts to expose newly graduated engineers to different aspects of their business or to different projects. As mentioned above, the actual day-to-day activities for that new graduate will vary. The activities can range from writing/reading documentation (which is a great way to learn about your work environment) to gathering business requirements that will be used to jump start a new/existing project.
In terms of the project types, that too may vary based on what that graduate's degree or specialized experience is. If a project is brand new, the graduate may have the opportunity where they want to participate. Or the graduate may get a trial period on a team to learn about the project and where they are expected to contribute. If the project is one that has been in play for a while, the graduate may get exposed to different teams that participate in the project...and by that exposure, will get a chance to engage or manage a set of tasks that have already been established but maybe need extra support. The projects may be broad such as launching a new product or more specific such as building or enhancing a process to make a certain part of a project execute more efficiently (faster or less cost).
Hope you find this answer helpful and best of luck!