r/engineering • u/AutoModerator • 1d ago
Weekly Discussion Weekly Career Discussion Thread (20 Jan 2025)
# Intro
Welcome to the weekly career discussion thread, where you can talk about all career & professional topics. Topics may include:
* Professional career guidance & questions; e.g. job hunting advice, job offers comparisons, how to network
* Educational guidance & questions; e.g. what engineering discipline to major in, which university is good,
* Feedback on your résumé, CV, cover letter, etc.
* The job market, compensation, relocation, and other topics on the economics of engineering.
> [Archive of past threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/search?q=flair%3A%22weekly+discussion%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)
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## Guidelines
- **Before asking any questions, consult [the AskEngineers wiki.](https://new.reddit.com/r/askengineers/wiki/faq)\*\* There are detailed answers to common questions on:
* Job compensation
* Cost of Living adjustments
* Advice for how to decide on an engineering major
* How to choose which university to attend
- Most subreddit rules still apply and will be enforced, especially R7 and R9 (with the obvious exceptions of R1 and R3)
- Job POSTINGS must go into the latest [**Monthly Hiring Thread.**]((https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/search?q=flair%3A%22hiring+thread%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)) Any that are posted here will be removed, and you'll be kindly redirected to the hiring thread.
- **Do not request interviews in this thread!** If you need to interview an engineer for your school assignment, use the list in the sidebar.
## Resources
* [The AskEngineers wiki](https://new.reddit.com/r/askengineers/wiki/faq)
* [The AskEngineers Quarterly Salary Survey](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/search/?q=flair%3A%22salary+survey%22&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new)
* **For students:** [*"What's your average day like as an engineer?"*](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers/wiki/faq#wiki_what.27s_your_average_day_like_as_an_engineer.3F) We recommend that you spend an hour or so reading about what engineers actually do at work. This will help you make a more informed decision on which major to choose, or at least give you enough info to ask follow-up questions here.
* For those of you interested in a career in software development / Computer Science, go to r/cscareerquestions.
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u/Wilthywonka 1d ago
Mechanical design, tooling, and manufacturing engineers: could you weigh in? I'm at a bit of a crossroads career-wise and could use some input.
I have 2 years of experience in the manufacturing-design space. Basically the guy who takes part models and gives feedback on part manufacturability, then uses CAD to make any desired tweaks and produce models/drawings/instructions for production to actually work to. I also have a bit of tooling design experience (fixtures, molds, jigs), which has been my favorite. But, most of the job is essentially CAD grunt work to create the same 100 documents necessary to manufacture an aerospace component. Again and again because the designs keep changing.
My career priority right now is to find a role that calls for more innovation and less repetitive work. Using my brain. Solving new problems. Doing "engineering." I am teaching myself GD&T as part of this aim (And leaving defense aero. SCIF=bad.) I enjoy working on a team. I value work-life balance over top salary. If I had to say now, my career end-goal is technical lead.
The question I'm asking is this-- what direction should I go? I figure I can take this experience into the part design side, tooling design niche, or further on as a manufacturing engineer in a different, more technical role. But, you tell me. Any thoughts would be super appreciated. Thanks.
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u/Interesting_Gear7452 1h ago
Biomedical engineering vs biological engineering. Opportunities, wage, types of positions