Advice from engineers

nandoslover

Hi,

So I am interested in studying engineering at college and hope to start in September. I've done research into courses and I like the idea of either biomedical or electrical engineering, but I have one year to decide. I have a few questions I was hoping some current engineers could help me with!

1. Any advice on how to maximise my potential in college and things you wish you would have done in college/ what would you tell your first year self?

2. I really like the sound of engineering and how it's to do with innovation/ creativity/ discovery etc. Is this me being very ideal or is engineering not always like this?

3. Money isn't really a huge motivator for me as I want to enjoy what I do but is the money good? Any tips on how to end up with a well paying job in engineering?

Thank you so much! Any information will be appreciated

CatFromHue

1. GO TO ALL YOUR CLASSES, seriously this is a big thing that will help you

2. Engineering is so vast that this is hard to answer. There are some engineering roles which have none of what you mention and then others where you'd think also have none of that aspect but in reality do have some. Innovation and creativity are more common place than discovery. As I said this is a very diffcult one to answer.

3. From my experience Medical Device companies do pay well.

enda1

The most important advice I can give is not to take university too seriously, but neither to take it too lightly. Have fun, meet new people, try new sports and activities, and do a bit of study when it's called for. In summary; work hard, play hard.

mikhail

Work steadily. Lots of people cram. You can certainly pass that way, but very few can excel. Your courses will be much more interesting if you're on top of things.

CatFromhue said it all on the creativity front.

On the jobs front, just be aware of your goals from an early stage. Pursue internships, learn about the companies in Ireland (or elsewhere) who might be future employers. Most grads go out there with very little idea of what is possible, much less how to get it.

nandoslover

Thank you all for your help.

I have one more question, how easy is it to switch into different engineering fields after graduation? For example, I'm planning to do electrical engineering but also have an interest in biomedical. Would biomedical companies consider me after seeing that I have an electrical engineering degree?

CatFromHue

In UL, and I'd imagine most places, biomedical is grouped with mechanical and aeronautical with the first year of each course being very similar. As you go through the years though each course starts to specilize more and more.

Electrical engineering is a pretty different degree though and wouldn't have much in common with the above ones.

For medical device and R&D roles companies would be looking at biomed/mech/aero grads, roughly speaking.

I'm not 100% sure here as I'm not one but automation could be one area that you might see electrical eng getting jobs in biomed/medical device companies. Others on here might be able to help on this one.

What you could do is look on irishjobs.ie or recruitireland.com and see what type of jobs are out there now and what the requirements are for them too.

KeithTS

In my experience during college, study as you go along. Write up notes every other evening and so and actually take the time to understand what's going on and why, fill in the gaps that the lecturer skipped over.

It sounds like a lot of work but if you start strong you'll enjoy the subjects so much more and you won't be near as stressed meaning you can study less coming to the end of term when others a freaking out and feeling bad.

When people talk about innovation etc. it's naturally around big projects and really extreme things, the fact is (in my role at least) there is a lot of innovation and experimentation but on a small scale like finding a new way to do a simple task in order to save resources or by making subtle changes to a product to give the end user a much better experience. These are mostly things that 99% of people will never see or appreciate but it's rewarding none the less.

I'm in Electronics and the money isn't amazing but I earn a decent wage and am in no position to complain as I earn a lot more doing a job I enjoy than others get paid doing a job they hate. Engineering can be a very rewarding career financially and otherwise.

Turbulent Bill

nandoslover wrote: »

I have one more question, how easy is it to switch into different engineering fields after graduation? For example, I'm planning to do electrical engineering but also have an interest in biomedical. Would biomedical companies consider me after seeing that I have an electrical engineering degree?

I'd always advise starting a general Engineering degree and then specialising after a year or two. Gives you good exposure to different fields, and you might be surprised which one you prefer.

On the same lines, there are plenty of biomedical postgrad courses if you need to specialise further after the primary degree. Med device companies hire from all degree backgrounds, but primarily mech and elec.