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Which type of Engineering would you recommend?

  • 17-12-2008 11:13PM
    #1
    seadog9
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 81 ✭✭


    I'm currently studying engineering in UCD, but next year I'll have a choice to make, I will either delve into Biosystems, Mechanical, Electrical and Electronic, Chemical or Civil Engineering, so I suppose here is a good place to go, which of these courses would you recommend? I personally am interested in 2 of them but I want to get views on all of them anyway, just in case.....


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Comments

  • #2
    kevin216
    Closed Accounts Posts: 97 ✭✭kevin216


    In 4 years time Electronic Engineers will be like gold dust. Everything is becoming more suited to the work of Electronic Engineers

    Do YOU want to create:
    ..the next generation iPOD
    ..the next generation medical device to help disabled people have a better quality of life
    ..an innovative, renewable energy system to reduce our carbon foot-print
    ..automotive electronics to help drivers see pedestrians at night-time?


  • #3
    von Neumann
    Closed Accounts Posts: 272 ✭✭von Neumann


    Which do you think would fit best with the rest of your life.

    Just for example, if your like me and want to live in dublin, this will have a big impact.
    Not many manufacturing engineers or bio engineers required around here :(.

    Most of the chems / pharmas are in the south.

    These are just examples but you should have a good think about stuff like this before deciding on the discipline.

    Most eng jobs would be quite similar in practise you'd just be using different knowledge.

    Just one last thing, do you have any contacts/family in engineering. These can be invaluable for getting work exprience and a foot in the door.


  • #4
    Kryx
    Closed Accounts Posts: 46 ✭Kryx


    Mechanical... well its what I'm doing and enjoy it. Keep in mind only abou 80% of Eng. grads go and work in the field of engineering!


  • #5
    Nukem
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,082 ✭✭✭Nukem


    Mechanical Eng - good variance in capabilities and opportunities.

    Aslo Mechatronics seems o be one of the biggest courses at the moment.


  • #6
    jmck87
    Closed Accounts Posts: 196 ✭✭jmck87


    As previously mention, Electronic engineering seems to set you up for a wide variety.

    I did Manufacturing, which again would have potentially (not at moment) plenty of job oppurtunities.

    In saying that, Ive met many many engineers who arent working on what field they originally studied, college really just sets you up with an engineering mind set.

    I guarantee you that whichever you choose, you will be able to pick up from scratch most engineering jobs out there. Obviously there may be exceptions like bio-medical stuff.

    Id be biased and recommend manufacturing, as its more geared towards doing thingns cost effectively and logically.....thats not to say other fields dont.

    Im aware you dont have the option of manufacturing in UCD, but if anyone else decides on it....try and focus on nailing down the lean manufacturing philosophy....very simple ideas that make money.


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  • #7
    Darren1o1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 744 ✭✭✭Darren1o1


    jmck87 wrote: »
    Obviously there may be exceptions like bio-medical stuff.

    Not true allot of mech people get cross trained. As is said before mechanical is the most general and therefore you can go into more fields. I would go with whatever interested you the most. You are more likely to succeed if you enjoy what you are doing.


  • #8
    seadog9
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 81 ✭✭seadog9


    Kryx wrote: »
    Mechanical... well its what I'm doing and enjoy it. Keep in mind only abou 80% of Eng. grads go and work in the field of engineering!

    Really?

    What other fields could a graduate move into?


  • #9
    Jonathan
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 8,299 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jonathan


    seadog9 wrote: »
    Really?

    What other fields could a graduate move into?
    Teaching, accounting, banking, management...


  • #10
    enmac
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 98 ✭✭enmac


    Electrical and Electronic
    covers a very broad range of disciplines and so allows you some further time to decide if you're not entirely sure

    you could go into communications, control systems, technical sales or pure electrical engineering


  • #11
    modmuffin
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 407 ✭✭modmuffin


    Environmental Engineering is an excellent field to be in.
    So Biosystems engineering is probably more suited. you would probably need to do a masters/phd after your primary degree however there is a decent level of funding available (well there was last year!)
    There is also the option of erasmus in the states.


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  • #12
    ARGINITE
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,719 ✭✭✭ARGINITE


    Electrical and Electronic


  • #13
    Kryx
    Closed Accounts Posts: 46 ✭Kryx


    seadog9 wrote: »
    Really?

    What other fields could a graduate move into?

    Many of my former classmates have gone into administrating, accounting, managing but most have gone abroad now.
    Also of the CEO's from Forbes 500 list the a huge number of them had an engineering degree! Forget what the percentage is exactly about 25 i think


  • #14
    DublinDilbert
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,425 ✭✭✭DublinDilbert


    well firstly it depends on your personal preference...

    but in a few years time electronic / electrical engineers will be in very short supply, based on the numbers graduating...

    most electronic engineers never pick up a soldering iron after they leave college, as there's so many different disciplines ( control systems, vision systems, communications, software ect.. )


  • #15
    Turbulent Bill
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,639 ✭✭✭Turbulent Bill


    I'd go with whatever branch of engineering you enjoy most. You're much more likely to succeed in something you find interesting, especially as you'll be tied into studying it for a few years.

    In terms of employment, it's almost impossible to predict what the market will want/need when you graduate. A key point is not to define yourself only as a mechanical/electronic/civil engineer - you need a wide breadth of knowledge to get the best jobs.


  • #16
    miss no stars
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,957 ✭✭✭miss no stars


    Turbulent Bill wrote: »
    I'd go with whatever branch of engineering you enjoy most. You're much more likely to succeed in something you find interesting, especially as you'll be tied into studying it for a few years.

    In terms of employment, it's almost impossible to predict what the market will want/need when you graduate. A key point is not to define yourself only as a mechanical/electronic/civil engineer - you need a wide breadth of knowledge to get the best jobs.


    I'd agree with this 100%. I started manufacturing in 2006 and hated it. The course didn't suit me and I didn't excel. So I went back and started again in structural engineering and I thrive on it and hope to do really really well.

    It might seem a bit daft with the state the economy is in to be going into structural, but in my case it would be equally daft to have stayed in manufacturing. If you don't thrive on something and aren't really interested in something, it'll be a lot harder to do well in it. No matter what field you want to go into initially, you'll always be better off with a first class honours degree rather than a bare pass.

    Go with where your heart is. Do you want to design the latest technology? Do you want to create the latest surgical instrument? Or would you prefer to make buildings stand up and design infrastructure?

    You might find this page useful:
    http://www.steps.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68&Itemid=83


  • #17
    fishdog
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,113 ✭✭✭fishdog


    Go with where your heart is
    Although this is important, for many it is much more important to get a job.

    Unfortunately even if you really enjoy and excel in a certain area it may be of little use to you if you cannot find employment in that area.

    I think this thread illustrates this problem:

    http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055423343


  • #18
    Turbulent Bill
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,639 ✭✭✭Turbulent Bill


    fishdog wrote: »
    Although this is important, for many it is much more important to get a job.

    Unfortunately even if you really enjoy and excel in a certain area it may be of little use to you if you cannot find employment in that area.

    The problem here is that the OP won't graduate for a few years, and it's impossible to know what the market needs will be then. For example, I'm sure lots of people chose a civil degree in '04 with the building boom in full swing, only to find it very difficult to get a decent job this summer on graduation. When I started my degree in '98 we were told of endless jobs when we finished, but lots of my classmates had problems finding good work in '02. Things were rosy when I finished my postgrad, now it's a bit dodgy. Such is life.

    Unless you choose an ultra-specialised field there's always room for movement and cross-training. This is exactly why it's important not to pidgeon-hole yourself just as a particular type of engineer - transferrable skills are the way to go. For example, I use lots of my manufacturing training to inform my mechanical design of a product which is very different from anything I'd encountered before.


  • #19
    Sea Sharp
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,593 ✭✭✭Sea Sharp


    Electronic is the way to go. (future proof)


  • #20
    fishdog
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,113 ✭✭✭fishdog


    Turbulent Bill
    The problem here is that the OP won't graduate for a few years, and it's impossible to know what the market needs will be then

    Sure but it is possible to make an educated guess. I would think that by the time the OP graduates:

    1) There will still be an energy crises.
    2) The Irish construction industry will not be doing so great.

    Of course I may be wrong, but chances are Im not. If you believe the above assumptions it should be easier to select a suitable type of engineering if getting a job is the OP's aim.
    Unless you choose an ultra-specialised field there's always room for movement and cross-training. This is exactly why it's important not to pidgeon-hole yourself just as a particular type of engineer - transferrable skills are the way to go.

    I agree 100%


  • #21
    miss no stars
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,957 ✭✭✭miss no stars


    Fishdog, I'm not disputing the fact that some areas are harder to find work in than others but it all does in cycles anyway.

    Besides, no point failing a degree you're not really interested in, is there?


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  • #22
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    GaNjaHaN wrote: »
    Electronic is the way to go. (future proof)

    Why do people think that Elec Eng is failproof? Where will the opportunities be?
    In Ireland? Abroad?

    If you look at Ireland, big employers are hardly secure...Intel, Dell, Seagate, HP, CEL in Tuam, i'm sure there's more...


  • #23
    fishdog
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,113 ✭✭✭fishdog


    Fishdog, I'm not disputing the fact that some areas are harder to find work in than others
    I know you’re not. I acknowledged that your point about "going where your heart is" is important.
    no point failing a degree you're not really interested in, is there?

    I would think that there is little point in having a degree in an area you can not get a job in no matter how much you enjoy it or how good you are at it. There is an argument that you can use the degree to cross train and get into another area, but that is about it.


    I would recommend selecting an engineering course on the basis of what your chances of getting a job in that area will be. Although none of us know for sure what will happen in the future we have a good indication that particular areas will continue to suffer badly for a long time to come.


  • #24
    Turbulent Bill
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,639 ✭✭✭Turbulent Bill


    fishdog wrote: »
    Sure but it is possible to make an educated guess. I would think that by the time the OP graduates:

    1) There will still be an energy crises.
    2) The Irish construction industry will not be doing so great.

    Of course I may be wrong, but chances are Im not. If you believe the above assumptions it should be easier to select a suitable type of engineering if getting a job is the OP's aim.

    I take your point that some future issues are probable (like the two you mentioned), but it doesn't necesarily mean that everyone should run to renewables and keep away totally from construction - it just takes a bit of ingenuity. Traditional constuction jobs may have gone, but there are always niches.

    For example, I'd imagine in the next few years as energy prices rise that people will be even more aware of the home/business energy usage. Reducing building energy use requires knowledge of the building fabric (civil/construction), heating/ventilation systems (building services), new alternative energy sources etc. - constuction and energy knowledge rolled into one. This is the logical next step beyond BER ratings, where you solve energy problems rather than just analysing them, and it could be a very lucrative field.

    Just my 2c.


  • #25
    fishdog
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,113 ✭✭✭fishdog


    but it doesn't necesarily mean that everyone should run to renewables and keep away totally from construction
    True, I just gave the two examples that jumped out to me because of my situation. I am now in the final year of an electrical engineering degree having worked construction sector as an electrician for many years. I choose my course based on my idea of where I would be able to find work (as well as being interested in this area)
    new alternative energy sources etc.
    For example I think this would be a great area to get involved in.

    My view is that graduate engineers will emgrate in increasing numbers in the next few years because Ireland will have no jobs to offer them at all and/or pay and conditions will be very much better abroad.


  • #26
    Darren1o1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 744 ✭✭✭Darren1o1


    fishdog wrote: »
    My view is that graduate engineers will emgrate in increasing numbers in the next few years because Ireland will have no jobs to offer them at all and/or pay and conditions will be very much better abroad.

    I think it is already happening. Of my close group of friends in engineering in college I would say 25%+ are working abroad. This is from a 2007 graduating class. I am in the US, pals are in England, Canada, Oz and elsewhere. Good thing about whatever degree you do (Assuming EI accredited) they are recognized where you go.


  • #27
    seadog9
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 81 ✭✭seadog9


    Thanks for all the advice:cool:

    I'm edging closer to a decision now;)


  • #28
    Jonathan
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 8,299 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jonathan


    seadog9 wrote: »
    I'm edging closer to a decision now;)
    What you gonna choose? :P


  • #29
    fluffyduffy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18 ✭fluffyduffy


    Can anyone tell me what they think of alarm engineering??

    I was talking to an alarm engineer recently that told be it is interesting and challenging work.

    Is this a good area to get into?


  • #30
    Gileadi
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,127 ✭✭✭Gileadi


    Do you mean installing alarms? If so its stretching the engineer term imo


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  • #31
    Jonathan
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 8,299 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jonathan


    Gileadi wrote: »
    Do you mean installing alarms? If so its stretching the engineer term imo
    Agreed. Everyone seems to be an engineer of somesort these days..


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