kennycoulter

im not in school right now.....i havent been for about 2 years. there was a mix up with student loans that werent fixed until i couldnt afford to even get to school anymore. i checked out the national guard so i could go back to school, but i kept failing the hearing test. the recruiter called me back to say they can change the rules and let me in, but this was after i started my new job. im still trying to go back to school(shouldve went back recently instead of getting a new car) but i would like to know which is the best way to go. are there any mechanical engineers out there? and how hard was it to get a job pertaining to your interests? how about anyone in the national guard? are they ALL being called out now? i was supposed to go into fiberglassing. how about anyone attend those schools like wyotech or uti or any hotrod related automotive schools? are they really any good? i know national guard is the best way to go, and have school paid for, but the lazy recruiter never calls back. but im torn between going back to art school for car design, going to a big *** time wasting large campus school for mechanical engineering, or going to wyotech for the streetrod building body work customizing stuff. you can see its all auto related. i dont claim i know a lot about cars, but its all i like. so any suggestions, comments, success stories, or horror stories welcome.

kevin Dubois

well i just graduated with my BSME and i still have no job. i have applying to automotive places such as johnson controls where i did my internship at. well they just shut down a plant firing 900 employees so i don't think they are doing any hiring. i have applied to a number of other places and the only thing i have gotten back was an e-mail from lockheed martin, and that was only because my professor knew the guy really well, and he just told me he was busy and would get back to me. until then i work at circuit city=)

Shutemup

Don't forget the air national guard, you might find something a little more in line with your intrest there.

OriginalSterm

took me several months after i graduated in may of 2002 before i found a job. i lucked out and it was in the automotive industry (delphi). unfortunately, i was grossly underpaid and had no choice but quit and hope for another job or deal with it. i dealt with it and things are starting to turn up a little. i still keep applying for new jobs, but don't get many bites.

look at doing contract work, it can be term or open ended like mine currently is. eithe way, it's work at what you like and a solid (better than circuit city) pay check.

wombat7

I would see if you can get into AFROTC or Army ROTC. I am an Air Force ROTC cadet and go to the top engineering school in the country. Not only do i get my school paid for, but i also get a monthly stipend. I know that the engineering job market is not the gretest right now, especially the mechanical engineering world, but when then market recovers...you will be making good money

kennycoulter

yeah i thought that the army national guard was the only one that paid 100% tuition. thats why i was looking into that.

Shutemup

Well active duty Air Force they pay 100% of your tuition :P

kevin Dubois

having a parent working at the school pays 100% tuition as well=)

unfortunately they don't pay my insurance, or car repairs, or....

Oddjob

Wombat, out of curiosity, what school is currently considered the top in the country? Purdue is in that neck of the woods, or are you going out of state; MIT, Stanford?

Kenny, I would recommend trying to finish school and get a 4 year degree, whether its in ME or something else.

Its possible, but unlikely that you will ever find a job doing body work or making street rods that will support the same level of living that an engineering degree/job will.

Also consider that there are a lucky few that find a job that is directly in line with their interests. Im in the majority that has a mostly uninteresting job that pays the bills, but I keep enough on the side to support my hobbies and interests. Meaning: I go to work, then come home and play with my car. I would love to be a test driver for Porsche but Im not waiting for the job offer, because its not going to happen.

With the National Guard/Reserve activations, Im going to guess there are about 25% of the total reserve components on active duty and/or deployed right now. Enlisting is a personal decision that definitely should be deeply considered before signing up: are you willing to deploy to a combat zone for a year to 18 months? If your answer is absolutely not, then dont sign up. If you think you could deal with that part of the job description, then the GI Bill is a very good deal. Some State National Guard programs have direct tuition reimbursement on top of the GI Bill. Also consider that if your hearing is that bad, you may be disqualified from certain job/postions/skills in the military.

Mike C.

I've got a BSME and have been pretty lucky over the past 20 years in that I've never been laid off. You can go in many directions with an ME degree - it's a very broad field. If you really want to get into auto-related stuff, probably better to go to one of the schools feeding engineers to the big 3. Job prospects aren't the best right now for Engineers but 4 years later, who knows? Computer science looked like a sure thing a while back but now a lot of computer work is outsourced overseas. You pays your money and takes your chances...

Shutemup

On the guard and reserve note.

That was also why I mentioned the Air National Guard. If you go with a fighter related job, the worst you should expect is 90 days somewhere like Qutar. The Cargo and tanker people have been staying pretty busy but for the most part it's people who for whatever reason want to be doing it full time.

So long as you stay with something directly involved with Aircraft (as opposed to security forces, pararescue, combat controllers, red horse, or anything CE related for that matter)

You won't be getting called up and sent to Iraq for 12-18 months.

If you go Army National Guard, that is definately a real possibility.
Those in all the trouble over the prision thing are guard or reserve one from Maryland.

badass951

I am wondering about UTI specifically. I am sick of Penn State.

ThE sPaCeCoWbOy

I'm a Electrical engineering grad....still looking for a job....

I'm in the Army national guard.....I get 100% paid tuition, GI Bill, i got a sign up bonus, etc....

I joined Army ROTC in my junior year and got under the SMP program which is both national guard and ROTC together....advantages, more money and when you get your degree, you get commissioned....I get my 2nd LT bars this friday....

I'm changing my branch to Aviation and going to fly....I was trying to switch over to Air Force cause I know air force are looking for engineering personal all the time....as for the army....they really don't have anything to offer that deal mainly with what your degree is....the engineers brach is mostly civil but its still far out...Air force would be a better bet if your looking for a job that suits your degree....

anyhow, my .02 cents...

space

Shutemup

The ops group commander (O-6) at my last base was a mechanical engineer. I think either prior enlisted (the ones I have known were A/C crew chiefs for 10+ years first) or engineers make the best maintenance officers by far.

azmi951

Check out Kettering University, I currently go there as an automotive mechanical engineering student and it is a coop school. I Coop with Nissan Tech Center at their proving grounds. I'm doing exactly the type of engineering that I want to be doing when I graduate.

PM me if you are interested.

Sean