Hard Decisions in College

My very dear friend, this is purely your decision but let me lay this out on the line for you...

The skilled tradesman is a list art. There aren't enough welders and lab technicians around anymore. But that doesn't mean you need to be the one doing it. If you are making straight As, you are the one who needs to stay doing what you are doing.

Being an engineer encompasses more than sitting in an office looking over drawings all day. Believe me. I am currently employed as a co-op at an engineering firm. We desin and manufacture subsea umbilicals and terminations for the oil industry. Only about 20% of my time is spent at a desk. Even less than that when I was working in the test lab we have here on site. I was out there hand-building test machines and hydraulic systems and turning wrenches and running tests. Of course, certain jobs will have more or less of the in-field-hands-on activity, but there's plenty of either depending on what you want.

With that being said, being a tradesman is a great thing and there is absolutely not a damn thing wrong with it. But I have never, ever spoken to a welder or technician out here that hasn't said "I wish I would have went to be an engineer like you. I love welding but I don't wanna work the next 40 years busting my ass in the heat every day all day. And I'd like a little more paper too." That is not made up. That's the truth. But their reasoning is that they wouldn't have passed the classes. So if you can make the grade...do the time. It sucks. I don't enjoy class AT ALL. I am not an A student. But I can make the Cs and Bs I need to get through. And then I have an endless supply of options for employment. Anyone will hire an engineer for ANY job because to graduate you must have problem solving skills. That's all you really need for anything.

Please, because I was in your shoes, do NOT quit your degree to get the "quick way to a job". You can finish your degree and go somewhere where you are also the hands on guy or work directly with the hands guys.

Or change to mechanical, you can do that AND go to a 12 week welding course, get certified, and do absolutely ANY DAMN THING you want.

The problem is, Kansas City is the fourth largest city for engineering. So i have a ton of options, but i have always been the one for hands on work. I have been to about 6 engineering firms including Burns and Mac, Black and Veatch, and tons more. Everyone had suits on, everyone was sitting with massive amounts of work. None were above 40. Thats not what i like. Yes i love doing the math but i love doing manual labor. I worked all summer out in a hot sweaty diesel hostler, had no problem with it. I thought about being an iron worker too.

Any "firm" with someone's name is going to be that uppity two-shoes bullshit. You gotta find a company that does REAL engineering. If you haven't, tell your advisor your concerns. They will be able to tell you who to visit in the area for that.

I've heard all three times that you have said that. I don't like it either. But not all places are like that. As a matter of fact, barely any at all are. You don't have to believe me but I am telling you...there are more than enough places you can work that will let you get out and get hands on and dirty.

The navy. The Army Corp of Engineers. Your local water and sewer utilities. Basically anything in the oil industry.

Your options are a bit more limited than those of a mechanical as far as being hands on. But if you find somewhere that does testing like an R&D place...you're set.

Nah man it's good. Haha. Just letting you know. :p

And yes I'm pretty sure that's mostly what they hire.

Public works, transportation, and construction will hire mostly civils. Now, keep in mind that it might be worth while switching to mechanical if you want to be really hands on. But the opportunity is there to be hands on in civil. But you will need to find a field civil job like surveying or such to suit your needs. Again, tell your advisor how you feel. They can be more help than I can.

I work for Norfolk Southern Railroad right now, does that count as a trade? I really like the trades honestly