I am in the process of going back to school to finish off my engineering degree and was wondering if any hotrod shops on here employee any automotive engineers? It is something I would really like to explore because if I could get a job depending on the need, I rather work in a shop and not a damn factory. Just wanted to know, any input will help. Thanks alot guys!
I hope not. Engineers, my dad is one. (P Eng Electrical with a MBA as well. ) Engineers always know why something cant be done but rarely if ever do anything. It seems for some reason to severly handicap creativity. Thomas Edison once said "Inventions are made by people too stupid to know it wont work." That is exactly what he meant. If you are a hands on shop guy why would you become an engineer? I dont understand. I lived with the diploma vrs degree thing my whole life. We need both for sure. They have their place but???????? If you heart is in sin the shop why an engineering degree. Why not a tech. Don
I don't see why an engineer is a bad thing to have in a shop? Whether you are a good tech or not, there is always ways to make things better and safer. Having the knowledge in engineering and being a hands on tech has helped me tremendously. Don't get me wrong, Im not trying to argue, but I have a degree in automotive, and machining, and I love shop work, but here in Iowa, its hard to start your own place. Thats it the main reason im moving back down to DFW to try and find work or get something running. Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it.
I'm a die hard shop guy. My bedroom has become a shop. I'm a die hard shop guy that's going to school for Mechanical Engineering. I got sick of working on things that didn't make any sense. Hardly anything is designed with the end user in mind these days, and it is my intention to make some kind of difference in that. I've watched as extremely knowledgeable techs either become obsolete, are cut due to employers not wanting to pay high wages for a "simple job", or just plain got sick of their hobby because that is what they did day in and day out. Not to mention the health related consequences of being a career tech. A man with hands and a brain is better off in these trying times than a man with hands alone.
I agree 100% with soviet. Best of both worlds and you CAN make a difference. Plus you sometimes find out why crap is the way it is. I have an aerospace eng degree and yet many of my skills were born in a greasy auto shop at the hands of an oldtimer. Gives one a tempered outlook.
Soviet, I know exactly what you mean when you start working with something and think "why and the hell would someone make something like this?" lol Thats what I wanna change.
Mechanical Engineer since '89. Hot Rod builder since '82 Always a little crazy. I will PM you with some information
Ditto that. I have worked in shops as a mechanic/fabricator. I think that after I get my degree in M.E. it will help out with designing things better on my own projects.
Admirable that you guys want to make a difference. Engineers are dipshits when it comes to the real world. And yes, I have pals that are engineers. Just dont take the "Removing your common sense 101" class.
I love engineers ! Really Actually if you want a true life picture of engineers all you gotta do is read Dilbert
Having worked in Structural Engineering for a couple decades, I have designed a couple structural elements that couldn't be fabricated. I was 26 and got called out on the refinery 100ft cracking tower deck one afternoon to explain to the erector how I "planned" to keep the 3 sections of catwalk in the air while it was bolted together. Apparently the crane wasn't at "my" disposal. Then again, I've seen my share of contractors who couldn't read a set of drawings much less follow directions. Its tough to bolt down the column baseplates when they didn't put the anchors in before the pour.
I have a BSME but I have never let it affect my work. I have never worked for a big company as an engineer. It has been very handy for figuring out how to do something without having it break. In my days after graduation I worked with engineers but not as one. In that time I decided I did not want any part of being an ego type that supposedly knew how to design things but didn't have a clue how to make it work. I would recommend being an engineer but, WORK FOR YOURSELF. That way you won't end up at a desk with a drafting machine or computer.
Works both ways. Had a week long argument with an engineer that there was a flaw that wouldn't line up. The final "end" of the argument was him saying "I went to college for X number of years, just lay it out as drawn". The flaw was "discovered" about 3/4 into the build, home had to be torn down to the stemwall. Huh, I guess technically THAT was the end of the argument. A degree doesn't make someone smart. It means they went to school.
This is very well said! Have you ever looked at the hands of most Engineers? They are soft and uncalloused like a Nurse or Lawyers' hands. They work with pencil & paper and computer mouses and keyboards while I had to turn it into reality in the Machine Shop. Now I'm not stereotyping all of them because I'm sure there are some very good ones out there with a sense of reality that most just seem to have forgotten with all that knowledge crammed into their heads in such a short period of time at a 4-year University. I've heard some pretty stupid and far-fetched ideas come out of their mouths in my time where I've had to ask them if they were serious. I consider myself a pretty competent and well-trained Machinist but I do know my limits. I have no Engineering Degree and can't do everything myself, but I'd love to have an Eng. Degree now in addition to my actual Machinist background! That's a pretty short list of guys that can do both. Yeah I know many THINK they can but usually you're either one or the other. But I'll tell 'ya.......when you have a well-trained Engineer that's actually grounded in reality and a well-trained Machinist/Fabricator with years of hands-on.........great things tend to happen shortly thereafter!
Not to start an argument, but hot rods are pretty simple and straight forward. I don't think it takes much to look at a frame with two springs, some wishbones and axles to figure out the simple engineering behind it. In fact some the of the ugliest hot rods are ugly because they are over engineered. These cars are meant to be simple and that what makes them so cool. I think you'd be better off spending your time building a few cars and learning about proportions, the different parts and eras. Style is what makes a hot rod cool. Engineering a traditional hot rod is pretty simple, making it look good seems to be the hard part.
i witnessed a czechoslovakian engineer try to cold form 2 pieces of steel together for near 6 months until he retired..
All engineers and architects should be required to be on the construction site, fabrication floor, assembly line working with the guys in the field before they can "graduate". But that would insult academia! Ever notice that the vast majority of college profs have never WORKED in the field!
Don't listen to the ignorant, get your education, but keep working on stuff. Getting an engineering degree won't remove your common sense. Sad fact is that very few people have any to begin with.
Hmm lets see... getting an education was the best decision I have ever made. I went to school for Marine Engineering but now work in the feild as a Mechanical Engineer. It sure has paid off for me.. 22 years old and just bought a 7000 square foot shop....
I did it backwards, worked on cars fro 10 years professionally, built stock cars for 4 years, mixed in 10 years in machine shops while going back to school at night to get an AAS in Mechanical Engineering and a BS in Manufacturing Engineering. I agree with people who get their degrees with no practical experience behind them are at a disadvantage. I see design flaws in things at work and point them out to the designers at drawing reviews. I do a lot of tool design so I get to do reverse engineering almost every day. For me, I was immediately using what I learned as I was working, so it was probably the best thing I ever did. Bob
I am a mechanical engineer. I built hot rods when I was still in high school. Long before I was an engineer. Good Engineers don't see anything as a problem that cannot be solved. Notice I said "Good Engineers". As in life, there is good and bad in all people. Even engineers. Joe
I did said we need both I like engineers for strength of materiels inf etc etc. In my dadsdaythey were far more hands on than now. Hee in thegreat white north we have engineering techno;ogy whch is the best of both worlds. However f you are becomng and engineer for the money then you are doing it for the wrong reason. I havewatched the world go nuts with post secondary education. The vast magority couldnt find a job in their field of they had too. Also they have no passion for it. I come at it from a fdiffernt angle. If I want to learn something i self teach myself. Knwledge is power but mostUnis are turning out technical eunichs. If you want to become an engineer and be a practical engineers to change the world. HOWEVER, Follow your heart. That is the best advice you will ever get. if you have a passion fr what you are doing youwill be successful sooner or later Don
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