Just remembered a friend of mine had an interesting engineering job. He worked at Gale Banks and reversed engineered all the products Banks produced. He also worked on improving them from an engineer's eye. That is to say: Banks has parts built for specific applications and many times those were built by regular guys in the shop. Then before they would go into production and before those item were patented my friend would go over the item and improve it if possible for manufactuer and/ or reliability, cost, etc..
it's not that we hate engineers it's all the worthless mental over-engineered masturbation that goes on that seems like a waste of time,i always subscribe to the KISS theory (Keep It Simple Stupid!)if it seems like theres too much theory behind something there usually is...like using a 5-axis machine to do a 3-axis machine job just to prove something!
A couple of times I have seen threads here on the HAMB about some guy asking what people think about some new really weird looking suspension design. When you point out to him that it is structurally unsound, will lock solid when it tries to move, will certainly break, and is probably quite dangerous, he gets really pissed. Then he says I think it will look really cool, so I am going to do it this way regardless of what you moron engineers think. I sometimes wonder if that guy is still alive.
I think the main thing I learned in engineering school that I use in my job is how to approach solving a problem. I studied a lot fo math based stuff that I never use in my manufacturing job. I use more what I learned working on things with my dad and taking things apart.
In all honesty, I think that you should get an engineering degree, you can never have too much knowledge. But I don't that you should take a job in a shop making a quarter of what you could be making else where with your degree. Either way, threads like this are fun and you probably didn't learn a thing from it.
Next time you are going up past the 35th floor in an elevator, be thankful that an engineer designed both the floor, and the supporting cable. While Homer Simpson may be a self taught mechanical genius, I would feel a little uneasy about knowing Homer both designed the elevator, and welded it all up himself.
An engineer in a hot rod shop needs to be the owner! Just think, you can make a better living selling in-shop designed and manufactured intakes (that work correctly), cylinder heads, etc. You'll know that your brackets and other structures will work and not fail. You'll be able to calculate what will make you a profit and what won't. You can do other types of work on the side that will make the shop more profitable (race cars, aircraft, etc.). Can't be a bad thing, I mean, how?
One thing that's helpful, is having an engineer do a scale drawing of the part or frame your going to build. This helps you from building yourself into a corner. It's easier to build it on paper first. Us fabricators have tendency to start the build and solve the problems as we go along based on past builds or examples we've seen. It's very helpful when designing suspension systems. You'll see all the bugs first on paper. I paid an automotive engineer to design a independent front suspension for me with full scale drawings. All I had to do was build the parts to his specs and layout the suspension points according to the drawing. It went together flawlessly and preformed as designed perfectly. There is definitely a need for a resident "ENGINEER' in an auto fab shop. especially if there's a product failure and the lawyers get involved. The courts have a tendency to listen to a qualified engineer for a judgement. Maybe you should farm yourself out on an as needed bases to variouss shops. You'll definitely get exprience and maybe find a shop that can use on a full time engineer. I would defintely persue a degreee in Engineering. Remember at the end of the day Facts and Numbers are the the reason why a product failed or performed as advertised!!!!
Seems abundantly clear that many of your negative feelings towards engineers *cough, Tman, cough* may come from a desire to hide from others your actual feelings of secretly wishing you were one.
Naw, I had my chance 20 years ago then saw the sausagefest called Engineering school . I think it is better now, SDSM&T has at least 10 girls out of 5000 students.
No, but I would recommend SDSM&T or SDSU in Brookings, both South Dakota schools to any young buck wanting to study engineering. Two very good schools. I have friends that graduated from both.
It's OK to admit you wish you were an engineer, you're amongst friends. You should know that the act of becoming an engineer doesn't cause the negative traits that you seem to see. It is just possible that the type of people that possess the negative traits that you see tend to gravitate towards the field of engineering. Think about it.
] Damn, thats almost profound! If it werent for lawyers, engineers and Norwegian jokes what would we do for humor? And yes, I am 1/2 Norwegian.
What is the difference between God and an engineer? God doesn't think he's an engineer That was for you T,lol.
The person defines the engineer. An engineer doesn't define the person. You only hurt the ones you love. I feel loved.
I'm a mechanical engineer. If I don't pay attention to every little detail, I'll be labelled as ignorant and apathetic. That's why we're anal. To answer the original question, I would say that the hands-on skills gained in a hot rod shop would give you an edge in the engineering field, so getting a degree may be a good option for you. However, I think you may have trouble finding a job in a hot rod shop after you have a degree, partly because of the public perception of engineers, and partly because the employer may feel you're overqualified and won't want to devote any time to training you if there's a risk that you'll leave for a better-paying job at the drop of a hat.
God may be an engineer, and maybe not a very good one. After all, on females he did put the playground right next to the sewage treatment facility!
If I owned a shop, I would want a builder over an engineer. Shop week starts on Monday and payday is Friday, who will bring in the money? Does your shop build complete builds requiring an engineer? I would say the average shop builds chassis' and frames to an already established procedure. What would the engineer be doing? Upholstery, assembly, engine, and paint don't require an engineer, Just my thoughts.
After all, on females he did put the playground right next to the sewage treatment facility![/QUOTE] umm...i ahh......hmmm....lets see..........nope, gonna have to get back to ya on this one.......
My brother is an engineer and before this whole economic downturn he worked at West Coast Choppers. He was there resident engineer. He worked along side the fab guys creating parts in cad to be laser cut. He would also model all frames and chassis parts and do FEA on them. A regular old fabricator can build something pretty stout. But to model a part in cad and then see what it will do in certain environments is valuable and will save a ton of money down the road. Lawsuits, warranty issues bla bla bla.
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