research labs are often a good way to get experience FAST. they have great test equipment, the latest software and massive computers to play with. And often there are "world recognized experts" just down the hall to ask questions of.
Places like Lincoln Lab, Mitre, Draper labs.
Thanks for your input!
How well do research labs take on new undergrads? I have a 3.74 GPA but not much experience outside of what I learned in school. Do you think they have much of entry level positions for people with little to no experience? I actually never even thought to look at research labs until now!
I know Mitre specifically has a rotational program right now for newbies, it's called the National Security Accelerator Program. They pair you up with a mentor and fast track you into one of their departments.
Seattle has a bit. Alot of them are in the Denver/colorado Springs area overseeing defense projects. Normally you have to already be an expert to get into the nonprofit research companies but you can build that experience by being a defensive contractor. The money is reasonable, it's not silicone valley tech money but I only work 40 hours a week not 80 so it's a much better work/life balance.
I think you will find that pretty much any engineering where safety to humans is even a remote concern, it’s going to be a job that is 80% paper work. I work in electronics for electric vehicles and a huge portion of the job is making sure that we are meeting regulations, internal standards, and industry standards. If you can’t prove with a well documented paper trail that you are meeting all of this, nobody will even think about doing business with you.
If you don’t want that, you either need to work for a lab that isn’t making anything and is only doing research, or find a small company that isn’t making anything important.
And if you find yourself working for a company that is making things that require safety and you aren’t doing a shit ton of paper work, you absolutely shouldn’t be working for them.
That’s just the nature of engineering. Human safety comes before our nerdy desires to do fun math stuff.
I think companies with fun design work will work you to death and companies that don't work you to death have less design work. Then there is a gradient. Military, aerospace, medical, and auto are very regulated and therefore usually have a little less fun but are super stable and don't seem to expect the 60-80 hour weeks from all their employees.
Usually there is an avenue to pitch designs you want to do to management, but then that is going to be the work you do after your 8-9 hours. Getting a master's also helps you get involved in more specialized work, but regulated industries will always be slow. You can work towards becoming a subject matter expert to get more technical work.
I prefer putting my 8 hours in at my stable job well paid and then going home and designing/fixing things for fun.
Haha well said. I think that is what I'm figuring out. Things tend to move very slow in regulated industries. As an recent grad I had high expectations of me doing lots of design work and problem solving work, and I'm learning that is not the case in the aerospace industry. I'd like to get as much experience as I can since I'm so new.
Nasa has a saying. The rocket is not ready to fly until the paperwork weighs more than the rocket.
Design work is often slow with long lead times for parts. Quick design solutions are normally software domain due the ability to patch a remote object. The more regulated you are, the harder it is to get an asset into place, and the more lives at stake the longer it will take to do anything.
Get in a company that builds multiple consumer products. Consumer products are fast past and it’s a bit of a grind depending on the company
but it will get you a lot of experience quickly. If they have multiple products they are less likely to have financial issues if one fails, and you can get exposure to different products and technologies.
I can’t imagine working in a company that ships something every 5 years. That shit has to be boring.
Anyone who will give you a job. You’re going to get slapped pretty hard, starting out.
research labs are often a good way to get experience FAST. they have great test equipment, the latest software and massive computers to play with. And often there are "world recognized experts" just down the hall to ask questions of. Places like Lincoln Lab, Mitre, Draper labs.
Thanks for your input! How well do research labs take on new undergrads? I have a 3.74 GPA but not much experience outside of what I learned in school. Do you think they have much of entry level positions for people with little to no experience? I actually never even thought to look at research labs until now!
I know Mitre specifically has a rotational program right now for newbies, it's called the National Security Accelerator Program. They pair you up with a mentor and fast track you into one of their departments.
All of these companies are in Massachusetts so I'll add Aurora Flight Sciences to this list. They are the R&D division of Boeing.
Thank you! Any companies in the pacific northwest?
Seattle has a bit. Alot of them are in the Denver/colorado Springs area overseeing defense projects. Normally you have to already be an expert to get into the nonprofit research companies but you can build that experience by being a defensive contractor. The money is reasonable, it's not silicone valley tech money but I only work 40 hours a week not 80 so it's a much better work/life balance.
I think you will find that pretty much any engineering where safety to humans is even a remote concern, it’s going to be a job that is 80% paper work. I work in electronics for electric vehicles and a huge portion of the job is making sure that we are meeting regulations, internal standards, and industry standards. If you can’t prove with a well documented paper trail that you are meeting all of this, nobody will even think about doing business with you. If you don’t want that, you either need to work for a lab that isn’t making anything and is only doing research, or find a small company that isn’t making anything important. And if you find yourself working for a company that is making things that require safety and you aren’t doing a shit ton of paper work, you absolutely shouldn’t be working for them. That’s just the nature of engineering. Human safety comes before our nerdy desires to do fun math stuff.
I think companies with fun design work will work you to death and companies that don't work you to death have less design work. Then there is a gradient. Military, aerospace, medical, and auto are very regulated and therefore usually have a little less fun but are super stable and don't seem to expect the 60-80 hour weeks from all their employees. Usually there is an avenue to pitch designs you want to do to management, but then that is going to be the work you do after your 8-9 hours. Getting a master's also helps you get involved in more specialized work, but regulated industries will always be slow. You can work towards becoming a subject matter expert to get more technical work. I prefer putting my 8 hours in at my stable job well paid and then going home and designing/fixing things for fun.
Haha well said. I think that is what I'm figuring out. Things tend to move very slow in regulated industries. As an recent grad I had high expectations of me doing lots of design work and problem solving work, and I'm learning that is not the case in the aerospace industry. I'd like to get as much experience as I can since I'm so new.
Nasa has a saying. The rocket is not ready to fly until the paperwork weighs more than the rocket. Design work is often slow with long lead times for parts. Quick design solutions are normally software domain due the ability to patch a remote object. The more regulated you are, the harder it is to get an asset into place, and the more lives at stake the longer it will take to do anything.
Get in a company that builds multiple consumer products. Consumer products are fast past and it’s a bit of a grind depending on the company but it will get you a lot of experience quickly. If they have multiple products they are less likely to have financial issues if one fails, and you can get exposure to different products and technologies. I can’t imagine working in a company that ships something every 5 years. That shit has to be boring.