A question for the coders and engineers

[Sam FisherParticipant 206]

Hey guys,

so I’ve graduated (Marketing degree majoring in Media/Technology – so I did some beginner web design and coding stuff) and am thinking about entering the I.T. industry – get into an entry level job, learn skills on the trade, and work my way around and up in the long term.

Or, work in I.T. for a year or two anyway, then go back to university and make a second attempt at my engineering studies (I was originally doing Electrical Engineering at a diploma level straight out of high school, but I was immature at the time, and didn’t internalize what was being taught properly so I ceased my studies 8 months in).

I’m 25, in Australia, and I just want some advice from the more experienced guys here. Am I better off getting into I.T., internalizing everything I learn, push myself a bit further, and then eventually either work my way high up or just learn the skills and do things on my own (networks and cyber-security are subjects that have been of interest to me)? or give engineering a go? I’ll probably be 33 years old at the most come graduation time if I decide to go back to university

I feel like I.T. seems more free and open, and you can branch off and do work both professionally within a company, or on your own two feet (even branching out into freelance programming and web design), but engineering is also of interest to me because I like taking things apart, putting them back together, and understanding how things work in a logical and mathematical way (I always repair my own videogame consoles when they stuff up, for example – and if I can modify them, I do.)

So in short, is I.T. a great and surefire way to go? Is it too late for me to go to university and graduate as an engineer?

Also, excuse my almost year long absence from the site. I had a lot of things I had to get out of the way, ups and downs, f~~~ ups and successes, but I came out of it all a much more motivated person, and learned a whole lot about the world and how I go about treading through it.

Thanks,

Fish.

[Blue SkiesParticipant 15665]

Sam Fisher wrote:

So in short, is I.T. a great and surefire way to go?

gain some experience.

in the future, you can decide whether you want to go back to school. You shouldn’t make this decision now. Go work in IT. add more experience to your resume

MGTOW is not a movement, it is a way of life.

[Sam FisherParticipant 206]

@god Emperor Trump, that’s what my spidey senses were telling me too. Thank you, and may you make America go MGTOW 😉

@Went Camping, I’ll give those a scope and ask questions once my foot is in the door. I’ll give those boiled eggs and hot sauce a go sometime as well.

Cheers gentlemen.

[The Laughing ManParticipant 1020]

Mechanical engineer here. Your two choices are sound, I would look at what time and money you have available to commit and plan long term for what will work best.

See if you can go the EE route while self teaching programs needed IT. Having both dislciines will be better than just one but the EE has more value (I’m biased of course).

I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes...or should I?

[ShinyParticipant 2307]

Ok, most of my mates did electrical engineering at Sydney or NSW (one went to TAFE but he was a canny business bugger and doubtless is making more now than the rest combined).

They’ve all done well for themselves but not a few have moved out of the field into other areas, such as financial.

The reason? As everything gets computerised, they employ less proper engineers and more IT guys.

This will doubtless reach a peak – I’ve heard horror stories about ch 7 here in Sydney, for instance, who replaced their real engineers with IT guys – but for the moment, my advice would be go IT, get your career happening then part time TAFE / OTEN as an engineer. When we hit peak stupidity and there is a realisation that people who can cable a room / use a multimeter / understand how electricity works are actually every bit as important as coders, you’ll be able to do both and you’ll be sitting pretty.

[Sam FisherParticipant 206]

Thanks for the suggestions @The Laughing Man and @shiny.

@shiny, your mate who did TAFE, did he go on to do a B.Eng and eventually become a P.E. (Professional Engineer)? Or stuck with doing engineering work at a more trade level (learning on the job and being a technician by profession) vs academic level (where you have to work under a P.E. for 4 years then take the exam to become a P.E.?

CNC Programming sound interesting, and within the mechanical engineering realm, is a required trade skill and is projected to grow in-demand by 20% in the next 10 years in the United States – and you don’t need a degree for it. Looking back on my work experience, doing so much work on CAD and both normal and CNC lathes, my interested leaned more on Mechanical and even Aerospace Engineering… but Qantas kinda f~~~ed s~~~ up for L.A.M.E.’s (Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers) all round… unless you live in Brisbane.

[The Laughing ManParticipant 1020]

With 3D printing taking off and machines already on he market that do metal, I’m skeptical of cnc programming growth. Your time might better served learning 3D scanning and how to create point clouds / solid models from scans.

If you’re leaning ME, go that route. ME is the jack of all trades when it comes to engineering. Whether it be a total collapse of civilization or at the pinnacle of human ingenuity, you’ll always need one to manipulate the physical world.

I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes...or should I?

[Sam FisherParticipant 206]

@The Laughing Man, out of curiosity, did you do your B.Eng right after high school? Or did you do it later on?

Ever since graduation day all I’ve felt is anger and loss. Thinking about this s~~~ has been making me feel really f~~~ed up, and was even more so stressing me out earlier in the evening when I was out in town having a few pints with some friends.

[The Laughing ManParticipant 1020]

Yah right after high school.

Never too late to go back. Stem fields should still be a safe space for college bound men.

I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes...or should I?

[Anonymous 17]

I am an Electrical Engineering and I had business in IT for 10 years. I would say go for IT. If I had known what I know now I would never have wasted so much time, money and afford getting a university diploma.

[The Laughing ManParticipant 1020]

Anonymous wrote:

I am an Electrical Engineering and I had business in IT for 10 years. I would say go for IT. If I had known what I know now I would never have wasted so much time, money and afford getting a university diploma.

Curious, do you think the fact you had a diploma help get you in / started easier than had you not had one?

My thought was which would look better?

A. BS in engineering + IT certifications (after self teaching / other educational avenues)

B. BS in a IT field + self taught cad / trade skills with any possible certifications

I figure “A” but feel free to offer up a counter or correct my assessment.

I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes...or should I?

[Sam FisherParticipant 206]

@Dakta Manki care to share you experience as an engineer? What are the issues with the job?

@The Laughing Man – Australia seems to have a problem with graduate engineers. There are too many graduates, but not enough local jobs. There appears to be a big disparity between grad. engineers and professional engineers, and firms just aren’t willing to pick them up and train them, so instead, they outsource them from India and China. Electrical Engineering is a decent shot, but you need to be an A1 Honours student to pick up a gig. It seems like all the good jobs are in the U.S.

[Anonymous 17]

If you work for someone else you always get the raw end of the deal. You get maybe 30% of your productivity in pay. If you work for yourself you get 100% of your productivity. Working for yourself also has many tax advantages. IT is a great field to work for yourself. Getting a BSEE was a tremendous efford and took a lot of time and money. To get my first job I had to take a test and they asked for my university transcripts to see my grades, they didn’t care about the diploma. The starting wage was low and I had to prove myself. Eventually the work load became unbearable. It was festering my health. Whatever you decide to do, save your money and buy your freedom.

[AnthonyParticipant 2281]

Etl, data warehouse, big data

I’d also add that IT security is a really big field now a days. If you have this s~~~ down along with a few certifications, you’d get hired almost anywhere.

Once you have a Fleshlight real vaginas become worthless.

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