<p>I'm currently a 3rd year Aero Engineering major and was wondering how I can avoid working in a cubicle everyday.</p>
<p>I know I want to work with fluid mechanics/aerodynamics (possibly working in a lab doing research). I do plan on getting an MS after my BS, but will it be enough to allow me to work in research or would I have to go for a PhD?</p>
<p>If you’re not willing to spend 50% of your working hours at a computer, then you should not become an engineer. That computer may be in a lab, in an office, at a work site, in a <em>GASP</em> cubicle, etc. If you’re working in a research lab and you’re not spending a lot of time on a computer, then chances are you’re more of a technician than an engineer. For fluid dynamics, I would expect that you would spend at least 75% of your time on a computer. If it’s just the cubicle you don’t like, then re-consider. You’ll be so wrapped up staring at the computer you won’t pay much attention to your cube. Besides, most offices these days try for an “open” approach that really has a much better vibe to it.</p>
<p>I agree with Aggie10. You’re working so hard you don’t really think about your surroundings! But maybe you can eventually open your own firm and have a home office with windows overlooking woods in Maine! 
Worked for me!</p>
<p>What’s so horrible about cubicles? I have a nice office, but I spend 95% of my time working in different labs. I’ve found that I actually prefer working in labs with other people over working alone in my office.</p>
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<p>You may not find this at firms that employ massive numbers of engineers in cube farms, but if you look towards smaller firms, which employ relatively few engineers for employment – the chances of working in an office are relatively higher. </p>
<p>You’re going to cost an employer, during your working career, somewhere between $100k and $250k/year to employ, all benefits and costs included. There are plenty of employers who view their engineers as being valuable enough to the firm not to force them to work in “cubicles”.</p>
<p>I don’t think that’s true, Mark. The only time I worked in a cubicle was when I worked for a small company. My other two companies were big engineering firms and the vast majority of the engineers had their own offices.</p>
<p>Even among my friends and former classmates, it seems to me like bigger companies are more likely to give your your own office. Startups and medium sized companies tend to use cube farms.</p>
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<p>Some people just don’t like 'em, and for professionals who spend the amount of time in school, and have such huge impacts on the business such as engineers, it seems rather silly that there’s some employers out there who force high-value engineers to work in cube farms.</p>
<p>Of course, some firms have a cube farm policy for literally everyone in the company, CEO included, such as Intel. Some firms use the bifurcation between office and cube farm as a sort of indication of status or hierarchy in an organization.</p>
<p>I work in a cubicle and there really isn’t anything wrong with it. How else are you going to get your work done?</p>
<p>An employer can put me in the broom closet as long as I am paid market rate or better and/or the technology will boost my resume.</p>
<p>Dilbert has really given cubicles a bad name. Undeserved however.</p>
<p>My office/cubicle history for for a large aerospace company.
<p>Which did I like better?
No clear answer to me. Walled offices are definitely a status thing at my company. But cubicles have their advantage. </p>
<p>You have someone to talk to in a cubicle, even if your are by yourself as you can talk “over the wall” without having to even get up. In an office it is either the phone or get up and walk. May not seem like a big deal at first, but you are working in a team environment and the get up and walk gets old sometimes.</p>
<p>I had more space in a 2 person cubicle by myself than in a walled office.</p>
<p>Teleconferences in cubicle will **** off your nearby cubiclemates where its OK in an office. Offices are great that you can close the door when you really don’t want to be disturbed where you can’t do that in a cubicle.</p>
<p>I believe you are actually better off in a cubicle to start your career. The informal communication that goes on is a big part of your early training (because believe it or not, you really don’t know everything when you graduate college) and the cubicles are better for that. You do spend a fair amount of your time on the computer, so it doesn’t matter as much where you are. If you spend a lot of time in the lab, it is usually looked down upon and you are considered only a step up from a tech.</p>
<p>All things considered, I liked the walled office with the window the best, the interior walled office the least (too clostrophobic).</p>
<p>Well to address the question no one has touched, deciding whether you want to get a Ph.D. or stop at M.S. depends on what kind of job you are looking for. You can get into research with both, but if you want to be running research programs you will likely need a Ph.D. The other thing to consider is that if you get a Ph.D., you are qualified to run a research program, but not a whole lot else in the eyes of industry. You really close a lot of doors, so you have to know that research is what you want before jumping into a doctorate.</p>
<p>I understand his concern. Sitting down for long periods every day is actually extremely unhealthy. It causes a lot of cardiovascular problems - even if you work out every day and eat extremely healthy.</p>
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<p>I really don’t think that was his concern.</p>
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<p>Not necessarily. There is a lot of experimental research being done in certain subsets of fluid dynamics. CFD can’t currently solve everything.</p>
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<p>In the OP’s field (Aerospace), Mark is correct: most larger companies heavily utilize cubicles, while smaller companies may not.</p>
<p>I think what I fear most with cubicles is I might lose interest with my work. If I don’t physically see or work hands on with the material on a regular basis, I could see myself just getting bored of it. </p>
<p>It’s sort of similar to what everyone goes through in school. I am currently doing research and it definitely keeps me more interested in the topics I get taught in class, but I feel like people who don’t have the opportunity to work hands-on throughout undergrad are more susceptible to becoming “cookbook engineers”. Without seeing the material they learn about in action, I imagine the material becomes bland as they progress through classes (especially in engineering where it can seem like a lot of classes just teach how to apply formulas). </p>
<p>I’m ok with cubicles to do stuff like CFD, but I don’t want to spend a large majority of my time there. Eventually I would want to actually physically see the results just to stay interested.</p>
<p>I know I’m not speaking for everyone, but that’s just how I currently feel.</p>
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<p>It may depend on whether you have high wall cubicles or low wall cubicles. High wall cubicles lose the advantage of privacy and quiet that full offices provide, but do not help interaction with co-workers very much compared to low wall cubicles.</p>
<p>In one contracting job that I had, they didn’t have any cubes available so they put me in the computer lab and gave me the console for a computer and a chair. I was right next to an air conditioning unit and the space that I had was a little wider than the console and big enough for a chair at the desk. So it was freezing cold, LOUD and I had no workspace. But they were paying me enough so that I really didn’t care.</p>