Do technical degrees limit you?

[BCEagle91]

<br>

<p>And I still think it’s pretty low to be making plumbers and mechanics out to be
worthless, mindless jobs.</p>

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<p>Please demonstrate that anyone here wrote that.</p>

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<p>my Dad’s an engineer (he puts in tons of hours) so maybe I’m biased but I tend to
think most engineers are robotic in nature…like PP said “glorified plumbers”.
There’s nothing unique about an engineer…a great engineer is someone who
follows all the rules and puts in hours…anyone can do that. </p>

<br>

<p>First of all, not anyone can do that. We have large numbers of people that can’t even show up to work. These are the long-term unemployable.</p>

<p>How do you robotically do work to generate a patent?</p>

<p>I don’t know of anyone that thinks that creative work and inventing is routine.</p>

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<p>a great engineer is someone who follows all the rules and puts in hours</p>

<br>

<p>A great engineer breaks the rules.</p>

[silence_kit]

<p>

I really believe a lot of people go into engineering not for the subject per se but because they want a good job. A lot of them do succeed and get jobs, because programs will often make it easier for people to pass so they make more money. There’s a balance but to say it’ not happening at all seems to me to be naive.

</p>

<p>I’m not saying that everyone in engineering is there because they love it. Personally, I think that it is too much to ask that people be in love with their careers. Not everyone is so lucky. I am saying that I suspect that ‘doing it for the money’ happens a lot less with engineering than with law & medicine & business.</p>

<p>

And I still think it’s pretty low to be making plumbers and mechanics out to be worthless, mindless jobs. Perhaps you’re not being so blunt about it, but those are jobs that require training, skill, and professionalism. So what if they can’t solve Diffy-Qs? They’re technical jobs with real skill sets, just like engineering… Perhaps not in degree, but in kind.

</p>

<p>Hey, those harsh words are your words and not mine. I am saying that some jobs take more expertise than others. This is not controversial. Why does that bother you so much? It may not be polite to say it, but I was talking about it because peter_parker brought it up and schaden asked me to expound on my post.</p>

[AuburnMathTutor]

<p>Nobody said you should be in love with your job, but if you go to a universiy you should generally be in love with what you’re studying. You’re certainly paying enough to study it.</p>

[schaden]

<p>

So… you’re experience with the engineering profession is from… take your kid to work day?

</p>

<p>From that and also from attending a top engineering school…the vibe I got from most people…well I didn’t really even consider them people.</p>

[pandem]

<p>

From that and also from attending a top engineering school…the vibe I got from most people…well I didn’t really even consider them people.

</p>

<p>Yup, a ■■■■■, just as I suspected.</p>

<p>And yes, I would like fries with that.</p>

[BCEagle91]

<br>

<p>Nobody said you should be in love with your job, but if you go to a universiy you
should generally be in love with what you’re studying. You’re certainly paying
enough to study it. </p>

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<p>90% of my degrees were paid for by companies that I worked for. One company was nice enough to pay for all of the non-technical courses that were part of degree requirements. For my grad degree, they paid for technical courses only.</p>

[karabee]

<p>

a great engineer is someone who follows all the rules and puts in hours

I thoroughly disagree with this. An engineer is someone who follows the rules and puts in hours. A great engineer is someone who designs, invents, patents something remarkable or does something that increases the quality of life for others.</p>

<p>The former can be said of any job–an advertising intern will be just as robotic as an engineering one; it’s not specific just to technical careers. Making robots does not one make.</p>

[BCEagle91]

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<p>From that and also from attending a top engineering school</p>

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<p>Engineering students, outside of those that have done significant internships, don’t know what engineering life is like.</p>

<p>Did you do any significant internships?</p>

[schaden]

<p>It just sounds like the people on here get really mad when someone insults their major or profession.</p>

<p>I kind of like the drama.</p>

[b_r_um]

<p>What’s a good amount of general education for the “average” person?</p>

<p>That’s an honest question. I personally think that the AP-level is a good base to aim for. If that’s the standard for general education, there’s nothing wrong with using college for professional training. Most of Europe uses AP standards as their standard for general education.</p>

<p>If you think AP is not enough, how much higher should we go? Why a 4-year liberal arts degree? Why not a 2-year liberal arts degree, or 6-year liberal arts training?</p>

[pandem]

<p>

It just sounds like the people on here get really mad when someone insults their major or profession.</p>

<p>I kind of like the drama.

</p>

<p>I’m not an engineer, don’t like math, and have no plans to do anything related to engineering. I’m just insulted by stupidity. </p>

<p>

Senior Member</p>

<p>Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 4,910</p>

<p>What’s a good amount of general education for the “average” person?

This belongs in high school, not college.</p>

[AuburnMathTutor]

<p>BCEagle:</p>

<p>Either way, you shouldn’t waste your time in college doing things you have no interest in. If a person wants an industry job and industry will train them, great. But don’t ruin it for the rest of us who wanted what a university is supposed (read: used to) be.</p>

[pandem]

<p>

But don’t ruin it for the rest of us who wanted what a university is supposed (read: used to) be.

</p>

<p>You mean when it was a privilege for the rich?</p>

[AuburnMathTutor]

<p>I’m in a technical field and I would like to see the changes I am describing so that both technical fields and LA ones can become stronger and so that students have more and better choices.</p>

[schaden]

<p>

A great engineer is someone who designs, invents, patents something remarkable or does something that increases the quality of life for others.

</p>

<p>Key word great…I imagine the vast majority of engineers are not great and don’t work on cutting edge technology.</p>

<p>

I’m just insulted by stupidity.

</p>

<p>Why would you be insulted? If anything, you should jump at the chance to prove that you’re better than said stupidity.</p>

[AuburnMathTutor]

<p>pandem:</p>

<p>Yes. As I have already said I would like the costs to come down so that it becomes accessible to a wider range of people. I’ve already talked about how that coil happen. I don’t know if your post is sincere or a sarcastic strawman (though I am leaning towards the latter) but either way I hope this is a satisfactory answer.</p>

[silence_kit]

<p>

I’m in a technical field and I would like to see the changes I am describing so that both technical fields and LA ones can become stronger and so that students have more and better choices.

</p>

<p>How is separating applied degrees from academic degrees by university instead of by college within a university a game-changer?</p>

[karabee]

<p>

I imagine the vast majority of engineers are not great and don’t work on cutting edge technology.

</p>

<p>I never said that most will. I was just recycling your words–someone being “great” at their job intrinsically means that they’re above average, but you said that a great engineer would be just going through the motions.</p>

[schaden]

<p>

I never said that most will. I was just recycling your words–someone being “great” at their job intrinsically means that they’re above average, but you said that a great engineer would be just going through the motions.

</p>

<p>OK. I guess I meant a great average engineer not a great great engineer.</p>

[AuburnMathTutor]

<p>^ Nice save.</p>