Electrical engineers??

[jsxtreme]

Maybe with a bunch of overtime or something but that gets old fast.

EEs and especially ECEs are in high demand. The ceiling for an EE is much higher than with no degree as well.

Agreed. Unemployment rate for EE's in the midwest is less than %.6 percent the last time I checked. I have a mechanical degree and I'm working in a EE design role right now at a large automotive company. The group that recruited me is always asking if I know any more EE's or designers that are looking for work.

I would also agree with your assertion that dropping out to get a journeyman card is bad advice.

 

[TWISTED]

Screw a electrical engineer, get a journey man card in electrical and get into edision, work 50-60hrs a week and make a bunch more money and its not like DTE is going out of business anytime soon.

all depends on whether or not you wanna do physical work or mental work. Some people can't even step off the elevator onto the top deck at belle river when they notice how far up they are. Lol

 

[TWISTED]

Damn, not to mention Chad, your trying to talk someone into a UNION job??

 

[mhthomas2010]

Either way I'm not gonna toss away years of school already to drop out and get a journeyman. I'd much rather have an education in the end than not. I also would prefer an easy desk job over working all hours of the day and making the same I could with just finishing a degree and working 40 hours a week. Nothing wrong with being an electrician and making decent money but its just not for me. There's also going to be a demand in the near future for EE especially since everything now a days is technology based with complex electrical systems.

 

[05cesrt]

Damn, not to mention Chad, your trying to talk someone into a UNION job??

nothing wrong with a union job, it's half the workers that are usless is what I hate.

And easy desk job? You think they are just going to pay you to sit around? Lmfao, hope you are a electrical genius then.

I'd rather work a lil harder in the field and make 150 plus

 

[Overboost]

I'm working at a Tier 1 supplier doing industrial controls. I enjoy it. Takes some time to get familiar with the specifics of each brand, but interesting nonetheless.

 

[M4RK]

absoutley nothing wrong with a union job. Some guys give the union a bad rep, but i work with plenty of union guys that are incredibly smart, hard working, and i know they get paid good money. I graduated from LTU with an ME degree and work at one of the big 3. There are tons of EE openings in the auto industry. I've got a couple buddies that work in the powertrain controls area, and they love it... I'd recommend getting an internship/co-op to get some experience. That way when you graduate, you'll already have an idea as to what you like/hate and also what size company you'd like to work for.

 

[2QuickZ's]

Everybody automotive is hiring EE's right now for infotainment platforms and electric vehicles. Try Chrysler. I hear they are hiring for EE's for Uconnect and other groups.

 

[wrath]

nothing wrong with a union job, it's half the workers that are usless is what I hate.

And easy desk job? You think they are just going to pay you to sit around? Lmfao, hope you are a electrical genius then.

I'd rather work a lil harder in the field and make 150 plus

Haha. Do you know how many hours you have to bust your ass to make 150k?

A well-paid fairly young Field Team Leader gets paid $45/hr. So, if you hate your team and hate your life, you can place your team on-call to make more. You can also just put yourself in rotation. Work all the storms (best chance of getting cooked is in a storm) and whatnot. Then if you magically pull a lot of 16s on weekends and holidays, you just might hit 150k. Of course, you'll be tired all the time and probably work 2600+ hours that year. And you won't be able to spend it because you're at work.

If you're addicted to shift work, and like swing shifts, you could always be a System Controller and at a desk. Pay is better if you're NERC certified, otherwise it's not any better. If you want to do this, it's probably best to do it at ITC as it is less hectic than the LDCs. However, it only takes one switching or tagging error on your part to end a lineworker's career. Do it a couple times and it will end yours as well, just without hospital stays or bereavement time for your family.

I kind of like that if I need to run an errand I just go do it. If I have a medical appointment I work from home. Some weeks I work 75-80 hours. Some weeks I work 30 hours. I put ~2200 hours on my timesheet not including vacation and holidays last year but I outperform my peers (and I get their raise every year). I suppose I could just toss my EE degree in the toilet and go work on some LVD lines all day waiting for the day when one of my cohorts gets hurt and have to get a new cohort plus go through buckets of safety training. But I'd have to take a pay cut.

EEs are "elderly" right now. A lot of them were about to retire when their 401ks got devastated. If you're going to be graduating with a BSEE in the next couple of years the question is not if you're going to have a job it's where and who you want your job with.

 

[WhiteHawk]

nothing wrong with a union job, it's half the workers that are usless is what I hate.

And easy desk job? You think they are just going to pay you to sit around? Lmfao, hope you are a electrical genius then.

I'd rather work a lil harder in the field and make 150 plus

Most senior engineers at the OEM's make over $100k for 40 hours per week. The midpoint is around $95k at GM not including any profit sharing, and I am sure Ford and Chrysler are comparable. From talking to friends at Ford, it seems like they pay better than GM. Nothing wrong with a union job, but getting six figures to sit at a desk is OK too.

-Geoff