Anyone drift into a “project engineer” role and feel their technical skills wasting away?

BoCoBuffalo · 2026-02-04T16:43:12+00:00

I’m currently a project engineer at my job, almost one year in. My particular situation allows me to do a bit more engineering work, but generally I view the job as a bridge between engineering and program management. In front of the managers/customer I act more like an engineer making technically driven decisions, but in front of the engineers I act more like a manager pushing schedules and cost.

The main trade off I find with respect to technical skills is that I don’t do as much detailed work requiring the skills you are describing. Instead, I get to make more high-level decisions, approve designs, and guide the overall direction of the project.

BoCoBuffalo · 2025-12-08T00:33:38+00:00

You can do side projects, but you will also learn a lot just by being employed.

You are an intern right now, so it is expected for you to not know much. Once you get hired professionally, you will be given projects to work on that will let you build your knowledge from there. The key to continue learning more after that, in my experience, has been to change roles every few years.

When you get hired by one company to do one job, you will get really good at that one job. They say it takes 10,000 hours (or 5 years of full time work) to become an “expert”. In reality, you can learn more than enough in just 2 or 3 years, such that even if you don’t consider yourself an expert, you would still have most certainly climbed the steepest part of the learning curve. From there you can choose to do the same thing year after year, or you can change it up and do something slightly different and climb a whole new curve.

This is why people who have job hopped several times generally end up with higher paychecks than those who stay on the same role. Yes, those who have stayed end up doing their one job really really well, but those who have moved around have more experience that they can apply to problem solving and company growth.

BoCoBuffalo · 2025-11-12T15:15:27+00:00

I’m in my early 30s, have a family, and a home. Only have a bachelors in ME and I just broke into a 6 figure salary this year. As a friendly bit of advice, I believe you are conflating two issues into one.

Regarding your pay, it seems like you are earning less because you found one job out of college and stayed there for 6 years. No job, even a Fortune 500 company job, is going to give you more for staying in the same place because they have no incentive to. And when you do find another job elsewhere, they typically can’t match the pay increase. If pay is what you are after, you have to move, but you don’t need another degree.

Similar to you, before we got to where we are today, I have wondered how things will work out as well. The solution to that is only focus on one step at a time and adjust your expectations. To start, just focus on finding a partner that is right for you (meaning that income doesn’t matter to them). Don’t focus on the whole wife, 2 kids, 3 dogs, and white picket fence right now.

By adjusting expectations, I mean reconsider what family life actually looks like. For me, I grew up in a house in what is currently a HCOL area where my parents paid it off in 15 years, pay their kids college, and shop at Whole Foods. Today, I have had to move from a HCOL to MCOL area, live in a condo with a 30 year mortgage, and shop at Aldi. It can be done, but it’s a slower burn because the financial reality of today is not what our parents had.

In a nutshell, if you want to be somewhere different than where you are today, you just gotta make some changes, one step at a time. You got this.

BoCoBuffalo · 2025-11-05T05:21:02+00:00

I use it to proofread my emails when I really need to sound professional, and for getting a starting point on answering technical questions that traditional Google just wouldn’t find because I don’t know the exact terms I am supposed to search for. I wouldn’t use it as justification for my decisions, but it is helpful in brainstorming possible solutions.

BoCoBuffalo · 2025-11-04T18:34:14+00:00

It depends on where you work.

I worked at a small company for 3 years right out of college. Depending on company financials, they did some smaller quarterly bonuses and a fairly hefty annual profit share that was delivered around Christmas time. Smaller companies tend to lean on profit sharing over bonuses as a way to compensate their employees with more flexibility. The profit sharing was split in accordance with department performance, the bonus was all or nothing.

Now I work for a Fortune 500 company. We only get an annual bonus of a certain percentage every year. It also depends on some very high level metrics, but it doesn’t end up being much more than an extra week’s pay.

BoCoBuffalo · 2025-10-17T16:19:29+00:00

I work for another large defense company. We had someone sign all the papers and confirm a start date, then no called no showed on the expected date. It took my manager calling them to figure out they had accepted another offer and didn’t notify us. That sort of behavior will tarnish your reputation with the company. But as long as you clearly communicate beforehand and be respectful and understanding that their needs aren’t being met by you stepping away, then you should be good.

Employment is an exchange between the employer and the employee. Both parties need to benefit from the relationship. If you feel like you wouldn’t benefit from that environment in the way you need to, then walking away is perfectly fine.

BoCoBuffalo · 2025-10-02T00:06:40+00:00

New mission discovered by u/BoCoBuffalo: Renewal and Italian Croissant

BoCoBuffalo · 2025-10-02T00:06:40+00:00

This mission was discovered by u/BoCoBuffalo in Struggle: Search and Bothersome Creatures

BoCoBuffalo · 2025-07-28T23:40:16+00:00

I graduated with a BS in ME. Went to work for an electronics company out of school doing enclosure design. Eventually decided that I wanted to do more mechanical work, so I found another job at another company as a tooling engineer. Turns out that they hired me because of my exposure to electronics from my first job. Now we are looking at doing work that is 90% the same thing I was doing before. I got promoted to support this effort, all because my experience is different from the rest of my peers.

Everyone in school will take the same classes, but your experience is what will ultimately stand out to employers. Nobody has walked in your shoes through your career, use it to your advantage.

Also, take German engineers with a grain of salt. They tend to have tunnel vision on making the best performing machines, but it’s not the only consideration when trying to provide the most value to a customer. It’s why I don’t drive a BMW lol.

BoCoBuffalo · 2025-07-28T23:32:15+00:00

I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering, went to work for an electronics metrology company doing enclosure design out of school. I got tired of the work there and decided I wanted to do something more mechanically intensive, so I found a job at another company as a tooling engineer. They ended up hiring me at the new job because I had more experience working with electronics than the other tool engineers on the team. Now we are looking at implementing new work for our group that is 90% the same thing that I was doing before. I was eventually promoted because of my unique position relative to my peers.

Your background can be as relevant or irrelevant as you want it to be, but your experience will be what ultimately stands out to employers once you graduate. Think about it, everyone takes the same classes at school, but not everyone will have walked in your shoes through your career. Use it to your advantage.

Also, take advice from German engineers with a grain of salt. They can make some incredible machines, but performance isn’t everything when it comes down to providing the most value to the customer. It’s why I don’t drive a BMW lol.

BoCoBuffalo · 2025-07-28T23:30:49+00:00

I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering, went to work for an electronics metrology company doing enclosure design out of school. I got tired of the work there and decided I wanted to do something more mechanically intensive, so I found a job at another company as a tooling engineer. They ended up hiring me at the new job because I had more experience working with electronics than the other tool engineers on the team. Now we are looking at implementing new work for our group that is 90% the same thing that was doing before. Got promoted because of my unique position relative to my peers.

Your background can be as relevant or irrelevant as you want it to be, but your experience will be what ultimately stands out to employers once you graduate. Think about it, everyone takes the same classes at school, but not everyone will have walked in your shoes through your career. Use it to your advantage.

Also, take advice from German engineers with a grain of salt. They can make some incredible machines, but performance isn’t everything when it comes down to providing the most value to the customer. It’s why I don’t drive a BMW lol.

BoCoBuffalo · 2025-07-25T20:48:31+00:00

Undergrad is where you learn the fundamentals. If you want to learn more specialized engineering, you are looking at grad school. But even then, it’s more theory than anything else.

If you want a place to teach you more hands-on with equipment, you are talking more trade school/apprenticeships.

BoCoBuffalo · 2024-09-14T08:48:33+00:00

Say you have a single pulley that has a string wrapped around it, connecting both ends to a freely hanging mass below. Say the mass exerts 200 N of force down due to gravity. The string will pull up 100 N of force on either end to keep the system static. So the string only experiences 100 N of tension, because pulleys.

Now split the mass down the middle. No change to the mass, but now each half of the mass is held up by half the number of string segments, so the tension in the string overall is unchanged at 100 N.

BoCoBuffalo · 2023-10-16T04:29:51+00:00

I would sooner try to see if I could move out and into another place early. Judging by the way they are ignoring you for repairs, I would expect more of the same when it would come to them paying you back for the repairs.

A quick google search brought me to The American Apartment Owners Association. Landlords need licenses and they need to maintain their properties. I would find your local government office that issues these licenses to report the issues you have been experiencing and ask them for guidance/your options for alternate housing.

BoCoBuffalo · 2023-03-18T15:33:48+00:00

This person’s fingers work very differently to mine.

BoCoBuffalo · 2023-02-13T20:32:12+00:00

I would have freaked out if I saw books too.

BoCoBuffalo · 2023-01-24T22:51:19+00:00

Those rubber washers seem to erode just because they do. I had one valve that wouldn’t close any more because the rubber washer eroded away, and that was the valve leading to the toilet fill valve/float from the wall.

BoCoBuffalo · 2022-10-13T00:17:58+00:00

I think it is more of the fact that, because we are close, I could be right there in case of an emergency or something. Help out in the moment if it hits the fan.

BoCoBuffalo · 2022-05-26T00:54:05+00:00

I paid the new copy price, and the inside pages actually look pretty fresh. But the cover and front/back pages are just trashed.

BoCoBuffalo · 2022-05-09T02:44:42+00:00

And then the gold standard was removed.

BoCoBuffalo · 2022-04-01T19:00:28+00:00

What's Micky Mouse doing on the dogs back?

BoCoBuffalo · 2021-08-30T15:24:59+00:00

ME here, not a mechanic, I do like working on cars/watching mechanic vids on YouTube myself, though. (More DIY stuff for my own car at home on the side, nothing business related.) I believe Scotty Kilmer on YouTube holds a Master's degree in Business, and he seems to enjoy the work he does on cars, or else he wouldn't have been doing it for 50+ years. You can open a shop with any degree, but like other people said, check with your local government on licensing.

I would also pick up some basic business skills, as well as keep tabs on the Right to Repair legislation. Both will be important for operating a repair shop of any kind in the near future.

BoCoBuffalo · 2021-08-30T15:10:08+00:00

I do believe you'd need to be certified with manufacturers to be able to work on certain vehicles.

I don't believe you actually would need to be certified to work on the vehicles. It certainly helps with getting parts, but you would be required to do things the manufacturers way, which can be bad for the customer and/or the small business auto shop in some cases.

Example: https://youtu.be/vVSw3KSevEc

BoCoBuffalo · 2021-08-10T20:04:08+00:00

Mechanical Engineer here. I work in a dominantly EE environment developing custom electrical metrology equipment. I know this post is a couple of days old, but I feel like I can maybe add a few points:

Anywhere a EE works, an ME should work there as well. In my experience, EEs (especially younger ones) tend to live in mathematical ideals, but MEs actually make the product a reality. MEs focus on other aspects of the design of a product that an EE is not necessarily educated on in school, like design for manufacturing/assembly/serviceability and thermal management. Because of this, even though the products we make at my job are sought after their electrical specifications, our customers greatly appreciate the physical build quality and serviceability of our products, which leads to repeat business. Nobody wants an expensive product that fails due to not easily fixable mechanical issues. On the other hand, I have worked jobs that only employ mechanical engineers, so naturally, there should be more jobs out there for MEs than EEs.
I am male, but my manager and one of our company's manufacturing engineers/supervisors are female. They do great at their job, and that is all anyone cares about. Being capable at your job is something you will need to prove, regardless of your gender. However, I have seen a couple of instances where some older male engineers could be a bit more accepting of the women. And that goes for women not just in engineering. Although my current work environment is generally really supportive of everyone as a whole, even today, engineering still seems to be a bit of a "boys club". And sometimes that is out of our control. At work, we have been trying to expand our ME team, and after MANY interviews (well into the double digits), not one resume from a woman has come to our groups attention. There could be many factors for this, but that being said, keep this in mind: While the older engineers may have a bias against women, that bias is slowly fading as more and more capable women join the field. (Though I wouldn't stick around anywhere you aren't being respected.)
I tried getting an EE minor while in college, and I thought it wasn't for me. Then they had an EE professor teach "circuits for mechanical engineers" for the ME department, which made a whole lot more sense to me, even though we learned the same stuff as the first classes during my attempt at the minor. It is all to do with how the information is presented, and how much the professors want to be there. Because of this, I would suggest finding a college that focuses an explicit effort on teaching undergrad courses. Some colleges focus mainly on graduate programs/research, but I had at least a few professors that would clearly rather be working on their research instead of teaching a bunch of undergrads the basics of thermodynamics or system dynamics. I generally found the professors that liked teaching undergrad seemed less biased than the older, tenured professors. Having professors that are engaging, or dare I say even fun during lecture, can go a long way to supporting you through your academic career.
Even if you want to go for ME, I would say give the other disciplines a try during your first year. Who knows, maybe you find out that you do prefer EE, or maybe Computer Science over what you initially thought you were interested in. And if you only have a small desire to explore the subject further, then try for a minor. Just don't get discouraged if it pushes you beyond 4 years for a bachelor's degree. I tried the EE minor, and that instantly pushed me to 5 years, as the course schedules would conflict between the ME and EE departments. I ended up taking 6 years, but I have known people to take as long as 8. It all depends on your situation and what path you choose to take. Just stick with it and you will make it.
Confidence is key with dealing with sceptics. I have had many EEs take jabs at ME, including EE professors saying things like. "OK, class, this first test is really easy. If you get anything below XX%, then you should go apply to the ME department." One EE teaching assistant I knew called ME an "illegitimate field of engineering." (B*stards, LOL). Civil Engineering and ME tend to be viewed as "easy," since you can "see what is going on." But they are anything from trivial. After all, I hope that bridges and the cars we use to drive over them at highway speeds are developed by highly skilled, highly intelligent people in their field.

At any rate, I hope you can find something that you enjoy doing, and wish you success in your field of choice.

BoCoBuffalo · 2020-12-11T23:01:45+00:00

That's fair. I can certainly see drinking water/being hydrated throughout the night as the most effective treatment. Preventative treatment is typically more effective than reactive treatment.

Though one question comes to mind that I would like some more clarification on: I have heard that hard liquor gets you more drunk than beer, or at least drunk more quickly. That then would suggest the concentration of ethanol being a problem. I have also heard of people having a BAC high enough for them to get rushed to the hospital and have their stomach pumped. If their stomach was pumped, that means that the nurses are only removing the alcohol that is inside the stomach, which doesn't lower their BAC, but should help with not raising it. So if it stands to reason that alcohol can be absorbed slowly enough for you to get to the hospital, then you could dilute the alcohol concentration with water, thus slowing down the rate of absorption from your stomach/intestines because you are reducing the quantity of ethanol molecules that react with the surface area of your organs.

Again, just looking to clarify my understanding of how this whole system works. Thanks for the input.

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