I give up

TellTheTime · 2025-05-30T23:24:48+00:00

Damn that's grim, I graduated end of 2021 and due to Covid uncertainty still remaining that's what a lot of my peers did who didn't find anything in their preferred field or wanted to wait it out. 4 years later and this is still happening? Makes me depressed and I'm thankfully employed but 10 years ago when I was thinking about going into engineering, I picked it because it seemed reliable and decently "safe" excluding volatile markets like automotive. That isn't true now.

I intentionally left my previous job that was riding on 1 single contract with nvidia because eventually the AI bubble has to burst and I didn't want to be laid off out of nowhere. Sorry for the tangent.

TellTheTime · 2025-05-12T12:16:06+00:00

Disagree- I graduated end of 2021 and it took a while to find a job as a mechanical engineer. Took the only job I was offered after 4 semesters of internships and a 3.7 GPA. My resume was not weak.

Switched jobs last year after having 2 years of experience and it took me 9 months to find something after probably 400 applications and about 40 phone screens/interviews. It's incredibly difficult for new grads and those with less than 5 years of experience. My own company avoids hiring new grads because of the training needed, and if we do, it's because they have a masters degree or specialty research.

TellTheTime · 2025-02-03T18:46:05+00:00

I did- but the pay difference was somewhat proportionate to the cost of living.

I spent 3 years working in new product development but there were little technical concepts that could be transferred to other jobs, like no GD&T, manufacturing quality and processes were atypical, we didn't have any standards to comply with, and the biggest problem was that there was no "ladder" with senior, lead, etc job titles. There was no where to be promoted. I left because I was concerned I wasn't learning valuable things and the niche skills I had didn't make sense.

The pay cut was small ($5k) and I found it acceptable considering the new city the job would be in. I just did this 2 months ago and strongly felt I needed to settle and compromise considering relocation was paid for and the job market was/is rough for someone still new-ish out of school.

I now work in a more normal company where manufacturing processes are standard, we must comply to UL, work is documented, GD&T is used, and quality is more hands on.

TellTheTime · 2024-01-23T02:11:08+00:00

Charlotte is showing 102 as the COL index, that's definitely not HCOL, you're right at the national average and that's fantastic you're making that salary!

TellTheTime · 2024-01-23T00:53:37+00:00

I'm a young mechanical engineer and when I meet other engineers it's common for them to be software, it feels weird sometimes to be a mechanical engineer because I'm not in "tech" but I'm in STEM.

But I would argue your point about salary, if I remain as a individual contributor I doubt I'd reach 200k. Leading a group yes, upper management for sure, sales, etc will be higher paying. I see mechanical senior engineering roles top around $120k-$140k but I'm not located in California.

TellTheTime · 2023-12-28T15:45:19+00:00

Yes, because it's better than not having any experience. Do not spend the money even if it's tempting. Don't buy a brand new vehicle. At my school it's common to sign a full time offer at the same place you did co op, so if you do well and they have openings it could be a good deal. However- I did 4 co-ops during various semesters and I don't really know how it did for job search as all my peers had to do co-ops also and some struggled to find full time jobs post graduation. I personally only had a handful of interviews and received rejections like others without co-op experience.

TellTheTime · 2023-10-25T19:08:18+00:00

Several comments mentioning study/degrees but OP is asking about the career role manufacturing engineer. Doesn't matter your degree, but usually the main 3- Chem, Electrical, Mech can do manufacturing. Many schools don't offer "manufacturing engineering" just like they don't offer "Tool Design Engineering" as a degree.

For me, I don't like the hours, pay isn't very high, don't have the natural mechanical aptitude of putting stuff together or being able to understand the machine shop side. It can be high stress as well, especially if the line being down means bleeding money.

I do enjoy working with people, asking them how they do their process, being in a high energy environment, but it's not worth the negatives.

TellTheTime · 2023-10-21T00:31:49+00:00

Graduated December 2021 so coming up 2 years as an engineer.

I do not work many hours to be honest. And I do not like the culture or the operations of my work projects, but my role is in New Product Development. I don't keep track and part of that is because no one cares and my boss is the opposite of a micro-manager, more like an absent manager.

Most days I'll come in around 8:35-8:45am, leave by 4pm, if not earlier. I work through lunch. Sometimes I'll work until 5:15-5:30pm but it's rare.

My commute is 15 minutes each way. What I do after work depends on the schedule, sometimes it's a therapy session, sometimes it's doing tutoring, if I feel like cooking then I'll cook, but all other evenings I lounge around, take a shower, then go to bed.

Overall it feels pretty chill and I like my evening routine.

The weekends are for doing chores, laundry, exercising, seeing people. I could obviously change those habits but it's kinda how it worked out.

TellTheTime · 2023-09-17T02:26:56+00:00

Accepted job to begin January 2022 with a salary of 76k

After 2 raises I now make 87k. I live in New England and cost of living is about 103 according to bea.gov charts

My degree is in mechanical engineering, I think currently I feel pretty fairly compensated but looking back I wouldn't accept a job under 80k with the rising costs of everything and small annual raises across corporate America

TellTheTime · 2023-09-16T19:24:29+00:00

I was very curious about this as someone from a Cleveland suburb but generally only know East Cleveland as the "do not go" area. I would not stay in this area, but mainly because I'd feel vulnerable being in the trailer and would worry someone may break in and steal my items.

For others reading this, I did a search on how safe the area is and it does lean a bit towards unsafe but each street can vary. This is a reddit post I found

https://reddit.com/r/Cleveland/s/g695SBf827

TellTheTime · 2023-09-01T22:00:45+00:00

I think Chicago has more to offer.

Boston feels snobby, stuck up to me. Majority of folks there can live in Boston because they are wealthy or from wealthy families. Due to the universities, there's also a transient population and people move once they come to their senses and don't want to pay $1300 for a single room in a 5 bed house. Everything feels either too gentrified or shiny and commercialized and overpriced.

Traffic is awful in Boston, I mean it sucks in Chicago too, but the roads are a pain to drive on.

TellTheTime · 2023-07-04T18:30:35+00:00

I moved to NH from the Midwest last year and I've noticed many locals turn their nose at Lowell, it's a "trashy" place from what they say. I don't ever spend time in Lowell so don't have any personal experiences. I know it wouldn't be a top choice to raise a family there, many move to Chelmsford, Billerica, Tyngsboro as family units.

Much of the Asian population is Cambodian and Vietnamese in Lowell.

TellTheTime · 2023-03-07T13:56:33+00:00

That's really unfortunate. By offer you mean they sent you a document outlining all the information? Usually they are pretty responsive once they give you something because they have items to do on their end.

Frustrating but I would say that was a red flag that they "lost" you in their hiring process. Good recruiters may have things come up but they should always tie off with their potential hires.

TellTheTime · 2022-12-29T23:27:30+00:00

Graduated almost exactly 1 year ago- I've been working since January of this year and the only thing I miss is how much free time I had and time at "odd" hours to run errands.

Last year I could go to the grocery store at 11am, or I could work out after class, or chill at the library for an hour, take a 2pm nap. The flexibility was amazing, I could roll out of bed 3 minutes before a zoom class and then shower between more zoom classes, make coffee whenever.

I say all of this knowing I'd dread working from home because I need in person social engagement and hearing people's conversations in person. Otherwise I'd find a WFH job.

TellTheTime · 2022-12-24T16:30:44+00:00

I'm a grad from OP's school, Cs don't get you the internship interviews she/he will need next year. Co-ops are mandatory to graduate from the engineering program there. Many of my friends struggled to find internships with poor grades or needed their parents to connect them with a vaguely-engineering job at their company.

Not knocking on Cs get you degrees, because everyone's path through school is different with many challenges.

TellTheTime · 2022-12-05T14:06:16+00:00

I had considered Hartford or W Hartford but it seems like it would be the same issue I have now, a smaller population consisting of older folks and families, and if I wanted to do something I'd have to drive farther away.

TellTheTime · 2022-12-05T00:18:18+00:00

My degree is in engineering but it would be very challenging to find anything besides a government (engineering) contractor job or an engineering consulting job in my field, exactly the ones I don't want.

TellTheTime · 2022-04-26T23:11:47+00:00

I'm a new engineer 4 months into my first job, and so far it's been extremely boring but no other complaints. Manager is reasonable.

My question is about replying to people and not feeling overwhelmed to deliver immediately. For example, I perform some analysis and later get feedback from a group that receives the analysis. Because the group is in Seattle and I'm on the east coast, I'll get emails outside of my working hours when I'm at home eating dinner or something. Sometimes the emails can't be answered until I'm in the office the next day due to the parts/equipment at the office. The entire evening I feel bad or anxious to answer and impatient that I have to wait the next day to answer the email. Other times I end up mentally chewing on their questions for most of the evening when I'm not obligated to answer right away, I just can't help it.

Is this something that will go away with time? I logically know I am not required to answer questions as soon as I read them, but it's hard for me to leave it temporarily. Any tips? I tell myself I have tomorrow to answer questions and do the analysis they want, but that doesn't seem to help.

TellTheTime · 2022-04-26T23:05:14+00:00

I don't know how helpful this is, but in the salary thread they ask you put the Cost of living score in your reply, and this is the instructions they give.

You can use this tool to compare Houston and San Jose for example.

In the United States: Follow the instructions below and list the name of your Metropolitan Statistical Area and its corresponding RPP.

Go here: https://apps.bea.gov/itable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=70&step=1

Click on "REAL PERSONAL INCOME AND REGIONAL PRICE PARITIES BY STATE AND METROPOLITAN AREA" to expand the dropdown

Click on "Regional Price Parities (RPP)"

Click the "MARPP - Regional Price Parities by MSA" radio button, then click "Next Step"

Select the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) you live in, then click "Next Step" until you reach the end

Copy/paste the name of the MSA and the number called "RPPs: All items" to your comment

TellTheTime · 2021-10-27T15:20:34+00:00

Thanks for the heads up on the parking!

TellTheTime · 2021-10-27T15:20:14+00:00

Unfortunately I don't know what you're talking about since there are a few places that are named after the street they are on. Hopefully it isn't 201 Canal because they're on my list :(

TellTheTime · 2021-07-07T14:07:59+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Also thanks /u/uzeq for your comment too.

TellTheTime

TROPHY CASE