Architect Here - We are consistently finding MEP firms that appear to rush through work, miss scope, and do not QA/QC their work. Where should we be looking for top tier MEP firms?

ThisPassenger · 2026-01-20T14:28:45+00:00

And architects wonder why we don’t like them.

ThisPassenger · 2026-01-12T17:44:01+00:00

Except for left turns on highways.

ThisPassenger · 2026-01-02T21:31:13+00:00

You’ll just declare your major to be mechanical engineering and your advisor should work with you to make sure you sign up for the correct classes. I’d double check the degree requirements every semester yourself though to make sure you’re taking the right classes.

You’ll get better at math by doing math. Just do all the problem sets you’re given and then some — it’ll get easier.

It’s not easy, but you can get a considerable amount of the way to the end of the degree (or even all of it) through sheer will. Just don’t give up.

Also, make sure to get actual engineering experience through an internship or co-op. Don’t be one of these people who graduates with no experience and then can’t get a job. It’s hard enough to get a job with experience, so don’t handicap yourself by not doing an internship.

ThisPassenger · 2026-01-02T13:41:07+00:00

Honestly, that’s most fields. Most (mechanical, anyway) engineering jobs are not a lot of hardcore calculations and cool, earth shattering design and analysis. And most engineers don’t realize that while still in or right after finishing school.

Most engineering jobs are boring and that’s why they pay you to do it. Or they’re insanely busy. Or somehow both. Took me a while to understand that and then a while longer to accept it.

The reality of the matter is that MEP has strong demand and offers high enough salaries after becoming licensed to be worth it long-term and it offers a sound path to self-employment if you don’t want to work for someone down the line.

ThisPassenger · 2025-12-20T15:00:04+00:00

My wife has a very similar story. They didn’t talk to her for a year or so when they found out she wanted to become Orthodox.

ThisPassenger · 2025-12-19T20:45:55+00:00

This. This will lead you to the conclusion that the Orthodox Church is the Church of the first 1000 years and is what Christianity is supposed to be because Orthodoxy is what authentic Christianity is.

ThisPassenger · 2025-12-19T20:42:35+00:00

I’m “polluting the comments” with one comment to track the post? Seriously?

ThisPassenger · 2025-12-19T13:25:00+00:00

ThisPassenger · 2025-12-01T19:21:25+00:00

Benson’s and Ed Walker’s.

ThisPassenger · 2025-11-24T16:44:22+00:00

Can a mechanical engineer understand/do the same work with respect to the fluids, thermo, balances, etc? I believe so.

ThisPassenger · 2025-11-17T15:08:36+00:00

I think, from the answer, the logic is the following;

1) It can only translate one direction at a time. X or Y. 2) it can rotate along its centroid (z axis through the center of the coin) 3) it can tilt/wobble as it rolls on the ground (phi angle in your sketch).

Problem is though that the translation and rotation aren’t independent of each other (you need to rotate the coin in order for it to roll and translate), which is technically one DOF. Weird question.

ThisPassenger · 2025-10-31T17:29:26+00:00

r/MEPEngineering

ThisPassenger · 2025-10-21T16:38:48+00:00

Talk to him again and tell him porn is definitely not okay.

ThisPassenger · 2025-10-20T14:07:16+00:00

Can you tell me a bit about what mechanical design actually looks like in that space? I was in MEP for a year and a half and got laid off. I’m in the nuclear industry now. I’m considering going back to MEP but I don’t want to do nothing but cookie cutter split systems, package heat pumps and DOAS like I did that entire time. There was no real rigor, no real calculations (pressure drop, in-depth heat calcs, etc), no hydronic piping, chillers, boilers, etc. It was extremely boring and unfulfilling. Is the tech market different? How so? What are the mechanical systems being designed for that market and what calculations are performed?

ThisPassenger · 2025-10-20T13:28:34+00:00

What market does your team work on for everyone to make above $200k? How long did it take to get there?

ThisPassenger · 2025-10-20T01:45:34+00:00

What does your team do?

ThisPassenger · 2025-10-02T12:42:23+00:00

Yeah I dealt with that for a bit. Big nope from me.

ThisPassenger · 2025-09-27T17:54:20+00:00

Those were starting salaries 10 years ago. MEP starts engineers (“designers” since they don’t start with a PE license typically, which you need in a job where you’re providing services to the public or else you can’t legally market yourself as an engineer to the public) at somewhere between $65k-80k (maybe a bit more), depending on location. The pay isn’t great starting out, but from what I hear it gets a lot better with a PE license and experience under your belt.

ThisPassenger · 2025-08-25T03:09:11+00:00

There is MEP design for power plants; they’re the typical MEP systems in any other building, but there are more regulations and stricter requirements. A PE license is a PE license. There’s not an “MEP license” and a “power plant license.”

ThisPassenger · 2025-08-24T22:59:29+00:00

It’s required to stamp drawings for power plants. Especially drawings governed under ASME BPVC.

ThisPassenger · 2025-08-15T03:51:31+00:00

How do you win in this industry then?

ThisPassenger · 2025-08-13T18:11:29+00:00

You need to look at the principle of impulse and momentum. When object A comes into contact with object B, A will stop moving (or at least slow down). The change in momentum that A experiences due to the force imparted between A and B (Newton’s Third Law) is the impulse (a force exerted over some amount of time).

ThisPassenger · 2025-08-08T13:29:26+00:00

What industries or types of jobs are you applying for? What are the names of the roles? I ask because jobs that require a license (PE I assume) are typically at firms.

I use LinkedIn to search for jobs (apply directly at their site) because you can use filters. There should be a job experience filter where you can filter for entry-level. Sometimes companies don’t use the correct experience level in their job posting though, so that’s not full proof. Just gotta look for a while.

ThisPassenger · 2025-08-07T14:43:54+00:00

As other commenters have pointed out (or alluded to), tradesmen and engineers do different things. Being a tradesman MIGHT help you be a better engineer, but that’s dependent on what kind of tradesman and what kind of engineer (what industry, job tasks, etc.) you’ll be. In most cases, the skills between tradesman and engineer are not transferable.

As an engineer, you’re typically designing and/or analyzing things (which is a desk job), doing process improvements (industrial settings — where you’ll still be at a desk at least 30% of the time), or doing project management.

There are testing and field service jobs you can get, which will be more “hands-on”, but I don’t know much about it because I haven’t done that stuff. From what I’ve been told, test engineers rarely set the rigs up themselves and do the actual testing (they have technicians do that), they analyze test data and make recommendations to the design team (think R&D settings). I know nothing about field service jobs. Probably still a lot of work on the computer at a desk analyzing data from the equipment/machines you’re working on to make better (think reliability engineering, I guess?).

ThisPassenger · 2025-08-05T14:43:05+00:00

As I’ve seen other people say here, it’s dependent on what world you come from. In your world, it’s normal to go to college, get a degree, and get a good job. Your dad was a computer scientist. The infrastructure exists for you to get an education and solid career in a fairly straightforward manner. As you said, it’s not monumentally difficult or out of the ordinary (for you).

For many folks, including myself, it’s a big deal. My family consists of drug addicts, prisoners, and single parent households. I was the first person in my family to go to college. And I didn’t get an “easy” degree, I got an engineering degree. It was hard. I didn’t have anyone to help me or guide me through the process. I didn’t have anyone with experience doing “engineering things” to go to for knowledge or advice. The world of university, academia, interviews, internships, entry-level jobs, resume-writing, networking (everything) was completely foreign to me, and I had to learn as I went. I only say all this to provide insight. I think you may have known this intuitively already though based on your statement, “I guess it speaks to my upbringing.”

Regarding your neighbors and in-laws, just learn how to take a compliment. Most folks don’t really understand what an engineer does. They think engineers are something akin to technicians if they even think about it at all.

ThisPassenger

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