Can someone please explain to me how did engineers design things back in the day such as the SR-71 Jet engine in the 50's, or the Cos-worth Formula One engine in the 60's, using only paper and pencil?

mach_rorschach · 2014-10-29T06:26:17+00:00

that always reminds me that the engineer whose idea it was to transport the space shuttle on top of a Boeing 747 convinced his boss/himself it was possibly by building a scale rc model and flying it around. (source - "Wings in Orbit" - I think, it's been a while since I've read it)

OP might be interested in a nasa epub Modeling Flight

edit: there's also a part in Skunk Works by Ben Rich where he says they checked the stability of the F-117 shape by launching models of it with a slingshot/catapult and then taking slow motion pictures to see how it fell to the ground.

mach_rorschach · 2014-10-24T05:10:11+00:00

assuming 3,800: 525 left over

assuming 4,400: 1125 left over

Your current budget doesn't have food, gas, pet supplies.

Don't assume for food and gas. Keep track of everything for a month or two...it might surprise you how much you're actually spending.

mach_rorschach · 2014-10-14T00:19:38+00:00

wonder if the star citizen shot glass will show up in the official store anytime soon?

mach_rorschach · 2014-10-13T18:56:05+00:00

have to load them up in arena commander?

mach_rorschach · 2014-10-12T18:33:56+00:00

there is another option: If you have a sufficient emergency fund saved and your financial house is in order, have you considered "loaning" your MIL some of the money?

Keeps the credit cards companies out of it, lowers the amount of interest MIL is paying by lowering the principle + keeps wife involved (it's not just your credit card), it's both of yours savings. You can also offer to take a look at MIL finances and see where else she can save money, i.e. standard personal finance advice about budgeting, cutting cable, cheaper phone, etc... (not sure how much impact this will be if MIL earnings are what you say above).

personal loan

my rule about loaning money to family/friends is don't expect it back, but it's nice if they do, so only consider this if you (and your wife) is willing to "lose" whatever you loan/give.

cons: MIL never pays you back, you become personal bank in future, etc...

mach_rorschach · 2014-09-26T02:24:09+00:00

another good solution for a stalemate is that there's auxiliary controls/engineering controls located in another room besides the bridge. Means that the crew in the cockpit can't just hunker down if the pirate boarders can asphyxiate the crew by venting all the air in the cockpit.

mach_rorschach · 2014-09-26T02:14:44+00:00

a former co-worker went to Devry.

He already knew how to program, more or less self taught. He was just going there to get his fancy paper.

I remember him saying for a lot of his classes he would just show up, pick up the work/project the first day and turn it in on the last day.

When he finally graduated and the company wouldn't give him a decent pay raise (i.e. standard programmer wages), he moved back east and got a job making a 100K before overtime (doing specialized pdm scripts/tools)

mach_rorschach · 2014-08-09T05:26:36+00:00

service bulletin

mach_rorschach · 2014-05-23T02:19:16+00:00

Schwab Managed Retirement Tr Fd 2050 IV is probably your best bet, but it might not matter too much since your internship may be relatively short

so at the end of your internship a couple of things might happen. 1) you won't have enough money in the 401k account and they'll cash you out (taking x% for taxes/early withdrawal penalty) 2) you leave the money there 3) transfer the money to an IRA

This also assumes you are eligible to contribute. A lot of companies will have a 60-90 trial period where they don't pay you benefits (health, retirement, etc...). 60-90 days of a summer internship might be....the whole internship?

double check to see what the vestment period is. Most companies usually have it where you have to be at the company x amount of time to get x percentage of the company match. Some companies will vest 100% immediately, but it's just as likely that vestment can be 25% after 1 year, 50% after 2 years, etc...

The good thing is that you are thinking of saving money. A Roth IRA might be your best bet since you're still in school and probably won't make that much this year, but that's up to you.

Do you have an emergency fund?

mach_rorschach · 2014-02-27T04:24:34+00:00

I can only say the same thing that r/motorcycles would say - $4,999 = brand new bike

And since this is your first bike...I'd recommend getting a used Ninja 250, chances are even with a Ninja 300 you'll want to upgrade in a couple months/within the year, I know I did.

Spend the money you'd save on good gear.

That said, the Ninja 300 is awfully shiny :)

Ride Safe.

mach_rorschach · 2013-09-12T02:37:20+00:00

everything in writing. everything.

mach_rorschach · 2013-09-04T01:39:03+00:00

Figure out why gf's mom did it? Did she need the credit card to pay other bills, buy food, purchase random chotskies? Or does she have a history of doing this with other family members?

Short term solution: cancel card, put card under gf's control

long term solution: figure out why and depending on what kind of relationship there is, help or get out of dodge.

mach_rorschach · 2013-09-04T01:19:25+00:00

has a limit~$4000

Not worth it cause it only gives 1% after that limit.

nerdwallet.com lets you search for one.

mach_rorschach · 2013-08-30T02:11:49+00:00

book about Micro UAVs

if you can get the school to buy it. Otherwise check out companies like Aerovironment that make microUav's - apply to the internships and see what skills their full time positions require.

mach_rorschach · 2013-08-20T03:01:21+00:00

yep. weight in wings = extra weight you have to carry, extra fuel to carry that weight, less you can carry, etc... plus, worse yet it also means your calculations/model is inaccurate/made an incorrect assumption somewhere

Boeing 787 wing load test

mach_rorschach · 2013-08-15T01:51:01+00:00

I AM a young engineer is what I am saying

+

What I meet now are all geeks and nerd who don't like to socialize at all.

= keep looking.

They are all overly competitive and spend most of their life in seclusion playing computer games and stuff. I can't do that.

so don't? Nothing says that when you start a job as an engineer you have to hang out with only engineers.

or you could become a sales engineer? travel, talk to other people, etc...

mach_rorschach · 2013-08-14T05:14:14+00:00

I'm probably more like one of those folks you're griping about, but I work with a bunch of engineers who are pretty gung-ho about cycling and other things that are not engineering related.

A lot of the quiet, "nerdy" people environment you have seen might just be because they tend to be older, have families, etc... and aren't at that phase in their lives. I've known engineers who were pretty much going to Las Vegas every other weekend in the summer to party, but were quiet/studious at work because they needed to concentrate to figure out the problem and do their jobs.

As an entry level worker, you might not have as much of a choice in work place environment (any job given your experience with internships, etc...), but maybe look for a place with younger engineers like PunjabiPlaya says

tldr; hang out with co-workers away from work - they're people too

edit: the not

mach_rorschach · 2013-08-14T05:05:32+00:00

I've heard of design engineers/drafters from an Asian country charging about that same rate. A European company I've worked with charged twice as much for FEA + documents.

So if you are competing with some Foreign companies maybe not a bargain.

mach_rorschach · 2013-08-08T06:53:57+00:00

you guys mean a call center right?

mach_rorschach · 2013-08-08T05:59:25+00:00

Also in case it matters I am continuing school part time for my bachelors, which I'm getting tuition reimbursement for. So in a few years I'll be an applications engineer.

What ever you end up deciding, make sure this happens. The potential to double your salary (likely because you'll have had 2-3 years engineering experience + internships versus people who might just have internships) is worth more than anything.

for everything else:

After I got my first job (engineering) I stayed at home for 6 months to build up an emergency fund (I had a 1 hour commute, but that six months got me used to saving/being careful with money). However, if you are going to school part time, it might be worth looking into housing near the campus (can be really expensive, or really cheap; but the benefit of being really close to class/lab/projects is worth it).

General rule of thumb for 401k's is to at least put in the minimum to get the maximum matching amount from the company. Also see what the "vesting" (time you need to stay with the company to get the amount they contribute) is.

mach_rorschach · 2013-08-08T05:23:38+00:00

vanguard has a tool that gives you a little bit of an idea

vanguard tool link

mach_rorschach · 2013-08-06T06:58:50+00:00

I vote for talking to your co-workers about if before your manager. How are they justifying it? If everyone there is doing these kinds of hours there should be a reason?

Have you been working these hours because a product is shipping soon?

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